Head to head · QSR / Coffee & Bakery✓ VERIFIED · 2026-07-12
Krispy Kreme vs Subway: units, growth & AI adoption
Subway leads on AI adoption (58/100 vs 52/100), while Subway is the larger system by unit count (36,000+ vs 14,000 points). Krispy Kreme is growing faster year-over-year (+2.5%). Data verified Q3 2026.
| Metric | Krispy Kreme | Subway |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | QSR / Coffee & Bakery | QSR / Fast Food |
| Headquarters | USA | USA |
| Units (approx.) | 14,000 points | 36,000+ ◂ |
| Unit growth YoY | +2.5% ◂ | +1.1% |
| AI Adoption Score | 52/100 | 58/100 ◂ |
| Operations AI | 54 | 55 ◂ |
| Marketing AI | 56 | 66 ◂ |
| Training AI | 42 | 52 ◂ |
| Data infrastructure | 54 | 59 ◂ |
| Region | North America | North America |
| Index rank | #41 | #31 ◂ |
Krispy Kreme
Hub-and-spoke fresh-delivery model; AI used in production planning and delivery routing for its points-of-access network.
FULL KRISPY KREME PROFILE →Subway
One of the most-franchised brands globally, mid-pack on AI adoption: digital ordering and loyalty personalization are live, unit-level AI operations tooling is still limited.
FULL SUBWAY PROFILE →Franchise Intelligence Index
Compare every tracked system — full benchmarks, updated quarterly.
SOURCE: FRANCHISEPULSE FRANCHISE INTELLIGENCE INDEX, Q3 2026 · FREE TO CITE WITH ATTRIBUTION + LINK