Crumbl Cookies vs Papa Murphy's

Crumbl Cookies is the stronger software-sales opportunity by a wide margin, and the advantage is structural. It wins on budget, TAM, and timing. Crumbl franchisees operate at an AUV of $1.14M with an investment ceiling of $1.47M—roughly double the high-end buildout cost of a Papa Murphy’s location. That unit-level economics gap means Crumbl operators can absorb a modern, multi-module tech stack (POS, marketing automation, scheduling) without the kind of pushback you’ll get from Papa Murphy’s owners watching every OpEx dollar. TAM is larger (1,101 units, 100% franchised) and, crucially, expanding at 4% YoY, so every quarter delivers net-new store openings that need software from day one. Papa Murphy’s base is not only smaller (1,014 total, 965 franchised) but shrinking at -3.6% YoY—you’re selling into a declining book of business where churn erodes your recurring revenue before you’ve even recouped acquisition cost.

The tradeoff is terrain, specifically competitive density. Crumbl’s high AUV and growth make it a prime target for every software vendor in QSR, so you’ll face entrenched incumbents and aggressive challengers for a slot in their approved-supplier stack. Papa Murphy’s, as a contracting brand, likely sees far less vendor attention, which could mean a softer initial land and lower feature-parity pressure. But that “easier” sale is a trap: the TAM is shrinking, franchisee willingness to invest in new tech is low, and the long-term revenue ceiling is capped by unit closures. For a vendor prioritizing scalable, recurring revenue, Crumbl’s crowded field is the right problem to have.

Verdict: Crumbl Cookies dominates on budget, TAM, and timing; Papa Murphy’s only offers a temporarily softer competitive entry that isn’t worth the shrinking upside.