Jack in the Box vs Culver's: Which Franchise Is Best?

Are you interested in learning the differences between franchising with Jack in the Box vs Culver’s?

At Jack in the Box, we understand you have a wide variety of options when it comes to finding the best franchise opportunity for yourself.

In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at five key differences between Jack in the Box and Culver’s when it comes to franchising.

1) Available Markets

Identifying an available market for your restaurant is one of the most important steps in your franchising journey.

Let’s take a look at the number of current locations in the United States for both companies:

• Jack in the Box: +2,100 Locations
• Culver’s: +899 Locations

When compared to the +14,000 McDonald’s locations in the United States, Culver’s and Jack in the Box have a relatively low number of restaurants across the country.

At Jack in the Box, this means you have an opportunity to develop your restaurant in some of the most exciting markets in the country. Plus, a better chance at finding availability in your preferred location.

When you look at our map of available markets, you’ll see most of the cities and states outside of California, Texas, and Utah are open for new burger franchise restaurants.

Market availability for Culver’s varies from state to state. However, Wisconsin and most of Michigan is only available to existing franchisees who are currently operating in the area.

2) Investment Requirements

Before you begin the process of becoming a franchisee with Culver’s or Jack in the Box, you must meet certain financial requirements.

These requirements typically involve a minimum of liquid cash available along with an initial franchise fee.

Culver’s Investment Requirements:

• Minimum Liquidity: $500,000
• Franchise Fee: $55,000 per Location

Jack in the Box Investment Requirements:

• Minimum Liquidity: $500,000
• Franchise Fee: $50,000 per Location

Both of these burger franchises have similar financial requirements when it comes to minimum liquidity and the initial franchise fee.

Keep in mind, you’ll also be responsible for paying royalty fees as a franchisee at either restaurant.

Jack in the Box charges an ongoing 5% royalty with a 5% ongoing marketing royalty.

Culver’s charges an ongoing 4% royalty with a 2.5% advertising fee. Franchisees are also required to spend at least 1% of gross sales on advertising and promotional activities in their local area.

3) Business Partners

If you’re unable to meet the financial requirements mentioned above, there are many potential sources of liquidity that may be overlooked. For example:

• Business Partners
• Stocks & Bonds
• 401k Rollovers
• Home Equity

At Jack in the Box, we allow our franchisees to have business partners to help them meet our investment requirements.

Culver’s allows you and potential investors to work together to meet their minimum investment requirements and ownership qualifications.

4) Real Estate Ownership

Another important factor you should be aware of is the ability of the franchisee to own the real estate associated with their restaurant.

At Jack in the Box, our franchisees can purchase or lease the property where their restaurants are located. We even have an entire real estate and leasing team to help you find available real estate and assist with lease negotiations.

Culver’s also gives their franchisees the option to own the real estate, building, and equipment associated with their restaurant.

5) Menu Options & Availability

Culver’s is known for serving their menu focused on butterburgers, cheese curds, and frozen custard from 10:30AM until they close around 10:00PM.

Jack in the Box offers a large and distinctive 24/7 menu with five dayparts to our customers. This means you can get anything on the menu at any time – day or night.

Our menu features much more than burgers and fries with our 24-hour breakfast menu and items like our famous tacos, egg rolls, and late-night Munchie Meals.

When it comes to menu variety and hours of operation between these two burger franchises, Jack in the Box is the clear winner.

Check Out These Additional Resources

We hope this article gave you a better understanding of the differences between franchising with Jack in the Box and Culver’s.

At Jack in the Box, we work with our franchisees every step of the way to get their restaurants up and running.

Here are some additional online resources you may like to check out:

• 5 Reasons to Buy a Burger Franchise
• How Much Does a Jack in the Box Franchise Cost?
• Burger Franchise vs Chicken Franchise: Everything You Need to Know

If you have any questions, please contact our franchise sales & support team.