Crumbl Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Crumbl franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Crumbl discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses 2024 avg/high/median/low gross sales, gross profit, net profit for 858 of 1,058 locations. Omits 19% of stores; median net profit $77k vs avg $251k; no owner salary breakout; cherry-picks continuous operators only.
What a Crumbl franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 8% 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 | 10% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $816,066 – $1,442,533 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
8% royalty plus 2% marketing fund; up to 2% local ad; $650/mo tech fee; 2.4-3% transaction processing fee also charged.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Crumbl system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 1,059 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 12 |
| Transferred to new owners | 57 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
12 terminations in 2024; zero ceased operations reported; some franchisees bound by confidentiality clauses limiting candor.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Crumbl worth it? — how it compares to 59 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 10% of sales | steeper than 89% of bakery, dessert & ice cream franchises |
| Startup cost | from $816,066 | pricier than 92% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 0.9%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
Benchmarked against every bakery, dessert & ice cream franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Crumbl
The franchisor's framing: Discloses 2024 avg/high/median/low gross sales, gross profit, net profit for 858 of 1,058 … 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
Crumbl franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Crumbl franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $816,066–$1,442,533, including a $50,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Crumbl franchise owners make?
- Discloses 2024 avg/high/median/low gross sales, gross profit, net profit for 858 of 1,058 locations. Omits 19% of stores; median net profit $77k vs avg $251k; no owner salary breakout; cherry-picks continuous operators only. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Crumbl franchise fees?
- Crumbl's FDD discloses a $50,000 initial franchise fee, a 8% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 10% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 8% royalty plus 2% marketing fund; up to 2% local ad; $650/mo tech fee; 2.4-3% transaction processing fee also charged.
- What is the Crumbl franchise profit margin?
- Crumbl does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses 2024 avg/high/median/low gross sales, gross profit, net profit for 858 of 1,058 locations. Omits 19% of stores; median net profit $77k vs avg $251k; no owner salary breakout; cherry-picks continuous operators only. Recurring fees alone take about 10% 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 Crumbl franchise failure rate?
- 12 terminations in 2024; zero ceased operations reported; some franchisees bound by confidentiality clauses limiting candor.
- How many Crumbl locations are there?
- Crumbl's FDD reports 1,059 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 57 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Crumbl have complaints or lawsuits?
- Crumbl 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 Crumbl franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Crumbl scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 10% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
Own a Crumbl? Add your real numbers (anonymous)
We publish only aggregated benchmarks — never your name. Contribute and we'll show you how your numbers compare.
Compare Crumbl to similar franchises
See all franchises ranked by disclosure honesty →
Source: MN CARDS 33486-202504-08 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Crumbl or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.