---
title: "The Best Fast Food Franchises to Buy in 2021"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/b2224728-f4c1-468a-9ece-f481c6067874
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/the-best-fast-food-franchises-to-buy-in-2021-2715143
category: "QSR"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "QSR"
published: 2021-03-03T15:10:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:26:30.011Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/d3ab38bf65f5278808a8e1892ee0e5d27121.jpg
---

# The Best Fast Food Franchises to Buy in 2021

**TL;DR:** Interest in franchising has grown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fast food industry continues to thrive as takeout and to-go ordering becomes the new standard. Fast food franchises have proven to be recession-resistant due to their fast-service and limited customer contact model.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2021-03-03. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/the-best-fast-food-franchises-to-buy-in-2021-2715143).*

## Story

Interest in franchising has grown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while the restaurant industry as a whole may be suffering, the fast food industry continues to thrive as takeout and to-go ordering becomes the new standard.

Known for fast-service and limited customer contact, fast food franchises have proven to be recession-resistant as the pandemic and high unemployment wear on. The perks of immediate brand recognition and quick startup timelines can make owning a fast food franchise an extremely lucrative venture.

Here are 10 of our favorite fast food franchises for 2021:

- Startup costs: $170,400–$377,355

- Units: 10+

- Startup costs: $254,000–$1.4 million

- Units: 859

- Startup costs: $200,000–$1.7 million

- Units: 13,125

- Startup costs: $1.4–$2.8 million

- Units: 24,394

- Units: 3,377

- Startup costs: $842,000–$1.7 million

- Startup costs: $1.2–$3.5 million

- Units: 3,525

- Startup costs: $571,000–$3 million

- Units: 7,400

- Startup costs: $262,663–$490,649

- Units: 70

- Startup costs: $314,985

- Units: Nearly 100

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- covid-19 pandemic (topic)
- franchising growth (topic)
- fast food industry (topic)
- recession resistance (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/the-best-fast-food-franchises-to-buy-in-2021-2715143). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/b2224728-f4c1-468a-9ece-f481c6067874).