15 Franchises You Can Start for Less Than $200k

The beauty of owning a franchise is that it lets you open a business without doing the hard work of building a brand — but in most cases, you’ll pay handsomely for the privilege of repping someone else’s name and logo. If you want to jump on the brand McDonald’s built, for example, you’ll need at least “$500,000 of unencumbered liquid assets,” but total startup costs range from $1,008,000 to $2,214,080. Piece of cake, right?

McDonald’s is a giant with giant franchise price tags, but you can start your own business with one of these low-cost franchises instead — and many of them are household names. GOBankingRates rounded up franchises that require $200,000 or less in liquid assets, according to Franchise Direct, a company that helps potential franchisees find business opportunities.

Wayback Burgers

Liquid assets required: $125,000

Wayback Burgers operates in 30 states and has over 160 franchises currently operating worldwide with more than 500 others contracted out.

You too can be part of the success of Wayback Burgers — a burger joint that’s been in operation since 1991. Generally, the operating costs to start a franchise are between $350,000 and $450,000.