Publié le 2026-10-12
Same chain, different price across Canada: Burger King's Whopper varies by 49% between restaurants
As fast food pricing becomes more data-driven, Drive Thru Index compared what six chains charge at each of their own restaurants in Canada, on October 12, 2026. The gap between a chain's cheapest and most expensive restaurant is at most 49%; in the US, the price of a McDonald's Big Mac varies by 125%.
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Chiffres clés
- Tim Hortons Medium Original Blend: $1.73 to $2.45A 42% spread across 3,721 restaurants; 60% charge $1.83.
- KFC Famous Chicken Sandwich: $9.49 to $13.49A 42% spread across 530 restaurants; 12% charge $10.99.
- Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich: $9.49 to $11.49A 21% spread across 364 restaurants; 72% charge $9.49.
- Burger King Whopper: $6.69 to $9.99A 49% spread across 357 restaurants; 76% charge $7.99.
- Big Mac in the US: 125% from the cheapest restaurant to the dearestAcross 13,657 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 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.
Across its 3,721 restaurants, Tim Hortons' Medium Original Blend costs from $1.73 (51 restaurants) to $2.45 (5 restaurants): the most expensive charges 42% more than the cheapest, and 60% charge the typical $1.83. The same basket of five items costs from $16.26 to $21.01, a spread of 29%.
Across its 530 restaurants, KFC's Famous Chicken Sandwich costs from $9.49 (Prince George, BC) to $13.49 (Osoyoos, BC): the most expensive charges 42% more than the cheapest, and 12% charge the typical $10.99. The same basket of four items costs from $25.06 to $38.46, a spread of 53%.
Across its 364 restaurants, Popeyes' Classic Chicken Sandwich costs from $9.49 (261 restaurants) to $11.49 (9 restaurants): the most expensive charges 21% more than the cheapest, and 72% charge the typical $9.49. The same basket of five items costs from $28.05 to $33.35, a spread of 19%.
Across its 357 restaurants, Burger King's Whopper costs from $6.69 (Prince George, BC) to $9.99 (2 restaurants): the most expensive charges 49% more than the cheapest, and 76% charge the typical $7.99. The same basket of six items costs from $27.94 to $40.85, a spread of 46%.
Across its 295 restaurants, Mary Brown's Big Mary costs from $9.49 (281 restaurants) to $12.94 (Yellowknife, NT): the most expensive charges 36% more than the cheapest, and 95% charge the typical $9.49. The same basket of four items costs from $32.96 to $35.96, a spread of 9%.
Across its 253 restaurants, Wendy's Dave's Single costs from $7.09 (3 restaurants) to $8.69 (2 restaurants): the most expensive charges 23% more than the cheapest, and 9% charge the typical $7.69. The same basket of five items costs from $24.35 to $29.35, a spread of 21%.
In the US, by contrast, the most expensive ordinary McDonald's charges 125% more for a Big Mac than the cheapest, across 13,657 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 Canada, 98% of Tim Hortons locations, the biggest chain tracked there, charge within 10% of its typical Medium Original Blend 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.
Citations
Tim Hortons' Medium Original Blend costs 42% more at its most expensive restaurant in Canada than at its cheapest.
KFC's Famous Chicken Sandwich costs 42% more at its most expensive restaurant in Canada than at its cheapest.
Popeyes' Classic Chicken Sandwich costs 21% more at its most expensive restaurant in Canada than at its cheapest.
Burger King's Whopper costs 49% more at its most expensive restaurant in Canada than at its cheapest.
Images
Les chiffres derrière le communiqué
Chaque chiffre provient de nos relevés du 2026-10-12, avec la page de ce site qui le présente.
| Chiffre | Valeur | Où le voir |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Hortons Medium Original Blend: $1.73 to $2.45 | A 42% spread across 3,721 restaurants; 60% charge $1.83. | Voir la page |
| KFC Famous Chicken Sandwich: $9.49 to $13.49 | A 42% spread across 530 restaurants; 12% charge $10.99. | Voir la page |
| Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich: $9.49 to $11.49 | A 21% spread across 364 restaurants; 72% charge $9.49. | Voir la page |
| Burger King Whopper: $6.69 to $9.99 | A 49% spread across 357 restaurants; 76% charge $7.99. | Voir la page |
| Big Mac in the US: 125% from the cheapest restaurant to the dearest | Across 13,657 McDonald's restaurants; percentages only, prices are never converted. | Voir la page |
| Tim Hortons Medium Original Blend le moins cher (restaurants) | $1.73 (51) | Battleford, SK |
| Tim Hortons Medium Original Blend le plus cher (restaurants) | $2.45 (5) | Fort Mcmurray, AB |
| Commande la plus chère (restaurants) | $21.01 (2) | Yellowknife, NT |
| KFC Famous Chicken Sandwich le moins cher (restaurants) | $9.49 (1) | Prince George, BC |
| KFC Famous Chicken Sandwich le plus cher (restaurants) | $13.49 (1) | Osoyoos, BC |
| Commande la plus chère (restaurants) | $38.46 (1) | Osoyoos, BC |
| Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich le moins cher (restaurants) | $9.49 (261) | Airdrie, AB |
| Popeyes Classic Chicken Sandwich le plus cher (restaurants) | $11.49 (9) | Bedford, NS |
| Commande la plus chère (restaurants) | $33.35 (9) | Bedford, NS |
| Burger King Whopper le moins cher (restaurants) | $6.69 (1) | Prince George, BC |
| Burger King Whopper le plus cher (restaurants) | $9.99 (2) | Mont-Laurier, QC |
| Commande la plus chère (restaurants) | $40.85 (1) | Niagara Falls, ON |
| Mary Brown's Big Mary le moins cher (restaurants) | $9.49 (281) | Abbotsford, BC |
| Mary Brown's Big Mary le plus cher (restaurants) | $12.94 (1) | Yellowknife, NT |
| Commande la plus chère (restaurants) | $35.96 (2) | Fort Mcmurray, AB |
| Wendy's Dave's Single le moins cher (restaurants) | $7.09 (3) | Dawson Creek, BC |
| Wendy's Dave's Single le plus cher (restaurants) | $8.69 (2) | Moose Jaw, SK |
| Commande la plus chère (restaurants) | $29.35 (1) | Canmore, AB |
Méthodologie, à propos et 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 12, 2026, in Canadian dollars. 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
Sources de contexte
Ne fait pas partie du communiqué : les articles qui étayent sa seule phrase de contexte, pour répondre aux questions des journalistes.
- 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.