McDonald’s vs. Wendy’s vs. Popeyes vs. Burger King: Which value meal is the best bargain? (2024)

Begun, the Value Meal Wars have. And while the consumer is the true winner here in the ultimate battle between fast food chains to offer a discount value meal, they’re not all made equal. In fact, some aren’t necessarily big discounts at all. So with McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and more all offering a discount value meal, we here at Guilty Eats decided the best thing to do was pit them all against each other, in order to discover which is, indeed, the best bargain.

With that in mind, we broke each value meal down in a few different ways: first, what is actually in the Value Meal (or your choices); second, how much it costs a la carte, i.e. if you bought the items individually; and third, what your total savings are, pre-tax, tip, etc.

One very important note here is that prices will vary by location. And in fact, I’m located in New York, which is insanely expensive compared to other cities, even when it comes to fast food prices. So with that in mind, I would recommend checking your local chain’s prices to make sure these match up. And if not, take it as more of a relative scale - meaning the costs are all relative to each other, most likely, regardless of your location.

…Which means when we choose the ultimate winner at the end, just know that even at New York prices, it’s probably the winner near you, too.

Caveats out of the way, let’s get into it. Which chain reigns supreme, at least for now, when it comes to the Value Meal Wars?

McDonald’s vs. Wendy’s vs. Popeyes vs. Burger King: Which value meal is the best bargain? (1)

What’s In It? A McDouble, or a McChicken sandwich (your choice); a small order of fries; a four-piece Chicken McNuggets; and a small soft drink (your choice).

How Much Does It Cost A La Carte?

  • McDouble: $4.69
  • McChicken: $4.19
  • Fries (small): $2.87
  • Chicken McNuggets: $3.88
  • Soft Drink (small): $1.79

Total Savings: The meal with the McDouble would otherwise cost $13.23; with the McChicken, $12.73. So you’re either saving $8.23, or $7.73.

Wendy’s $5 Biggie Bag

McDonald’s vs. Wendy’s vs. Popeyes vs. Burger King: Which value meal is the best bargain? (2)

What’s In It? A Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, or a Crispy Chicken Sandwich (your choice); a four-piece Chicken Nuggets; a small soft drink (your choice). Until June 30, 2024, you can also get the $5 Biggie Bag with a free Frosty.

How Much Does It Cost A La Carte?

  • Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger: $3.69
  • Crispy Chicken Sandwich: $2.59
  • 4 pc Crispy Chicken Nuggets: $2.29
  • Soft Drink (small): $3.19
  • Frosty: $1.79

Total Savings: With the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and the Frosty, you save $6.26. With the Crispy Chicken Sandwich and the Frosty, you save $4.86.

After the Frosty deal is done, the Biggie Bag will continue, so: with the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, you save $4.47. With the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, you save $3.07.

McDonald’s vs. Wendy’s vs. Popeyes vs. Burger King: Which value meal is the best bargain? (3)

What’s In It? Two pieces of signature chicken, two sides, one buttermilk biscuit.

How Much Does It Cost A La Carte?

This one is difficult to nail down for a variety of reasons, including my local Popeyes doesn’t sell the Big Box meal. It also doesn’t sell individual pieces of chicken, and sides vary in price.

Working backwards, a buttermilk biscuit is $1.99. Sides range from $4.99, to $5.49 (for the Mac & Cheese). As for the chicken, the closest I’m going to get here is the 8pc Signature Chicken, which costs $24.99. Dividing that by four, let’s say two pieces of chicken costs approximately $6.25.

  • Two piece signature chicken: $6.25 (approx.)
  • Two sides: $9.98 (approx. assuming you don’t get mac and cheese)
  • Buttermilk biscuit: $1.99

Total Savings: $13.22 (again, approximately)

Burger King $5 Your Way Meal

What’s In It? Whopper Jr., Bacon Cheeseburger, or Chicken Jr. (your choice); fries; four-piece chicken nuggets; soft drink (your choice).

How Much Does It Cost A La Carte?

Okay, a couple of notes here. My local Burger King doesn’t serve the Chicken Jr. so I’m working off BurgerKingMenus dot com for info. Additionally, the offer doesn’t state what size fries or drink… My local BK only serves medium and large, so I’m defaulting to medium (even though I expect it’s actually small). And they also don’t serve four piece nuggets a la carte, so I’m halving the price of an 8 piece nuggets ($4.29).

  • Whopper Jr.: $5.89
  • Bacon Cheeseburger: $4.08
  • Chicken Jr.: $2.99
  • Fries (medium): $5.49
  • Chicken Nuggets (4 pc): $2.15
  • Soft Drink (medium): $3.99

Total Savings: With the Whopper Jr., it’s a savings of $12.52. With the Bacon Cheeseburger, it’s $10.71. With the Chicken Jr., it’s $9.62.

Hope you love that chicken from Popeyes, because despite offering a $6.99 box instead of the $5 box, you’re still saving an approximate $13.22, at least at New York prices.

Burger King’s Whopper. Jr. $5 Your Way Deal saves you $12.52, bringing it to a relative close second.

As for the worst value? Even with the free Frosty, Wendy’s is the least bang for your buck at any iteration of their value meal. That said, one could argue they have relatively low prices anyway, meaning whether you’re getting the Biggie Bag or not, you’re still sort of saving money.

Regardless, the real winner here? It’s you, as the chains fight to get your loyalty with actually affordable prices. Keep it up, chains.

Next. Taco Bell Tuesday Deals for June 18, 2024: Free Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme, more. Taco Bell Tuesday Deals for June 18, 2024: Free Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme, more. dark

McDonald’s vs. Wendy’s vs. Popeyes vs. Burger King: Which value meal is the best bargain? (2024)

FAQs

Which is cheaper McDonald's or Burger King? ›

Other menu items also slightly vary in price, with Burger King's chicken sandwich costing $4.79 compared to McDonald's $4.29, and a large portion of fries costing $2.99 at BK compared to Mickey D's $3.99. As a whole, it appears as though McDonald's is the cheaper option.

Which is more expensive Burger King or Wendy's? ›

We are 95% confident that the average menu price difference between Wendy's and Burger King is between $0.0662 and $0.5618. At the 95% confidence level, the difference between the mean prices is between 0.0062 and 0.5618.

Who is worth more McDonald's or Burger King? ›

Burger King's brand is ranked #- in the list of Global Top 1000 Brands, as rated by customers of Burger King. Their current valuation is $23.87B. McDonald's's brand is ranked #85 in the list of Global Top 100 Brands, as rated by customers of McDonald's. Their current valuation is $167.91B.

Who has more sales McDonald's or Burger King? ›

The Top 10 Fast-Food Restaurants by Sales in America

McDonald's: $37 billion in system-wide U.S. sales. Starbucks: $13 billion in system-wide U.S. sales. Subway: $10.8 billion in system-wide U.S. sales. Burger King: $10 billion in system-wide U.S. sales.

What is the $5 meal deal at McDonald's? ›

The $5 bundle includes four items: the choice of a McChicken or McDouble, a four-piece chicken nuggets, fries and a drink. “We heard our fans loud and clear — they're looking for even more great value from us, and this summer that's exactly what they'll get,” Erlinger said in the release.

Is a Whopper or Big Mac better? ›

The Big Mac was at a major disadvantage in this taste test because of the overpowering amount of special sauce. But even if there was less sauce on my Big Mac, it still wouldn't have won. McDonald's dry, small patties are simply no match for the flavorful and juicy grilled patties that Burger King uses.

What is the most sold item at Burger King? ›

The Whopper is their signature flame-grilled beef burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, and mayo on a sesame bun. It has been the flagship sandwich of Burger King since 1957 and remains a top seller worldwide. Burger King sells approximately 2.1 billion Whoppers per day in about 100 countries.

What fast-food is worth the most? ›

McDonald's

What is the most expensive thing on Wendy's menu? ›

The Big Bacon Triple Classic is the most expensive item on the Wendy's menu. It features three hamburger patties, applewood smoked bacon, cheese, pickles, sweet onions, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mayo, pickles…and a week's worth of fat and cholesterol. This behemoth burger costs $8.99.

Do people prefer McDonald's or Burger King? ›

Burger King has a better Google star ranking in 23 states, than McDonald's. McDonald's only has a higher Google star ranking than Burger King in 19 states. Each burger chain is tied for eight of those states. Not surprisingly the national average rating it only 3.5 stars over all for both burger chains.

Is Burger King more popular than Wendy's? ›

Wendy's has just over 6,000 stores, while Burger King is slightly larger with nearly 6,800 locations at the end of 2023. Despite having fewer locations, Wendy's beat Burger King in sales. In 2023, the former sold $12.3 billion worth of fast meals to American eaters, while the latter reported just $11.5 billion.

What is the number one fast food chain in the United States? ›

McDonald's position as the top restaurant chain in the United States has been consistent since Technomic started their annual report.

What is the most sold food in McDonald's? ›

#1: French fries

It probably doesn't come as a surprise to learn that these delicious slices of golden goodness are the all-time bestseller. They've been a staple of McDonald's since its very first menu, and people have been asking for fries with that—or just fries—ever since.

Who is older, Burger King or McDonald's? ›

McDonald's and Burger King started in the franchise food business in 1955 and 1954, respectively. 12 McDonald's has always been the larger company, but each firm has unquestionably influenced the other throughout their six-decade-plus rivalry.

Who makes more money, Chick-fil-A or McDonald's? ›

The brand generated nearly $19 billion in systemwide sales. Chick-fil-A generated $18.814 billion in U.S. sales across 2022, a figure that trailed only McDonald's ($48.7 billion) and Starbucks ($28.1 billion) and illustrated what's been one of the industry's fastest climbs.

Is McDonald's more expensive now? ›

Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald's USA, said in an open letter Wednesday that the average price of McDonald's menu items is up around 40% since 2019. The breakdown comes in response to claims on social media from House Republicans, among others, that the fast-food company upped prices by more than 100%.

What makes McDonald's better than Burger King? ›

McDonald's menu provides healthier options and serves better coffee and soft drinks than Burger King's. Though both brands are serving various common products on their menu, there are significant differences in their tastes.

Why is Burger King selling burgers for 37 cents? ›

Burger King is taking the cost of the Whopper back to its original 1957 price tag – a whopping 37 cents. The deal, available Friday and Saturday, is in honor of the chain's 64th birthday.

Why is Burger King meat so cheap? ›

One of the reasons why Burger King's items are so cheap is the company's ability to buy ingredients in bulk, thus ensuring huge discounts. Since nobody wants to lose a client as big as Burger King, the franchise has huge negotiation power when it comes to prices (via Restaurant Engine).

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Frankie Dare

Last Updated:

Views: 6105

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (73 voted)

Reviews: 88% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Frankie Dare

Birthday: 2000-01-27

Address: Suite 313 45115 Caridad Freeway, Port Barabaraville, MS 66713

Phone: +3769542039359

Job: Sales Manager

Hobby: Baton twirling, Stand-up comedy, Leather crafting, Rugby, tabletop games, Jigsaw puzzles, Air sports

Introduction: My name is Frankie Dare, I am a funny, beautiful, proud, fair, pleasant, cheerful, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.