Pubblicato il 2026-10-26
Same chain, different price across Australia: Hungry Jack's Whopper varies by 61% 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 Australia, on 26 October 2026. The gap between a chain's cheapest and dearest restaurant is at most 61%; in the US, the price of a McDonald's Big Mac varies by 125%.
Dati al .
Dati chiave
- McDonald's Big Mac: $7.30 to $10.70A 47% spread across 1,058 restaurants; 8% charge $8.45.
- KFC Zinger Burger: $7.95 to $9.45A 19% spread across 844 restaurants; 97% charge $8.45.
- Hungry Jack's Whopper: $7.30 to $11.75A 61% spread across 482 restaurants; 10% charge $9.90.
- Zambrero Classic Burrito: $14.50 to $15.90A 10% spread across 299 restaurants; 77% charge $14.50.
- Big Mac in the US: 125% from the cheapest restaurant to the dearestAcross 13,674 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 1,058 restaurants, McDonald's Big Mac costs from $7.30 (Maylands, WA) to $10.70 (Karratha, WA): the dearest charges 47% more than the cheapest, and 8% charge the typical $8.45. The same basket of four items costs from $28.60 to $40.95, a spread of 43%.
Across its 844 restaurants, KFC's Zinger Burger costs from $7.95 (2 restaurants) to $9.45 (27 restaurants): the dearest charges 19% more than the cheapest, and 97% charge the typical $8.45. The same basket of three items costs from $28.35 to $35.05, a spread of 24%.
Across its 482 restaurants, Hungry Jack's Whopper costs from $7.30 (Colac, VIC) to $11.75 (Karratha, WA): the dearest charges 61% more than the cheapest, and 10% charge the typical $9.90. The same basket of four items costs from $26.35 to $39.25, a spread of 49%.
Across its 299 restaurants, Zambrero's Classic Burrito costs from $14.50 (231 restaurants) to $15.90 (5 restaurants): the dearest charges 10% more than the cheapest, and 77% charge the typical $14.50. The same basket of five items costs from $28.90 to $30.30, a spread of 5%.
Every one of Pizza Hut's 293 restaurants charges $16.45 for the BBQ Meatlovers (large). The same basket of four items costs $31.80 at every one of them.
Across its 289 restaurants, Red Rooster's Quarter Chicken costs from $7.75 (191 restaurants) to $8.75 (6 restaurants): the dearest charges 13% more than the cheapest, and 66% charge the typical $7.75. The same basket of four items costs from $30.10 to $33.10, a spread of 10%.
In the US, by contrast, the dearest ordinary McDonald's charges 125% more for a Big Mac than the cheapest, across 13,674 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.
“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.
Frasi da citare
McDonald's Big Mac costs 47% more at its dearest restaurant in Australia than at its cheapest.
KFC's Zinger Burger costs 19% more at its dearest restaurant in Australia than at its cheapest.
Hungry Jack's Whopper costs 61% more at its dearest restaurant in Australia than at its cheapest.
Zambrero's Classic Burrito costs 10% more at its dearest restaurant in Australia than at its cheapest.
Immagini
I dati dietro il comunicato
Ogni dato viene dai nostri prezzi del 2026-10-26, con la pagina di questo sito che lo mostra.
| Dato | Valore | Dove vederlo |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald's Big Mac: $7.30 to $10.70 | A 47% spread across 1,058 restaurants; 8% charge $8.45. | Vedi la pagina |
| KFC Zinger Burger: $7.95 to $9.45 | A 19% spread across 844 restaurants; 97% charge $8.45. | Vedi la pagina |
| Hungry Jack's Whopper: $7.30 to $11.75 | A 61% spread across 482 restaurants; 10% charge $9.90. | Vedi la pagina |
| Zambrero Classic Burrito: $14.50 to $15.90 | A 10% spread across 299 restaurants; 77% charge $14.50. | Vedi la pagina |
| Big Mac in the US: 125% from the cheapest restaurant to the dearest | Across 13,674 McDonald's restaurants; percentages only, prices are never converted. | Vedi la pagina |
| McDonald's Big Mac più economico (ristoranti) | $7.30 (1) | Maylands, WA |
| McDonald's Big Mac più caro (ristoranti) | $10.70 (1) | Karratha, WA |
| Ordine più caro (ristoranti) | $40.95 (1) | Karratha, WA |
| KFC Zinger Burger più economico (ristoranti) | $7.95 (2) | Chadstone, VIC |
| KFC Zinger Burger più caro (ristoranti) | $9.45 (27) | Albany, WA |
| Ordine più caro (ristoranti) | $35.05 (1) | Karratha, WA |
| Hungry Jack's Whopper più economico (ristoranti) | $7.30 (1) | Colac, VIC |
| Hungry Jack's Whopper più caro (ristoranti) | $11.75 (1) | Karratha, WA |
| Ordine più caro (ristoranti) | $39.25 (1) | Karratha, WA |
| Zambrero Classic Burrito più economico (ristoranti) | $14.50 (231) | Acton, ACT |
| Zambrero Classic Burrito più caro (ristoranti) | $15.90 (5) | Geraldton, WA |
| Ordine più caro (ristoranti) | $30.30 (5) | Geraldton, WA |
| Pizza Hut BBQ Meatlovers (large) più economico (ristoranti) | $16.45 (293) | Adelaide, SA |
| Pizza Hut BBQ Meatlovers (large) più caro (ristoranti) | $16.45 (293) | Adelaide, SA |
| Ordine più caro (ristoranti) | $31.80 (293) | Adelaide, SA |
| Red Rooster Quarter Chicken più economico (ristoranti) | $7.75 (191) | Airport West, VIC |
| Red Rooster Quarter Chicken più caro (ristoranti) | $8.75 (6) | Alice Springs, NT |
| Ordine più caro (ristoranti) | $33.10 (6) | Alice Springs, NT |
Metodologia, chi siamo e contatti
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 26 October 2026, in Australian dollars. A chain's spread is how much more its dearest 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
Fonti di contesto
Non fanno parte del comunicato: articoli che sostengono la sua unica frase di contesto, per rispondere alle domande dei giornalisti.
- 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.