How we source our numbers
Every figure on this site is a cost or fee drawn from a named public document — never a projection of what you might earn. Here is exactly where the numbers come from and how to check them yourself.
Where the figures come from
Our cost data comes from primary franchise-disclosure documents: US Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD Items 5–7) and Korea's KFTC information-disclosure filings (정보공개서), plus franchisors' own published startup-cost tables. When a brand has not filed a US FDD, we say so rather than estimate.
Why we never show earnings
We publish investment and fee figures only — never revenue, profit, or payback claims. US franchise law (the FTC Franchise Rule) tightly restricts financial-performance representations, and no honest earnings figure exists for most of these brands abroad. We treat that constraint as a feature: a cost you can verify beats an income you can't.
Every figure names its source
Each number carries the specific document it came from and its date, shown on the brand page and in each guide's Sources list. Any summary — including ours — can lag the latest filing, so the only binding numbers are those in the current disclosure document and the franchise agreement you are actually offered.
Keeping it current
Disclosure documents are refiled periodically, and costs move with construction, equipment, and exchange rates. We date what we publish and point you to the live source; before you commit, confirm every figure in the franchisor's most recent FDD or KFTC filing.
See the sourced catalog
This website is not an offer to sell a franchise. We are an independent consultancy, not a franchisor, and we do not offer or sell franchises. A franchise is offered only through the franchisor's own disclosure document in jurisdictions where such documents are required. Investment figures are compiled from the named public sources; costs and results vary.