Manhattan Bagel vs Papa Murphy's

Manhattan Bagel is the stronger opportunity right now, and it comes down to budget and timing. The average unit revenue of $751,812 gives each franchisee more cash flow to absorb a software investment than Papa Murphy’s $680,607 AUV. That 10% revenue gap per location translates directly into a healthier technology budget per store. On timing, Manhattan Bagel’s FDD is current for 2026, signaling an active, compliant franchise system that’s likely refreshing technology stacks now. Papa Murphy’s overdue 2024 filing raises a red flag about corporate attention and system-wide initiatives, making a coordinated software rollout harder to attach to.

The tradeoff is total addressable market. Papa Murphy’s 1,119 franchised units dwarf Manhattan Bagel’s 68, so the volume play is obvious. But volume means nothing if unit-level economics can’t support a deal and the franchisor isn’t driving modernization. Manhattan Bagel’s flat unit growth is actually a terrain advantage here—a stable, small network where a vendor can build deep reference accounts and potentially influence a system-wide standard without fighting through churn. Papa Murphy’s negative growth and lower AUV make each sale harder and each account stickier to retain.

Verdict: Manhattan Bagel’s richer unit economics and current FDD timing beat Papa Murphy’s scale, making it the higher-probability, higher-margin software target right now.