How much does a MOD Pizza franchise cost?
A prospective U.S. franchisee should plan around $924,732 to $1,220,633 to develop a new MOD Pizza Restaurant under the 2026 Franchise Agreement. That is the official Item 7 Estimated Initial Investment, not merely the Initial Franchise Fee. The range assumes a new restaurant built out in an existing building or commercial space.
The April 20, 2026 FDD includes a $30,000 Initial Franchise Fee and $30,000 to $50,000 of Additional Funds for the first three months. It does not include rent, land purchase, or construction of a building. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 7, pp. 11–14.
Data basis. Legal franchisor: MOD Super Fast Pizza Franchising, LLC. FDD issuance date: April 20, 2026. Cost paths reviewed: a new MOD Pizza Restaurant under a Franchise Agreement, an Area Development Agreement covering 2 to 10 Restaurants, and a negotiated acquisition of an existing affiliate-owned Restaurant. Primary cost disclosures: Items 5, 6, and 7, with cost-relevant provisions from Items 8, 10, 11, 15, and 17. Information checked July 20, 2026.
The brand's official U.S. franchising page continues to accept inquiries from selected multi-unit operators. A Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions active-registration record lists the legal franchisor with an expiration date of April 24, 2027. No matching 2026 FDD was located on an official franchise-controlled domain, so FDD citations in this article are unlinked and identified by Item and page.
Key cost figures
The 2026 disclosures separate the signing fee and first-three-month reserve from the weekly, monthly, and local marketing obligations that begin after opening.
The practical funding question is therefore broader than the amount written on the first check. A buyer needs enough accessible capital to cover deposits and invoices as they come due, maintain borrowing capacity for financed assets, and preserve a reserve through the opening period. The timing of those cash demands can matter as much as the published low and high endpoints.
What is included in the $924,732 to $1,220,633 range?
The 2026 estimate includes ten categories, from the signing payment through three months of operating reserve. Premises work and the physical operating package account for most of the disclosed capital requirement.
Use the line items as a reconciliation framework rather than as a substitute for project quotes. Each proposal should be mapped to the same scope, tax treatment, delivery assumptions, installation work, landlord contribution, and contingency treatment. A lower quote is not comparable when it omits work that another quote includes, and an allowance is not cash in hand until the lease makes its conditions clear.
Premises, equipment, and restaurant systems
For a new MOD Pizza Restaurant, a derived sum of these five compatible Item 7 categories is $857,732 to $1,085,633.
| Item 7 expenditure | 2026 amount | Payment timing | Payee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30,000 | Lump sum when signing the Franchise Agreement | MOD Pizza |
| Leasehold Improvements | $390,886–$547,462 | As arranged and incurred | Suppliers |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Supplies, Décor and Equipment | $379,846–$433,171 | As arranged and incurred | Suppliers or leasing companies |
| Site Design, Architectural and Engineering Fees | $32,000–$45,000 | As arranged before opening | Suppliers |
| Point-of-Sale and Computer System | $25,000–$30,000 | As arranged and incurred | Suppliers |
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 7, pp. 11–13. The furniture and equipment category includes kitchen and beverage equipment, booths, bars, small wares, office equipment, supplies, and signage.
Training, licensing, launch, and working capital
A derived sum of the remaining 2026 Item 7 categories is $67,000 to $135,000 for training, licensing, miscellaneous pre-opening costs, Grand Opening Marketing, and the first three months of Additional Funds.
| Item 7 expenditure | 2026 amount | Payment timing | Payee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training Costs | $10,000–$20,000 | As incurred during training | Employees, travel providers, restaurants, and MOD Pizza |
| Beer and Wine License Costs | $2,000–$15,000 | Before opening | Government agencies and professional service providers |
| Miscellaneous | $15,000–$40,000 | Before opening or as otherwise arranged | Landlord, utilities, agencies, and professionals |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $10,000 | Within the first 90 days of operations | Suppliers |
| Additional Funds — 3 Months | $30,000–$50,000 | As incurred during the first three months | MOD Pizza, landlord, suppliers, and utilities |
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 7, pp. 11–14. “Miscellaneous” includes deposits, impact fees, permits, professional fees, and prepaid expenses. Additional Funds have not been offset by operating revenues.
2026 Item 7 ranges by variable cost category
The bar position shows the disclosed low and high amount on a common $0 to $550,000 scale; exact values appear beside each category.
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 7, pp. 11–14. Fixed $30,000 Initial Franchise Fee and $10,000 Grand Opening Marketing amounts are omitted from this range chart because they have no low-to-high spread.
Before committing to a site, compare every contractor and vendor proposal against a common scope sheet. Confirm demolition, utility capacity, mechanical work, grease handling, fire protection, accessibility, permits, freight, installation, taxes, commissioning, and closeout work. The published endpoints can be misleading when one proposal includes these elements and another leaves them to separate vendors. Lease negotiations also affect the timing of reimbursement: an allowance may be paid only after completion, lien waivers, inspections, and proof of payment. That can require the operator to fund work first even when the landlord ultimately reimburses part of it.
The total Item 7 range spans $295,901. A derived calculation shows that Leasehold Improvements and Furniture, Fixtures, Supplies, Décor and Equipment create $209,901, or about 71%, of that disclosed high-low spread. Site condition, landlord work, labor, materials, and equipment procurement therefore matter more to the range than the fixed Initial Franchise Fee.
When is the money paid?
The full opening estimate is not paid to the franchisor at signing. The 2026 disclosure separates the signing payment from site, construction, equipment, training, launch, and early-operating cash requirements.
This creates a staged cash profile. Some obligations are fixed and immediate, some are vendor invoices tied to construction progress, and others arise only near opening or during the early operating period. Financing an asset may reduce the cash paid on the invoice date, but it creates a separate repayment obligation and does not change the official cost category.
A practical cash calendar should tie each commitment to the earliest date it can become payable, not only to the expected opening date. Deposits and design work can precede final construction pricing; equipment orders may require progress payments; licenses and inspections can create nonrefundable outlays before approval to open; and payroll-related training expenses may arise while the site is still being completed. A funding plan should therefore preserve headroom for timing overlap, delayed reimbursements, change orders, and lender conditions. This does not change the disclosed total, but it reduces the risk of assuming that all capital can be raised or drawn at the last moment.
Source: Items 5 and 7, pp. 5–6 and 11–14; Item 11, pp. 20–21. The FDD says opening generally occurs six to twelve months after signing or paying the Initial Franchise Fee, subject to site, construction, licensing, equipment, financing, staffing, and training conditions.
How does an Area Development Agreement change the capital commitment?
An Area Development Agreement requires a commitment to at least two MOD Pizza Restaurants, but its Item 7 total is not the cost of building every Restaurant in the Development Schedule. The 2026 area-development estimate covers the Development Fee, three months of development-preparation funds, and the Estimated Initial Investment for the first Restaurant.
The development fee works as a future franchise-fee credit
At signing, the developer pays $10,000 for each committed Restaurant after the first. If the developer remains in compliance with the Development Schedule and other obligations, MOD Pizza applies $10,000 toward the Initial Franchise Fee for the second and each later Franchise Agreement.
Single-Restaurant and area-development initial ranges
Both bars include the first Restaurant. The area-development bar adds only the Development Fee and initial development-preparation funds, not the build cost of all committed Restaurants.
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 7, pp. 14–15. The area-development total is $935,232 to $1,313,133. Each second and later Restaurant requires a separate, then-current Franchise Agreement and its own development investment.
The Area Development Agreement adds $10,500 to $92,500 to the first-Restaurant range by arithmetic: Development Fee plus initial development-preparation funds. The disclosure warns that second and later units will likely cost more than the first-Restaurant estimate because of inflation and other economic factors.
Which MOD Pizza fees continue after opening?
The primary continuing obligations are the Continuing Fee, Marketing Fees, Local Marketing, and Technology Fee. The percentage fees use the FDD-defined term Revenues, generally the Restaurant's total dollar sales excluding specified taxes, gift-card sales, and one-time sales of furniture, fixtures, equipment, or inventory.
These charges have different recipients and payment mechanics. Two are remitted centrally on a sales-based schedule, one is a monthly systems charge, and one is a minimum level of approved market spending. Keeping them separate avoids treating every percentage as the same kind of payment or assuming that all advertising dollars are paid to one account.
| Ongoing fee | Amount and basis | When paid | Important condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continuing Fee | 5% of weekly Revenues | Wednesday for the preceding week | Begins after the Restaurant commences business |
| Marketing Fees | 2% of weekly Revenues | Wednesday for the preceding week | May increase to 3% on 90 days' written notice |
| Technology Fee | Currently $35 per month | By the 15th day of each month | May increase annually by no more than 25% of the then-current fee if service costs increase |
| Local Marketing | Minimum2% of Revenues | To suppliers as incurred | 1.5% of aggregate Revenues if operating more than one Restaurant; an approved local association contribution can count toward the requirement |
Source: Item 6, pp. 6–11; Item 11, pp. 22–24. The franchisor may collect the two weekly percentage charges on a four-week Accounting Period or another basis after written notice.
For budgeting, percentage obligations should be modeled as formulas rather than converted into a single unsupported annual amount. The applicable base must be drawn from the signed contract and accounting definitions, while the cash calendar must reflect the collection cadence. Separately track amounts paid centrally, spending made directly with approved vendors, and any shortfall adjustment. This prevents double counting and makes it easier to test how a change in the collection interval, an approved local program, or a temporary closure affects the timing of cash outflows without assuming a particular sales level.
- Marketing Fund
- The franchisor-controlled fund receiving Marketing Fees. The FDD does not promise that contributions will be spent in the franchisee's market or in the same calendar year.
- Local Marketing Association
- When two or more Restaurants operate in a Designated Market Area, a franchisee may be required to contribute up to 2% of Revenues to a local group; those payments apply toward the Local Marketing requirement.
- Local Marketing shortfall
- If verified Local Marketing spending is below the required minimum, the franchisor may require the difference to be paid into the central fund.
Which fees arise only after a specific event?
Item 6 contains material charges tied to audits, transfers, relocations, renewal, supplier approval, development delays, training, late payments, insurance failures, and other events. These amounts are not automatically part of the Item 7 opening total.
Approval, ownership, and development events
The largest contract-event charges use the then-current Initial Franchise Fee as their basis or reimburse the franchisor for a specific review, audit, or schedule extension.
| Trigger | Disclosed charge | Payment timing | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit finds Revenues understated by more than 2% | Estimated $2,000–$5,000 | Within 10 days after invoice | Reimburses the franchisor's audit cost |
| Transfer | 50% of then-current Initial Franchise Fee, plus training | 60% with approval request; balance by transfer | Initial 60% is nonrefundable |
| Relocation | 30% of then-current Initial Franchise Fee | 60% with site-review request; balance at approval | Applies only to an approved relocation |
| Successor Franchise Agreement | 50% of then-current Initial Franchise Fee | When signing the new agreement | Renewal also requires compliance, training, occupancy rights, release, and agreed remodeling |
| Review of an unapproved supplier | Estimated $1,500–$10,000 | Within 10 days after invoice | Reimburses inspection and evaluation expenses |
| Area-development opening delay | $1,000 per week | As incurred | May extend a Development Schedule deadline for up to 26 weeks |
Source: Item 6, pp. 7–11; Item 17, pp. 34–40.
Operating, training, and default triggers
Other Item 6 charges arise only when additional support is required, payments are late, a Restaurant closes temporarily, insurance lapses, or a required group event carries a future registration fee.
Source: Items 5 and 6, pp. 5–11. “Travel Expenses” include transportation, lodging, food, automobile rental, telephone calls, and related expenses.
Which obligations can push the actual project outside the Item 7 range?
The most important unresolved variables are the premises, local licensing, approved-supplier pricing, and whether the transaction is a new build or acquisition. Item 7 is an estimate for a new Restaurant in an existing building or space, not a universal cap.
Approximately 90% to 95% of purchases and leases are restricted
Item 8 states that purchases and leases required from the franchisor, an affiliate, approved suppliers, or according to brand standards represent approximately 90% to 95% of total purchases and leases used to establish and operate the Restaurant. The franchisor and its affiliates do not currently sell products or services directly to franchisees, but designated and approved supplier requirements cover core food, beverage, branded, equipment, insurance, and technology-related categories.
Source: Items 5, 7, and 8, pp. 6 and 11–18. The FTC's Consumer's Guide to Buying a Franchise also explains why site approval, design standards, supplier restrictions, insurance, and renovations can create costs beyond the initial franchise payment.
Does MOD Pizza disclose a liquid-capital minimum, net-worth minimum, or financing program?
No fixed Liquid Capital or Net Worth minimum appears in the 2026 FDD. The current official franchise inquiry page describes selected partners as having substantial capital resources and asks applicants to identify approximate net-worth and liquid-asset bands, but it does not publish a hard approval threshold. Total Initial Investment, Liquid Capital, and Net Worth therefore remain separate concepts and should not be treated as interchangeable.
- Liquid Capital
- No minimum is disclosed in the 2026 FDD or as a fixed threshold on the current public inquiry page.
- Net Worth
- No minimum is disclosed. The official franchise inquiry form requests a banded estimate rather than stating approval criteria.
- Direct or indirect financing
- The franchisor does not offer it and does not guarantee a note, lease, or obligation. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 10, p. 19.
- Personal Guaranty
- Each owner holding at least 10% of a franchisee entity must sign the applicable personal guaranty; spouses are not required to sign. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 15, p. 33.
Because no public minimum is stated, an applicant should obtain the current underwriting criteria directly from the franchisor and confirm whether required equity, lender conditions, lease guarantees, development commitments, and personal guarantees exceed the cash represented by Item 7.
What should be verified before signing?
The verified starting point is $924,732 to $1,220,633 for one new Restaurant, or $935,232 to $1,313,133 for the Area Development Agreement's first-Restaurant package. The decisive unknowns are the approved site, landlord work, construction scope, equipment package, alcohol licensing, supplier pricing, financing terms, and whether an existing Restaurant purchase requires remodeling.
Use the low and high figures as disclosure boundaries for the assumptions stated in the document, not as a personalized forecast. A usable project budget needs written scope confirmation from the landlord, architect, contractor, equipment vendors, technology providers, insurers, licensing authorities, and lender. Each quote should state what is included, what is excluded, how long pricing remains valid, when deposits become nonrefundable, and what conditions trigger additional work. The final review should also identify who bears overruns, whether a lease allowance is reimbursed or advanced, and whether financing covers soft costs as well as physical assets.