Every year, Entrepreneur Magazine releases a ranking of the best franchising opportunities for both existing and aspiring business owners. And in 2018, the publication says that the Franchise 500 is one of its most comprehensive lists ever.

2018 marks the 39^th year that Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 has been published. What makes this year more competitive than most is the fact that for the first time in 25 years, more than 1,000 companies applied to be a part of the list. For entrepreneurs looking to buy a franchise, that means that there’s no shortage of options out there to consider. For brands that made the list, it means that they stood out among fierce competitors to earn a spot.

To determine the ranking of the industry’s top 500 opportunities, Entrepreneur uses a proprietary ranking formula. Factors that are taken into consideration are costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength and financial strength and stability. Data to support those five pillars started being collected in July of 2017, when the publication asked franchisors to fill out its submission form and provide their current Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Those 1,023 submissions were then vetted by the publication’s editorial team.

McDonald’s earned the top spot on this year’s Franchise 500, with 7-Eleven, Inc., Dunkin’ Donuts, The UPS Store and RE/MAX LLC rounding out the top five. Sonic Drive-In Restaurants, Great Clips, Taco Bell, Hardee’s and Sport Clips then completed the top 10.

To read the full list and learn more about how the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list is ranked, please visit https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500/2018.