Applebee's
The total investment to open a Applebee's franchise ranges from $349,200 to $2.2M. The initial franchise fee is $35,000.
What is the Applebee's franchise?
Applebee's is a sit down restaurant where customers can order meals and drinks. The estimated total initial investment is $349,200 to $2,170,000, and the initial franchise fee is $35,000.
Applebee's is headquartered in Birmingham, AL.
Loan Activity Score
55/100
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
Active Lenders
14
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Applebee's has 15 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 14 lenders made 17 loans to franchisees of Applebee's. PeerSense calculates Applebee's's score as 55 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
15 locations
$349,200 to $2.2M
$35,000
15
15 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
ModerateDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Applebee's
17
Total SBA loans
$979K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Applebee's
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Growing (10 to 24 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
17
Total Volume
$16.6M
Active Lenders
14
States
12
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for Applebee's based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
10.3% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
17 loans
Across 14 lenders
Lender Diversity
14 lenders
Avg 1.2 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Premium investment
$349,200 to $2,170,000 total
Applebee's: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
1993
4 approvals. The best year on record for Applebee's.
Top SBA State
Alabama
3 SBA financed Applebee's locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$979K
Median $480K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Applebee's unit.
Lender Concentration
35.3%
Moderately Spread
Share of Applebee's approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Applebee's's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 1993 (4 approvals). Operator density is highest in Alabama with 3 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $979K, with the median at $480K. Lender mix is moderately spread: the top three SBA lenders account for 35.3% of approvals. Meaningful choice exists, but specific lenders carry the brand.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$3,615
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
Applebee's, unit breakdown
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Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman