Published 2026-10-05
The same Ube Cake Batter Medium - 16oz costs $8.00 at one Washington, DC sweetFrog and $12.95 at another
As fast food pricing becomes more data-driven, Drive Thru Index compared the pickup prices of the same items at 474 restaurants of five chains in the Washington, DC area. Within each chain, prices for the same item differ by up to 62% from one restaurant to the next.
Data as of .
Key facts
- sweetFrog Ube Cake Batter Medium - 16oz: $8.00 to $12.95 (+62%)Cheapest restaurant in Smoketown, VA, most expensive in Falls Church, VA; median $9.00, 10% below sweetFrog's US median.
- Cold Stone Creamery Create Your Own (Like It): $6.09 to $8.89 (+46%)Cheapest restaurant in Alexandria, VA, most expensive in Dunkirk, MD; median $6.99, 4% above Cold Stone Creamery's US median.
- Dunkin' Medium Original Blend: $2.59 to $3.69 (+42%)Cheapest restaurant in Accokeek, MD, most expensive in Washington, DC; median $3.19, 3% above Dunkin' US median.
- McDonald's Big Mac: $5.79 to $7.89 (+36%)Cheapest restaurant in Sterling, VA, most expensive in Washington, DC; median $6.69, 12% above McDonald's US median.
- Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich: $4.99 to $6.79 (+36%)Cheapest restaurant in Washington, DC, most expensive in Arlington, VA; median $5.49, 5% below Popeyes' US median.
Fast food chains are collecting more and more data about their customers through mobile apps and loyalty programs: 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.
sweetFrog: a Ube Cake Batter Medium - 16oz costs $8.00 at the sweetFrog in Smoketown, VA and $12.95 at the sweetFrog in Falls Church, VA, $4.95 (62%) more. Across its 17 restaurants in the Washington, DC area, the median is $9.00, 10% below sweetFrog's US median of $10.00.
Cold Stone Creamery: a Create Your Own (Like It) costs $6.09 at three Cold Stone Creamery restaurants in Alexandria, VA, and Olney, MD and $8.89 at two Cold Stone Creamery restaurants in Dunkirk, MD, and Washington, DC, $2.80 (46%) more. Across its 30 restaurants in the Washington, DC area, the median is $6.99, 4% above Cold Stone Creamery's US median of $6.69.
Dunkin': a Medium Original Blend costs $2.59 at four Dunkin' restaurants in Accokeek, Clinton and Dunkirk, MD, and Washington, DC and $3.69 at the Dunkin' in Washington, DC, $1.10 (42%) more. Across its 158 restaurants in the Washington, DC area, the median is $3.19, 3% above Dunkin' US median of $3.09.
McDonald's: a Big Mac costs $5.79 at two McDonald's restaurants in Sterling, VA, and Waldorf, MD and $7.89 at two McDonald's restaurants in Washington, DC, $2.10 (36%) more. Across its 183 restaurants in the Washington, DC area, the median is $6.69, 12% above McDonald's US median of $5.99.
Popeyes: a Classic Chicken Sandwich costs $4.99 at six Popeyes restaurants in Washington, DC, Arlington, Falls Church and Herndon, VA, and Waldorf, MD and $6.79 at five Popeyes restaurants in Arlington, Springfield and Woodbridge, VA, and Hyattsville and Wheaton, MD, $1.80 (36%) more. Across its 86 restaurants in the Washington, DC area, the median is $5.49, 5% below Popeyes' US median of $5.79.
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.
“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.
Quotable lines
The same sweetFrog Ube Cake Batter Medium - 16oz costs $8.00 at one restaurant in Smoketown, VA but $12.95 at another in Falls Church, VA.
The same Cold Stone Creamery Create Your Own (Like It) costs $6.09 at one restaurant in Alexandria, VA but $8.89 at another in Dunkirk, MD.
The same Dunkin' Medium Original Blend costs $2.59 at one restaurant in Accokeek, MD but $3.69 at another in Washington, DC.
The same McDonald's Big Mac costs $5.79 at one restaurant in Sterling, VA but $7.89 at another in Washington, DC.
The same Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich costs $4.99 at one restaurant in Washington, DC but $6.79 at another in Arlington, VA.
Images
The facts behind the release
Every figure is from our prices of 2026-10-05, with the page on this site that shows it.
| Figure | Value | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| sweetFrog Ube Cake Batter Medium - 16oz: $8.00 to $12.95 (+62%) | Cheapest restaurant in Smoketown, VA, most expensive in Falls Church, VA; median $9.00, 10% below sweetFrog's US median. | See the page |
| Cold Stone Creamery Create Your Own (Like It): $6.09 to $8.89 (+46%) | Cheapest restaurant in Alexandria, VA, most expensive in Dunkirk, MD; median $6.99, 4% above Cold Stone Creamery's US median. | See the page |
| Dunkin' Medium Original Blend: $2.59 to $3.69 (+42%) | Cheapest restaurant in Accokeek, MD, most expensive in Washington, DC; median $3.19, 3% above Dunkin' US median. | See the page |
| McDonald's Big Mac: $5.79 to $7.89 (+36%) | Cheapest restaurant in Sterling, VA, most expensive in Washington, DC; median $6.69, 12% above McDonald's US median. | See the page |
| Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich: $4.99 to $6.79 (+36%) | Cheapest restaurant in Washington, DC, most expensive in Arlington, VA; median $5.49, 5% below Popeyes' US median. | See the page |
| Cheapest sweetFrog Ube Cake Batter Medium - 16oz (restaurants) | $8.00 (1) | Smoketown, VA |
| Most expensive sweetFrog Ube Cake Batter Medium - 16oz (restaurants) | $12.95 (1) | Falls Church, VA |
| Cheapest Cold Stone Creamery Create Your Own (Like It) (restaurants) | $6.09 (3) | Alexandria, VA, Alexandria, VA, Olney, MD |
| Most expensive Cold Stone Creamery Create Your Own (Like It) (restaurants) | $8.89 (2) | Dunkirk, MD, Washington, DC |
| Cheapest Dunkin' Medium Original Blend (restaurants) | $2.59 (4) | Accokeek, MD, Clinton, MD, Dunkirk, MD, Washington, DC |
| Most expensive Dunkin' Medium Original Blend (restaurants) | $3.69 (1) | Washington, DC |
| Cheapest McDonald's Big Mac (restaurants) | $5.79 (2) | Sterling, VA, Waldorf, MD |
| Most expensive McDonald's Big Mac (restaurants) | $7.89 (2) | Washington, DC, Washington, DC |
| Cheapest Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich (restaurants) | $4.99 (6) | Arlington, VA, Falls Church, VA, Herndon, VA, Waldorf, MD, Washington, DC, Washington, DC |
| Most expensive Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich (restaurants) | $6.79 (5) | Arlington, VA, Hyattsville, MD, Springfield, VA, Wheaton, MD, Woodbridge, VA |
Methodology, about and contact
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 October 5, 2026, in US dollars. The area covers restaurants within 25 miles (40 km) of downtown of Washington, DC, each restaurant counted in its nearest city. Each chain is compared only with itself, on its own signature item, and only where it has at least 5 restaurants in the area; prices are never compared between chains or converted between currencies. The cheapest and most expensive restaurants leave out airports and similar special sites, which are reported separately.
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
Background sources
Not part of the release: reporting that backs up its one line of context, for questions from journalists.
- How restaurant loyalty programs can drive more traffic and improve experiences Restaurant Dive, 2024-08-15
Restaurant loyalty apps pull in customers' ordering history and preferences, to personalise offers and recommendations (the intro's apps and loyalty programmes). - Wendy's backtracks on dynamic pricing Restaurant Dive, 2024-02-28
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.