Fast food price insights
What the drive-thru really costs: prices from 703 fast food restaurants in the UAE across 5 chains, checked 2026-10-04. Every figure below compares each restaurant's own pickup price from the brand's ordering app, so the numbers are what you would actually pay at the window.
Data as of . Updated daily. Prices are in UAE dirhams.
Key findings
- KFC has the biggest price gap between locations: its priciest restaurant charges 5% more than its cheapest for the same basket. Burger King has the smallest gap, 0%.
- Dubai, DU is the biggest cluster of bargain fast food in the UAE: 267 of its 267 restaurants rank in their brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- Dubai is the cheapest emirate for fast food overall (Drive Thru Index 100, where 100 is the national typical price) and Ajman the most expensive (100), averaging each brand against its own national prices.
- A Burger King Whopper costs anywhere from AED 24.00 to AED 25.00 across 103 restaurants in the UAE; the typical price is AED 24.00.
- Burger King charges about the same in every emirate: no emirate's typical basket is even 1% dearer than another's.
- A Domino's Pepperoni pizza (medium) costs anywhere from AED 39.90 to AED 44.00 across 83 restaurants in the UAE; the typical price is AED 39.90.
- Domino's charges about the same in every emirate: no emirate's typical basket is even 1% dearer than another's.
- A KFC Zinger costs anywhere from AED 19.00 to AED 21.00 across 236 restaurants in the UAE; the typical price is AED 19.00.
- KFC charges about the same in every emirate: no emirate's typical basket is even 1% dearer than another's.
- A Pizza Hut Pepperoni pizza (medium pan) costs AED 49.00 at every one of its 157 restaurants in the UAE: the brand charges one price nationwide.
- A Hardee's Super Star costs AED 30.00 at every one of its 106 restaurants in the UAE: the brand charges one price nationwide.
- For Burger King, Dubai, DU has the most bargain restaurants: 34 of 34 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- For Domino's, Dubai, DU has the most bargain restaurants: 34 of 34 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- For KFC, Dubai, DU has the most bargain restaurants: 93 of 93 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- For Pizza Hut, Dubai, DU has the most bargain restaurants: 67 of 67 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- For Hardee's, Dubai, DU has the most bargain restaurants: 39 of 39 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
Cheapest to most expensive emirates
Each emirate's Drive Thru Index score averages every brand's typical basket there against that brand's own national typical price, so 100 is the national norm, 90 is 10% cheaper and 120 is 20% pricier. Brands are never compared with each other.
| Rank | Emirate | Index | vs national | Brands | Restaurants compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dubai | 100 | +0% | 5 | 282 |
| 2 | Abu Dhabi | 100 | +0% | 5 | 219 |
| 3 | Sharjah | 100 | +0% | 5 | 93 |
| 4 | Ajman | 100 | +0% | 4 | 35 |
Bargain clusters
Where cheap fast food clusters: the places with the most restaurants whose basket ranks in their own brand's cheapest fifth nationally. Each brand is judged against itself, never against another brand's prices.
| City, all brands | Bargain restaurants | Restaurants compared | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai, DU | 267 | 267 | 100% |
| Abu Dhabi, AZ | 147 | 148 | 99% |
| Sharjah, SH | 85 | 85 | 100% |
| Al Ain, AZ | 49 | 49 | 100% |
| Ajman, AJ | 35 | 35 | 100% |
| Brand | Top bargain cities | Top bargain emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Burger King | Dubai, DU (34 of 34), Abu Dhabi, AZ (28 of 28), Sharjah, SH (11 of 11) | DU (42 of 42), AZ (41 of 41), SH (11 of 11) |
| Domino's | Dubai, DU (34 of 34), Abudhabi, AZ (16 of 16), Sharjah, SH (8 of 8) | DU (37 of 37), AZ (26 of 26) |
| KFC | Dubai, DU (93 of 93), Abu Dhabi, AZ (56 of 57), Sharjah, SH (31 of 31) | DU (97 of 97), AZ (71 of 72), SH (34 of 34) |
| Pizza Hut | Dubai, DU (67 of 67), Abu Dhabi, AZ (36 of 36), Sharjah, SH (20 of 20) | DU (67 of 67), AZ (48 of 48), SH (22 of 22) |
| Hardee's | Dubai, DU (39 of 39), Abu Dhabi, AZ (23 of 23), Sharjah, SH (15 of 15) | DU (39 of 39), AZ (32 of 32), SH (17 of 17) |
By brand
| Brand | Restaurants | Item | Typical price | Range | Cheapest emirate | Priciest emirate | Gap between locations | Delivery vs pickup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burger King | 103 | Whopper | AED 24.00 | AED 24.00 to AED 25.00 | Dubai | Sharjah | 0% | — |
| Domino's | 83 | Pepperoni pizza (medium) | AED 39.90 | AED 39.90 to AED 44.00 | Abu Dhabi | Dubai | 0% | — |
| KFC | 236 | Zinger | AED 19.00 | AED 19.00 to AED 21.00 | Sharjah | Fujairah | 5% | — |
| Pizza Hut | 157 | Pepperoni pizza (medium pan) | AED 49.00 | AED 49.00 to AED 49.00 | Ajman | Sharjah | 0% | — |
| Hardee's | 106 | Super Star | AED 30.00 | AED 30.00 to AED 30.00 | Abu Dhabi | Ajman | 1% | — |
Questions people ask
- How much does a Burger King Whopper cost in the UAE?
- As of 2026-10-04, a Whopper costs AED 24.00 to AED 25.00 at 103 Burger King restaurants, with a typical price of AED 24.00.
- How much does a Domino's Pepperoni pizza (medium) cost in the UAE?
- As of 2026-10-04, a Pepperoni pizza (medium) costs AED 39.90 to AED 44.00 at 83 Domino's restaurants, with a typical price of AED 39.90.
- How much does a KFC Zinger cost in the UAE?
- As of 2026-10-04, a Zinger costs AED 19.00 to AED 21.00 at 236 KFC restaurants, with a typical price of AED 19.00.
- How much does a Pizza Hut Pepperoni pizza (medium pan) cost in the UAE?
- As of 2026-10-04, a Pepperoni pizza (medium pan) costs AED 49.00 at all 157 Pizza Hut restaurants.
- How much does a Hardee's Super Star cost in the UAE?
- As of 2026-10-04, a Super Star costs AED 30.00 at all 106 Hardee's restaurants.
How the index works
Every day we check the menu at every US restaurant of each chain, using the same ordering app its customers use, and record each item's pickup and delivery price. Restaurants are compared on a basket of items that every full-menu restaurant of that brand sells, so a comparison is never skewed by a missing item. Restaurants with a limited menu, and prices that are clearly a menu code error, are left out of comparisons. "Typical" means the median restaurant.
Browse prices for every state and city or download states.csv and cities.csv.
Citing this data: Source: Drive Thru Index (https://drivethruindex.com), prices checked 2026-10-04. Journalists are welcome to quote any figure on this page.