Head to head · QSR / Fast Food✓ VERIFIED · 2026-07-12
Popeyes vs Subway: units, growth & AI adoption
Popeyes leads on AI adoption (62/100 vs 58/100), while Subway is the larger system by unit count (36,000+ vs 4,800+). Popeyes is growing faster year-over-year (+5.6%). Data verified Q3 2026.
| Metric | Popeyes | Subway |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | QSR / Fast Food | QSR / Fast Food |
| Headquarters | USA | USA |
| Units (approx.) | 4,800+ | 36,000+ ◂ |
| Unit growth YoY | +5.6% ◂ | +1.1% |
| AI Adoption Score | 62/100 ◂ | 58/100 |
| Operations AI | 60 ◂ | 55 |
| Marketing AI | 68 ◂ | 66 |
| Training AI | 54 ◂ | 52 |
| Data infrastructure | 64 ◂ | 59 |
| Region | North America | North America |
| Index rank | #26 ◂ | #31 |
Popeyes
Fast-growing RBI chicken brand expanding aggressively in Asia; AI adoption inherited from RBI platforms, strongest in digital ordering.
FULL POPEYES 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