Ice cream franchises
The typical ice cream franchise here costs $358,588 to $702,271 to open. Sort the table by cost, fee, royalty or number of locations.
- Brands
- 12
- Typical cost
- $359K–$702K
- Lowest start
- $115KKona Ice
- Share earnings
- 11 of 12
All 12 brands
Sort by any column.
| Kona Ice | $115K–$229K | $15,000 | $3K–$5K/year | 1,933 | No |
| Cold Stone Creamery | $391K–$681K | $27,000 | 6% | 1,054 | Yes |
| Culver's | $3.41M–$10.3M | $65,000 | 4% | 1,041 | Yes |
| Baskin-Robbins | $307K–$627K | $25,000 | 5.9% | 967 | Yes |
| Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers | $855K–$1.3M | $35,000 | 5% | 580 | Yes |
| Rita's Italian Ice | $315K–$713K | $35,000 | 6.5% | 578 | Yes |
| Carvel | $428K–$1.05M | $35,500 | 6% | 360 | Yes |
| Menchie's | $180K–$515K | $53,900 | 6% | 296 | Yes |
| sweetFrog | $327K–$692K | $30,000 | 5% | 203 | Yes |
| Kilwins | $485K–$880K | $45,000 | 5% | 187 | Yes |
| Bahama Buck's | $540K–$1.19M | $34,500 | 6% | 116 | Yes |
| Pinkberry | $303K–$684K | $35,000 | 6% | 62 | Yes |
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Ice cream franchises: questions
What is the cheapest ice cream franchise?
Of the 12 brands here, Kona Ice has the lowest estimated starting investment: $114,730 to $228,601 to open.
Which ice cream franchise is the largest?
Kona Ice, with 1,933 locations (1,929 franchised) at the end of 2025.
What royalty do ice cream franchises charge?
Royalties on gross sales in this list run from 4% to 6.5%, with a median of 6%. Most brands add a separate marketing or brand fund fee.
Which ice cream franchises share earnings figures?
11 of 12 share sales or earnings figures, among them Bahama Buck's, Baskin-Robbins, Carvel, Cold Stone Creamery.