Veröffentlicht am 2026-10-05
South Korean fast food chains charge almost the same everywhere, unlike America
As fast food pricing becomes more data-driven, Drive Thru Index compared what three chains charge at each of their own restaurants in South Korea, on 5 October 2026. The gap between a chain's cheapest and most expensive restaurant is at most 4%; in the US, the price of a McDonald's Big Mac varies by 125%.
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Die wichtigsten Fakten
- BBQ Chicken Golden Olive Chicken: ₩23,000 to ₩24,000A 4% spread across 1,886 restaurants; 98% charge ₩23,000.
- Lotteria: ₩5,100 for the Bulgogi burger at all 1,229 restaurantsThe same basket of six items costs ₩36,400 at every one.
- KFC: ₩6,800 for the Zinger burger at all 256 restaurantsThe same basket of six items costs ₩45,100 at every one.
- Big Mac in the US: 125% from the cheapest restaurant to the dearestAcross 13,649 McDonald's restaurants; percentages only, prices are never converted.
Fast food chains are collecting more and more data about their customers through mobile apps and loyalty programmes: accounts with their details, and what they order and when. They are also experimenting with AI and data-driven pricing. Meanwhile the same item can cost very different amounts from one restaurant to the next, and customers cannot see why. Drive Thru Index publishes every restaurant's real price, every day, so anyone can check.
Across its 1,886 restaurants, BBQ Chicken's Golden Olive Chicken costs from ₩23,000 (1850 restaurants) to ₩24,000 (36 restaurants): the most expensive charges 4% more than the cheapest, and 98% charge the typical ₩23,000. The same basket of four items costs from ₩31,500 to ₩32,500, a spread of 3%.
Every one of Lotteria's 1,229 restaurants charges ₩5,100 for the Bulgogi burger. The same basket of six items costs ₩36,400 at every one of them.
Every one of KFC's 256 restaurants charges ₩6,800 for the Zinger burger. The same basket of six items costs ₩45,100 at every one of them.
In the US, by contrast, the most expensive ordinary McDonald's charges 125% more for a Big Mac than the cheapest, across 13,649 restaurants. Only the percentages are compared: prices are never converted between currencies.
Anthony Gherghetta, an Australian software developer who built Drive Thru Index, started it after reading some of the buzz about AI being used to set fast food prices: he wanted to see whether it was true, and how big the price differences between restaurants really were. Prices bear out the contrast he noticed. In Australia, 97% of McDonald's restaurants charge within 10% of the typical Big Mac price; in the US, 53% do. The gap between the cheapest and the dearest tenth of restaurants is 10% of the typical price in Australia and 33% in the US. In KR, 100% of BBQ Chicken locations, the biggest chain tracked there, charge within 10% of its typical Golden Olive Chicken price.
“I kept reading that fast food chains were starting to use AI and customer data to set prices, so I wanted to see if it was true and how big the differences really were. In Australia, where I’m from, a Big Mac costs much the same wherever you buy it. In the US the price changes from one restaurant to the next. Fast food apps now know what you order, when and where, but customers can’t see how prices are set. So I built Drive Thru Index to check every restaurant, every day,” said Gherghetta.
Zitierfähige Sätze
BBQ Chicken's Golden Olive Chicken costs 4% more at its most expensive restaurant in South Korea than at its cheapest.
Every Lotteria restaurant in South Korea charges ₩5,100 for the Bulgogi burger.
Every KFC restaurant in South Korea charges ₩6,800 for the Zinger burger.
Bilder
Die Fakten hinter der Mitteilung
Jede Zahl stammt aus unseren Preisen vom 2026-10-05, jeweils mit der Seite dieser Website, auf der sie zu finden ist.
| Kennzahl | Wert | Zu finden auf |
|---|---|---|
| BBQ Chicken Golden Olive Chicken: ₩23,000 to ₩24,000 | A 4% spread across 1,886 restaurants; 98% charge ₩23,000. | Zur Seite |
| Lotteria: ₩5,100 for the Bulgogi burger at all 1,229 restaurants | The same basket of six items costs ₩36,400 at every one. | Zur Seite |
| KFC: ₩6,800 for the Zinger burger at all 256 restaurants | The same basket of six items costs ₩45,100 at every one. | Zur Seite |
| Big Mac in the US: 125% from the cheapest restaurant to the dearest | Across 13,649 McDonald's restaurants; percentages only, prices are never converted. | Zur Seite |
| BBQ Chicken Golden Olive Chicken, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | ₩23,000 (1.850) | 가평군, Gyeonggi |
| BBQ Chicken Golden Olive Chicken, am teuersten (Restaurants) | ₩24,000 (36) | 서귀포시, Jeju |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | ₩32,500 (32) | 서귀포시, Jeju |
| Lotteria Bulgogi burger, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | ₩5,100 (1.229) | 가평군, Gyeonggi |
| Lotteria Bulgogi burger, am teuersten (Restaurants) | ₩5,100 (1.229) | 가평군, Gyeonggi |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | ₩36,400 (1.125) | 가평군, Gyeonggi |
| KFC Zinger burger, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | ₩6,800 (256) | 강남구, Seoul |
| KFC Zinger burger, am teuersten (Restaurants) | ₩6,800 (256) | 강남구, Seoul |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | ₩45,100 (256) | 강남구, Seoul |
Methodik, über uns und Kontakt
Drive Thru Index reads every restaurant's menu from each chain's own ordering app every day; these are the latest pickup prices collected on or before 5 October 2026, in South Korean won. A chain's spread is how much more its most expensive restaurant charges than its cheapest, as a share of the cheapest price, for its signature item and for the same basket of items; chains with fewer than 5 restaurants priced are left out. Airports, stadiums and similar sites are left out, and so are prices below 40% or above 250% of a chain's typical price, which are almost always menu errors. Each chain is compared only with itself, and another country is compared by percentages alone: prices are never converted between currencies.
About Drive Thru Index: Drive Thru Index (drivethruindex.com) publishes the menu price of every item at every restaurant of the biggest fast food brands, collected each day from the chains' own ordering apps. As pricing becomes more data-driven, it exists so that customers can see what each restaurant really charges and how it compares with others nearby. It covers the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Mexico and the Netherlands. Brands are only compared with themselves, and prices are never converted between currencies. Its figures are free to quote with attribution: "Source: Drive Thru Index".
The images with this release are free to use with the credit "Image: Drive Thru Index (drivethruindex.com)".
Media contact: anthony@drivethruindex.com
Hintergrundquellen
Nicht Teil der Mitteilung: Berichte, die die eine Zeile Kontext darin belegen, für Rückfragen von Journalistinnen und Journalisten.
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Wendy's told investors it would test dynamic and AI-enabled pricing on digital menu boards from 2025, then said after a backlash that it would not raise prices at the busiest times (the intro's experiments with data-driven pricing). - Inside McDonald's push to have AI price your Big Mac CNBC, 2026-09-29
Reports a Reuters investigation into an AI tool that recommends menu prices to McDonald's restaurants; McDonald's says franchisees remain free to set their own prices. Not quoted in the release text; the page could not be fetched to check its wording, only its search listing.