The Franchise 500 is the most recognized franchise ranking. Here is how an annual list compares to continuous, data-driven franchise intelligence.
The Entrepreneur Franchise 500 is a well-known annual ranking that highlights top franchise brands based on their methodology. FDDIntel provides continuous, data-driven reports on individual franchises with specific financial breakdowns, profitability estimates, and scoring — designed for due diligence rather than discovery.
The Franchise 500 is often the first franchise resource people encounter. It's published annually by Entrepreneur magazine and ranks franchise systems based on factors including system size, growth, financial strength, and brand power. Being ranked on the list is a badge of honor that franchisors prominently display in their marketing.
But a ranking designed to highlight the biggest and most established brands isn't the same as a due diligence tool. The Franchise 500 tells you which franchises are large and growing, but it doesn't show you whether the unit economics actually work for an individual owner. A brand can rank highly while having thin margins, high fees, or declining unit counts in recent years. Prospective franchisees need both — the big-picture view and the detailed financial analysis.
| Feature | FDDIntel | Entrepreneur Franchise 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Franchise rankings | Score-based | Annual list |
| Investment cost breakdowns | Ranges only | |
| Royalty and fee analysis | Basic | |
| Revenue/earnings data (Item 19) | ||
| Unit growth and closure tracking | Partial | |
| Profitability estimates | ||
| Category benchmarking | ||
| Side-by-side brand comparison | ||
| Franchise scoring algorithm | Ranking | |
| Updated continuously | Annual | |
| Brand recognition and prestige factor | ||
| Franchise industry news | Educational |
The Franchise 500 is fundamentally a ranking — it orders franchises from 1 to 500 based on a composite methodology. This is useful for seeing which brands are considered top-tier, but it doesn't help you understand whether brand #47 is actually a better investment than brand #203 for your situation. FDDIntel provides detailed analysis on each brand individually, with specific numbers on fees, revenue, growth, and estimated profitability.
The Franchise 500 is published once per year. Between publications, the data is static. FDDIntel updates as new FDD data is extracted, providing more current information. Franchise systems can change significantly year to year — a brand that ranked well last January might have concerning closure trends by June.
The Franchise 500 methodology tends to favor large, established franchise systems — scale and system size are significant factors in the ranking. FDDIntel's scoring focuses on metrics that matter most to a prospective individual owner: unit growth rate, closure risk, fee burden relative to category, and whether the franchise discloses financial performance data. A smaller, fast-growing franchise with strong unit economics might score higher on FDDIntel while not appearing on the Franchise 500.
Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 evaluates franchises on factors including costs and fees, system size and growth, brand strength, financial strength and stability, and litigation. The exact weighting is proprietary. FDDIntel's scoring uses FDD data points like unit growth rate, closure rates, fee burden relative to category averages, and financial disclosure quality.
No. The Franchise 500 evaluates system-level metrics that favor large, established brands. A high ranking doesn't tell you about individual unit profitability, local market conditions, or whether the fee structure works for your situation. FDDIntel provides owner-focused analysis including profitability estimates to complement rankings with actionable financial data.
Not necessarily. Many excellent franchise opportunities never appear on the Franchise 500, especially newer or niche brands that haven't yet reached the system size to compete on that list. FDDIntel evaluates franchises based on their financial data regardless of size, so fast-growing smaller brands with strong unit economics will score well even if they're not on the Franchise 500.
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