What the sector pays
Royalties of U.S. food and education networks in Brazil equal those in the United States in 5 of 9 networks, are higher in 3 and lower in 1, and in hotels the median is 3% in Brazil compared with 5.5% in the United States
U.S. food and education networks in which the royalty on gross sales in contracts recorded at INPI equals that of the FDD in force in the United States, with a higher royalty in Brazil in 3 and a lower one in 1
See the full table (2 rows)
| Royalty base | Sector | Networks | Filings at INPI | Royalty in the FDD, median | Royalty at INPI, median | Same | Higher in Brazil | Lower in Brazil |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty on gross sales | Food and education | 9 | 434 | 5% | 6% | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Royalty on room revenue | Hospitality | 5 | 40 | 5.5% | 3% | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Initial fee in dollars, food and educationMedian across networks of the initial fee in the FDD in force and of the fee in dollars in the unit certificates at INPI, in current dollars of each date. In hospitality, the FDD sets the fee per room, and the item is not compared.
| Networks | Filings at INPI | Fee in the FDD, median | Fee at INPI, median | Lower in Brazil | Same | Higher in Brazil |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 404 | US$ 45,000 | US$ 40,000 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
Networks comparedAlphabetical order. Year of the FDD read in CARDS and number of unit filings at INPI with a royalty on the same base.
| Network | Royalty base | FDD year | Filings at INPI | Recordings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applebee's | gross sales | 2026 | 10 | 2010 to 2015 |
| Burger King | gross sales | 2026 | 185 | 2010 to 2023 |
| Carl's Jr | gross sales | 2026 | 3 | 2012 to 2014 |
| Hooters | gross sales | 2026 | 4 | 2014 |
| KFC | gross sales | 2026 | 110 | 2019 to 2024 |
| Pizza Hut | gross sales | 2026 | 90 | 2019 to 2024 |
| School of Rock | gross sales | 2026 | 4 | 2015 to 2016 |
| Taco Bell | gross sales | 2026 | 19 | 2017 to 2019 |
| TGI Fridays | gross sales | 2026 | 9 | 2017 to 2021 |
| Days Inn | room revenue | 2025 | 3 | 2012 to 2022 |
| Marriott | room revenue | 2025 | 1 | 2012 |
| Radisson | room revenue | 2026 | 18 | 2010 to 2020 |
| Ramada | room revenue | 2025 | 9 | 2017 to 2023 |
| Wyndham | room revenue | 2025 | 9 | 2019 to 2023 |
Franchise networks in the United States register the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) with state regulators, and the document reports the initial fee, the royalty and the advertising fund charged in the country of origin. In Brazil, the contracts of these networks recorded at INPI (the national industrial property institute) state the royalty contract by contract. Of the 31 networks in the observatory with a franchise contract recorded by a licensor from the United States, 27 have an FDD registered with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and 16 state the royalty on the same nominal base in both documents, considering unit contracts only.
In the 9 food and education networks with a royalty on gross sales, the median across networks is 6% in the contracts recorded in Brazil and 5% in the FDD, and the Brazilian percentage is the same in 5, higher in Brazil in 3 and lower in Brazil in 1. Of the 9 networks, 3 belong to the same controlling group, and counting each group once, there are 7 franchisors, with the Brazilian percentage the same in 4, higher in Brazil in 2 and lower in Brazil in 1. In hospitality, with a royalty on room revenue, the Brazilian percentage is lower in the 5 networks compared, with a median of 3% against 5.5% in the FDD, a median difference of 2 percentage points per network. Of the 5 networks, 3 belong to the same controlling group, and counting each group once, there are 3 franchisors, all with a lower percentage in Brazil.
The initial fee follows a different pattern. In the 9 food and education networks with a fee in dollars in the certificates, the median is US$ 40,000 in Brazil and US$ 45,000 in the FDD, with the Brazilian amount lower in 4 networks, higher in 4 and the same in 1, in current dollars of each date.
How we calculate
We read Items 5, 6 and 7 of the most recent FDD of each network registered in the CARDS system of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, on November 8, 2026, with the URL, page and verbatim excerpt of each value. The FDDs read are from 2025 and 2026. From the FDD, the standard royalty for a new unit applies, and where there are distinct brands or formats, the document for the main brand or for the traditional unit was used.
At INPI, for each unit filing, the first certificate with a legible royalty applies and, when the certificate states more than one percentage, the highest, the rule of the royalties in contracts series. Master franchise, franchise grant and network development contracts are excluded, and in hotel networks with several brands only the filings of the brand that gives its name to the FDD are included. Each network enters with the median of its filings, so that the comparison gives the same weight to all of them, and calculation bases are never added together. The royalties in contracts indicator, which brings together unit filings outside hospitality from licensors of any country and weights each filing, has a median of 5.5% on sales or gross revenue in 573 filings from 43 networks, whereas here only U.S. networks with an FDD are included, each with the same weight.
The groups have at least 5 networks. This page publishes only aggregates and the list of the networks compared, with no value per network.
What this figure does not show
- The FDD describes what the network charges in the United States in the year of the document, and the INPI certificate describes the contract on the date of recording, which in the networks compared ranges from 2010 to 2024. The difference may reflect price changes over time, and not only differences between countries.
- The base is compared by the name given in each document. In the FDD, gross sales exclude sales tax, whereas Brazilian gross revenue includes the taxes embedded in the price, and definitions vary from network to network.
- Brazilian contracts include formats such as food court and kiosk units, and the FDD used is that of the traditional unit or of the main brand, so the format and size of the unit may not coincide.
- The comparison counts each network once, and networks of the same controlling group repeat the same franchisor. In the gross sales group, these networks account for 219 of the 434 filings, and the count with each group once is given in the text.
- Registration at INPI is optional, and the recorded contracts do not necessarily represent all of the network's contracts in the country. In the gross sales group, the network with the most filings accounts for 42.6% of them, which is why each network enters with a single value. In hospitality, 1 of the 5 networks has a single filing on the same base.
- The comparison leaves out 2 networks with a royalty on net sales in both documents, because the group has fewer than 5 networks. Networks whose presence in Brazil is only through a master franchise are not included, because the recorded contract is not a unit contract.
- The advertising fund has a median of 3.9% in the FDD of the networks compared, but none of the unit certificates of these networks mentions an advertising or publicity fund, and the item is not compared. The initial fee is in current dollars, without adjustment for inflation.
Frequently asked questions
Do American franchises charge the same royalty in Brazil and in the United States?
The result varies by sector. In 9 food and education networks of U.S. origin, the royalty in contracts recorded at INPI (the national industrial property institute) is the same in 5, higher in Brazil in 3 and lower in Brazil in 1, compared with the Franchise Disclosure Document in force in the United States. Of the 9 networks, 3 belong to the same controlling group, and counting each group once, there are 7 franchisors, with the Brazilian percentage the same in 4, higher in Brazil in 2 and lower in Brazil in 1. In the 5 hotel networks compared, the Brazilian percentage is lower in all of them.
How much royalty do U.S.-branded hotels charge in Brazil?
In the unit contracts of 5 U.S. hotel networks recorded at INPI (the national industrial property institute), the royalty on room revenue has a median of 3%, compared with 5.5% in the FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) of these networks in the United States. The Brazilian contracts were recorded from 2010 to 2023.
Where to find the FDD of an American franchise?
The Franchise Disclosure Document is registered with state regulators in the United States. The observatory read the documents in the CARDS system of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which publishes franchise registrations with the full text of the document.
Report an error on this page (in Portuguese)
What the sector paysOther indicators in the same group
Maintained by Marktech, which serves franchise networks and franchises. The brands cited belong to their owners and are mentioned here only to identify the network the data refers to.