Fast food price insights
What the drive-thru really costs: prices from 3,375 fast food restaurants in South Korea across 3 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 South Korean won.
Key findings
- BBQ Chicken has the biggest price gap between locations: its priciest restaurant charges 3% more than its cheapest for the same basket. KFC has the smallest gap, 0%.
- 수원시, 41 is the biggest cluster of bargain fast food in South Korea: 72 of its 72 restaurants rank in their brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- Seoul is the cheapest province or metropolitan city for fast food overall (Drive Thru Index 100, where 100 is the national typical price) and Jeju the most expensive (101), averaging each brand against its own national prices.
- A KFC Zinger burger costs ₩6,800 at every one of its 256 restaurants in South Korea: the brand charges one price nationwide.
- A BBQ Chicken Golden Olive Chicken costs anywhere from ₩23,000 to ₩24,000 across 1,886 restaurants in South Korea; the typical price is ₩23,000.
- Gyeonggi is the cheapest province or metropolitan city for BBQ Chicken and Jeju the priciest, comparing the same basket of 4 items at 1,655 restaurants.
- A Lotteria Bulgogi burger costs ₩5,100 at every one of its 1,233 restaurants in South Korea: the brand charges one price nationwide.
- For KFC, 고양시, 41 has the most bargain restaurants: 9 of 9 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- For BBQ Chicken, 수원시, 41 has the most bargain restaurants: 41 of 41 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- For Lotteria, 창원시, 48 has the most bargain restaurants: 29 of 29 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
Cheapest to most expensive provinces and metropolitan cities
Each province or metropolitan city'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 | Province or metropolitan city | Index | vs national | Brands | Restaurants compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seoul | 100 | +0% | 3 | 477 |
| 2 | Gangwon | 100 | +0% | 3 | 105 |
| 3 | Daegu | 100 | +0% | 3 | 155 |
| 4 | Gyeonggi | 100 | +0% | 3 | 827 |
| 5 | Busan | 100 | +0% | 3 | 170 |
| 6 | Gwangju | 100 | +0% | 3 | 90 |
| 7 | Incheon | 100 | +0% | 3 | 164 |
| 8 | South Gyeongsang | 100 | +0% | 3 | 191 |
| 9 | North Jeolla | 100 | +0% | 3 | 112 |
| 10 | South Chungcheong | 100 | +0% | 3 | 144 |
| 11 | Daejeon | 100 | +0% | 3 | 93 |
| 12 | North Gyeongsang | 100 | +0% | 3 | 158 |
| 13 | South Jeolla | 100 | +0% | 2 | 111 |
| 14 | North Chungcheong | 100 | +0% | 2 | 100 |
| 15 | Ulsan | 100 | +0% | 2 | 64 |
| 16 | Sejong | 100 | +0% | 2 | 20 |
| 17 | Jeju | 101 | +1% | 3 | 51 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 수원시, 41 | 72 | 72 | 100% |
| 창원시, 48 | 69 | 69 | 100% |
| 용인시, 41 | 68 | 68 | 100% |
| 고양시, 41 | 59 | 59 | 100% |
| 화성시, 41 | 58 | 58 | 100% |
| Brand | Top bargain cities | Top bargain provinces and metropolitan cities |
|---|---|---|
| KFC | 고양시, 41 (9 of 9), 서초구, 11 (8 of 8), 용인시, 41 (8 of 8) | 41 (79 of 79), 11 (76 of 76), 28 (17 of 17) |
| BBQ Chicken | 수원시, 41 (41 of 41), 용인시, 41 (40 of 40), 창원시, 48 (37 of 37) | 41 (453 of 453), 11 (247 of 247), 48 (106 of 106) |
| Lotteria | 창원시, 48 (29 of 29), 수원시, 41 (24 of 24), 화성시, 41 (24 of 24) | 41 (295 of 295), 11 (154 of 154), 48 (77 of 77) |
By brand
| Brand | Restaurants | Item | Typical price | Range | Cheapest province or metropolitan city | Priciest province or metropolitan city | Gap between locations | Delivery vs pickup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KFC | 256 | Zinger burger | ₩6,800 | ₩6,800 to ₩6,800 | Seoul | North Gyeongsang | 0% | — |
| BBQ Chicken | 1,886 | Golden Olive Chicken | ₩23,000 | ₩23,000 to ₩24,000 | Gyeonggi | Jeju | 3% | — |
| Lotteria | 1,233 | Bulgogi burger | ₩5,100 | ₩5,100 to ₩5,100 | Seoul | Jeju | 0% | — |
Questions people ask
- How much does a KFC Zinger burger cost in South Korea?
- As of 2026-10-04, a Zinger burger costs ₩6,800 at all 256 KFC restaurants.
- How much does a BBQ Chicken Golden Olive Chicken cost in South Korea?
- As of 2026-10-04, a Golden Olive Chicken costs ₩23,000 to ₩24,000 at 1,886 BBQ Chicken restaurants, with a typical price of ₩23,000.
- Where is BBQ Chicken cheapest in South Korea?
- Gyeonggi has the cheapest typical BBQ Chicken basket and Jeju the most expensive (Drive Thru Index, 2026-10-04). The single cheapest restaurant is in 이천시, 41.
- How much does a Lotteria Bulgogi burger cost in South Korea?
- As of 2026-10-04, a Bulgogi burger costs ₩5,100 at all 1,233 Lotteria 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.