Blaze Pizza Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Blaze Pizza franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Blaze Pizza discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it D.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses 2025 gross sales only (average, top/bottom 20%) for 218 of 230 franchised restaurants; excludes 38 closures during 2025 and 8 non-traditional units; no profit, cost, or net income data provided.
What a Blaze Pizza franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 7% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $757,000 – $1,297,100 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Ad fund can rise to 4%; local advertising adds 2% requirement; numerous operational fees apply.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Blaze Pizza system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 230 |
| Ceased operations | 20 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 11 |
| Closure rate | 8.7% of outlets |
System shrank from 296 to 230 franchised outlets over 3 years; 38 closures in 2025 alone excluded from Item 19.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Blaze Pizza worth it? — how it compares to 38 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 7% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $757,000 | pricier than 71% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade D | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 8.7% of outlets | worse than 89% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
Benchmarked against every pizza franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Blaze Pizza
The franchisor's framing: Discloses 2025 gross sales only (average, top/bottom 20%) for 218 of 230 franchised restau… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Blaze Pizza franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Blaze Pizza franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $757,000–$1,297,100, including a $30,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Blaze Pizza franchise owners make?
- Discloses 2025 gross sales only (average, top/bottom 20%) for 218 of 230 franchised restaurants; excludes 38 closures during 2025 and 8 non-traditional units; no profit, cost, or net income data provided. We grade this disclosure D for honesty.
- What are the Blaze Pizza franchise fees?
- Blaze Pizza's FDD discloses a $30,000 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 7% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Ad fund can rise to 4%; local advertising adds 2% requirement; numerous operational fees apply.
- What is the Blaze Pizza franchise profit margin?
- Blaze Pizza does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses 2025 gross sales only (average, top/bottom 20%) for 218 of 230 franchised restaurants; excludes 38 closures during 2025 and 8 non-traditional units; no profit, cost, or net income data provided. Recurring fees alone take about 7% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Blaze Pizza franchise failure rate?
- System shrank from 296 to 230 franchised outlets over 3 years; 38 closures in 2025 alone excluded from Item 19.
- How many Blaze Pizza locations are there?
- Blaze Pizza's FDD reports 230 total outlets, with 20 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 11 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Blaze Pizza have complaints or lawsuits?
- Blaze Pizza discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Blaze Pizza franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Blaze Pizza scores D on disclosure honesty, carries about 7% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
Own a Blaze Pizza? Add your real numbers (anonymous)
We publish only aggregated benchmarks — never your name. Contribute and we'll show you how your numbers compare.
Compare Blaze Pizza to similar franchises
See all franchises ranked by disclosure honesty →
Source: MN CARDS 36377-202604-09 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Blaze Pizza or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.