Nugget Watch
Chicken nuggets are the one thing nearly every chain sells, in packs with the count on the box. So here is the one fair fight in fast food: what a single nugget costs at each brand.
Pickup prices at 183 restaurants in Italy, checked . Prices are in euros.
Key findings
- Popeyes has the cheapest nuggets in Italy: its 9-piece pack is typically €4.99, 55¢ a nugget.
- KFC has the priciest: 70¢ a nugget even in its best-value pack (9 pieces, typically €6.30).
- At KFC, buying 9 instead of 4 cuts the price per nugget by 20% (88¢ down to 70¢).
Price per nugget, cheapest first
Each brand's best-value pack: the one with the lowest typical price per nugget.
| Rank | Brand | Best-value pack | Typical price | Per nugget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Popeyes | 9 Nuggets | €4.99 | 55¢ |
| 2 | KFC | 9 nuggets + 1 salsa | €6.30 | 70¢ |
Every pack size
| Brand | Pack | Typical | Range | Per nugget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Popeyes | 3 Crispy Nuggets | €2.49 | €2.49 to €2.49 | 83¢ |
| Popeyes | 4 Nuggets Crispy | €3.49 | €3.49 to €3.49 | 87¢ |
| Popeyes | 6 Crispy Nuggets | €4.80 | €4.80 to €4.80 | 80¢ |
| Popeyes | 8 Crispy Nuggets | €7.50 | €7.30 to €7.50 | 94¢ |
| Popeyes | 9 Nuggets | €4.99 | €4.99 to €4.99 | 55¢ |
| Popeyes | 20 Nuggets Croccanti | €14.50 | €13.30 to €14.50 | 72¢ |
| KFC | 4 Nuggets Original | €3.50 | €2.90 to €4.60 | 88¢ |
| KFC | 6 nuggets + 1 salsa | €4.80 | €4.50 to €6.50 | 80¢ |
| KFC | 9 nuggets + 1 salsa | €6.30 | €6.30 to €8.30 | 70¢ |
Questions people ask
- Who has the cheapest chicken nuggets?
- Popeyes, at 55¢ a nugget in its 9-piece pack (typical price €4.99, Drive Thru Index, 2026-10-05).
How Nugget Watch works
We read every restaurant's menu from its own ordering app each day and pick out each brand's plain nugget packs by the count in the name (not spicy, grilled or meal versions). The typical price is the median restaurant; price per nugget divides it by the count. Unlike our baskets, nuggets are close enough across brands to compare, though sizes and recipes differ.
Citing this data: Source: Drive Thru Index (https://drivethruindex.com/it/nuggets), prices checked 2026-10-05. You are welcome to quote any figure on this page.