Fast food price insights
What the drive-thru really costs: prices from 212 fast food restaurants in New Zealand across 2 chains, checked 2026-10-05. 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 New Zealand dollars.
Key findings
- KFC has the biggest price gap between locations: its priciest restaurant charges 9% more than its cheapest for the same basket. Burger King has the smallest gap, 0%.
- Auckland, AUK is the biggest cluster of bargain fast food in New Zealand: 20 of its 34 restaurants rank in their brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
- Canterbury is the cheapest region for fast food overall (Drive Thru Index 100, where 100 is the national typical price) and Bay of Plenty the most expensive (101), averaging each brand against its own national prices.
- A Burger King Whopper costs $9.80 at every one of its 77 restaurants in New Zealand: the brand charges one price nationwide.
- A KFC Zinger Burger costs anywhere from $9.99 to $10.99 across 124 restaurants in New Zealand; the typical price is $9.99.
- Wellington is the cheapest region for KFC and Bay of Plenty the priciest, comparing the same basket of 4 items at 124 restaurants.
- For KFC, Auckland, AUK has the most bargain restaurants: 20 of 34 are in the brand's cheapest fifth nationally.
The scoop
KFC has the biggest price gapKFC is the only brand here with real movement: its priciest store is 9% above its cheapest. The basket runs from $29.26 in Blenheim, MBH to $31.86 in Christchurch, CAN.
Burger King goes national-price neatBurger King is priced the same at all 77 stores compared. Its basket is $29.30 everywhere, and the WHOPPER® is $9.80 everywhere.
Popeyes keeps it perfectly steadyPopeyes is also identical across all 11 stores compared. Its basket is $28.10 everywhere, with The Chicken Sandwich at $11.90 everywhere.
KFC is everywhere on this mapKFC has the biggest footprint, with 124 restaurants compared. Burger King follows with 77, while Popeyes has 11.
Auckland mall joins KFC’s top tierAmong KFC’s priciest sites is a mall site in Auckland, AUK at $31.86. The Zinger Burger ranges from $9.99 to $10.99 across the country.
Cheapest to most expensive regions
Each region'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 | Region | Index | vs national | Brands | Restaurants compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canterbury | 100 | +0% | 2 | 26 |
| 2 | Auckland | 100 | +0% | 2 | 71 |
| 3 | Waikato | 100 | +0% | 2 | 24 |
| 4 | Wellington | 100 | +0% | 2 | 17 |
| 5 | Bay of Plenty | 101 | +1% | 2 | 17 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland, AUK | 20 | 34 | 59% |
| Christchurch, CAN | 5 | 9 | 56% |
| West Auckland, AUK | 4 | 5 | 80% |
| Hamilton, WKO | 4 | 6 | 67% |
| Papatoetoe, AUK | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| Brand | Top bargain cities | Top bargain regions |
|---|---|---|
| Burger King | — | AUK (25 of 25), CAN (12 of 12), WKO (10 of 10) |
| KFC | Auckland, AUK (20 of 34), Christchurch, CAN (5 of 9), West Auckland, AUK (4 of 5) | AUK (26 of 46), WKO (12 of 14), CAN (10 of 14) |
By brand
| Brand | Restaurants | Item | Typical price | Range | Cheapest region | Priciest region | Gap between locations | Delivery vs pickup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burger King | 77 | Whopper | $9.80 | $9.80 to $9.80 | Canterbury | Wellington | 0% | — |
| KFC | 124 | Zinger Burger | $9.99 | $9.99 to $10.99 | Wellington | Bay of Plenty | 9% | — |
Questions people ask
- How much does a Burger King Whopper cost in New Zealand?
- As of 2026-10-05, a Whopper costs $9.80 at all 77 Burger King restaurants.
- How much does a KFC Zinger Burger cost in New Zealand?
- As of 2026-10-05, a Zinger Burger costs $9.99 to $10.99 at 124 KFC restaurants, with a typical price of $9.99.
- Where is KFC cheapest in New Zealand?
- Wellington has the cheapest typical KFC basket and Bay of Plenty the most expensive (Drive Thru Index, 2026-10-05). The single cheapest restaurant is in Lower Hutt, WGN.
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 2026-10-05. Journalists are welcome to quote any figure on this page.