Entry costs
What it costs to open a franchise in Australia, figures as at 2026-09-27
Setup fee distributions by register category and sub-industry, from franchise disclosure data via Choose Franchise.
- Published
- 30 September 2026
- Last updated
- 2 October 2026
- Data window
- Franchise disclosure register, figures as at 2026-09-27
- Denominator
- 1,657 system fee disclosures across 19 categories
Source: Australian Franchise Disclosure Register. Last checked 2026-10-02T05:16:24.805Z. Refresh: Monthly, with register snapshots.
Findings
- 19 register categories report a setup fee distribution, figures as at 2026-09-27.
- Each row shows the minimum, quartiles, median and maximum across disclosing systems, with n and the number excluded for a zero or missing figure.
Setup fees by category
Amount paid to join and establish the unit, figures as at 2026-09-27.
| Category | Snapshot | Min | P25 | Median | P75 | Max | n (systems) | Excluded (zero/none) | Excluded (implausible) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cleaning-maintenance | As at 2026-09-27 | $1,000 | $24,600 | $45,000 | $95,875 | $3,000,000 | 168 | 67 | 1 |
| automotive | As at 2026-09-27 | $5,000 | $96,090 | $300,000 | $1,000,000 | $25,000,000 | 109 | 133 | 20 |
| quick-service-restaurant | As at 2026-09-27 | $5,000 | $260,950 | $456,028 | $755,025 | $7,949,650 | 162 | 73 | 5 |
| home-services | As at 2026-09-27 | $5,000 | $40,000 | $80,000 | $145,000 | $2,085,000 | 182 | 64 | 5 |
| education-training | As at 2026-09-27 | $4,000 | $38,980 | $66,500 | $191,875 | $5,000,000 | 93 | 67 | 1 |
| food-beverage | As at 2026-09-27 | $3,000 | $196,900 | $430,700 | $750,000 | $14,000,000 | 173 | 90 | 7 |
| pilates | As at 2026-09-27 | $105,000 | $218,450 | $367,958 | $535,678 | $1,744,272 | 21 | 4 | 0 |
| retail | As at 2026-09-27 | $1,950 | $10,000 | $20,000 | $350,000 | $15,750,000 | 258 | 81 | 2 |
| other | As at 2026-09-27 | $1,000 | $45,000 | $150,000 | $390,725 | $14,000,000 | 48 | 27 | 1 |
| pet-services | As at 2026-09-27 | $5,000 | $16,250 | $48,000 | $65,000 | $500,000 | 18 | 5 | 0 |
| health-fitness | As at 2026-09-27 | $2,500 | $125,250 | $300,000 | $542,875 | $20,000,000 | 78 | 41 | 1 |
| business-services | As at 2026-09-27 | $1,000 | $20,000 | $40,000 | $110,000 | $10,000,000 | 190 | 75 | 13 |
| accommodation-travel | As at 2026-09-27 | $2,000 | $60,000 | $135,992 | $400,000 | $17,000,000 | 16 | 90 | 0 |
| real-estate | As at 2026-09-27 | $1,500 | $50,000 | $94,750 | $245,308 | $2,810,930 | 78 | 61 | 5 |
| beauty-personal-care | As at 2026-09-27 | $5,000 | $177,075 | $300,000 | $522,250 | $1,849,500 | 34 | 13 | 1 |
| strength | As at 2026-09-27 | $3,000 | $250,000 | $561,624 | $863,500 | $5,000,000 | 21 | 14 | 2 |
| hiit | As at 2026-09-27 | $40,000 | $122,500 | $257,500 | $454,125 | $865,300 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| technology | As at 2026-09-27 | $10,000 | $22,500 | $30,750 | $41,625 | $10,000,000 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 24-hour-gyms | As at 2026-09-27 | $250,000 | $332,500 | $415,000 | $497,500 | $580,000 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Limitations
- Distributions cover only systems that disclose a non-zero setup fee.
- Values below $1,000 or above $25,000,000 are treated as register data-entry artefacts and excluded (see Choose Franchise methodology).
- Rows with n below 10 are indicative only, never a benchmark.
- Ongoing fees are excluded pending basis validation: register ongoing figures mix monthly totals, percentages and other bases, and annualised values are not yet reliable.
The table data behind this report is available as a downloadable CSV. Published by 20percent.ai. Funded by Choose Franchise. Methodology.