Veröffentlicht am 2026-10-26
Same chain, different price across the US: Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme varies by 140% 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 the US, on October 26, 2026. The gap between a chain's cheapest and most expensive restaurant is at most 140%; in Australia, the price of a McDonald's Big Mac varies by 47%.
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Die wichtigsten Fakten
- McDonald's Big Mac: $3.99 to $8.99A 125% spread across 13,674 restaurants; 8% charge $5.99.
- Dunkin' Medium Original Blend: $2.19 to $4.69A 114% spread across 9,895 restaurants; 12% charge $3.09.
- Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme: $3.99 to $9.59A 140% spread across 7,769 restaurants; 1% charge $6.75.
- Domino's Large Hand Tossed Pizza: $9.99 to $21.99A 120% spread across 7,233 restaurants; 23% charge $14.99.
- Big Mac in Australia: 47% from the cheapest restaurant to the dearestAcross 1,058 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 13,674 restaurants, McDonald's Big Mac costs from $3.99 (Cypress, TX) to $8.99 (3 restaurants): the most expensive charges 125% more than the cheapest, and 8% charge the typical $5.99. The same basket of six items costs from $24.34 to $46.91, a spread of 93%.
Across its 9,895 restaurants, Dunkin' Medium Original Blend costs from $2.19 (3 restaurants) to $4.69 (Tejon Ranch, CA): the most expensive charges 114% more than the cheapest, and 12% charge the typical $3.09. The same basket of five items costs from $11.75 to $23.75, a spread of 102%.
Across its 7,769 restaurants, Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme costs from $3.99 (8 restaurants) to $9.59 (Farmington, CT): the most expensive charges 140% more than the cheapest, and 1% charge the typical $6.75. The same basket of six items costs from $20.14 to $39.44, a spread of 96%.
Across its 7,233 restaurants, Domino's Large Hand Tossed Pizza costs from $9.99 (2 restaurants) to $21.99 (2 restaurants): the most expensive charges 120% more than the cheapest, and 23% charge the typical $14.99. The same basket of four items costs from $26.27 to $49.46, a spread of 88%.
Across its 6,272 restaurants, Burger King's Whopper costs from $4.59 (2 restaurants) to $10.19 (9 restaurants): the most expensive charges 122% more than the cheapest, and 5% charge the typical $6.29. The same basket of six items costs from $25.24 to $50.44, a spread of 100%.
Across its 5,381 restaurants, Wendy's Dave's Single costs from $3.99 (242 restaurants) to $8.79 (2 restaurants): the most expensive charges 120% more than the cheapest, and 18% charge the typical $5.99. The same basket of six items costs from $24.09 to $41.04, a spread of 70%.
In Australia the most expensive ordinary McDonald's charges 47% more for a Big Mac than the cheapest, across 1,058 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.
Zitierfähige Sätze
McDonald's Big Mac costs 125% more at its most expensive restaurant in the US than at its cheapest.
Dunkin' Medium Original Blend costs 114% more at its most expensive restaurant in the US than at its cheapest.
Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme costs 140% more at its most expensive restaurant in the US than at its cheapest.
Domino's Large Hand Tossed Pizza costs 120% more at its most expensive restaurant in the US than at its cheapest.
Bilder
Die Fakten hinter der Mitteilung
Jede Zahl stammt aus unseren Preisen vom 2026-10-26, jeweils mit der Seite dieser Website, auf der sie zu finden ist.
| Kennzahl | Wert | Zu finden auf |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald's Big Mac: $3.99 to $8.99 | A 125% spread across 13,674 restaurants; 8% charge $5.99. | Zur Seite |
| Dunkin' Medium Original Blend: $2.19 to $4.69 | A 114% spread across 9,895 restaurants; 12% charge $3.09. | Zur Seite |
| Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme: $3.99 to $9.59 | A 140% spread across 7,769 restaurants; 1% charge $6.75. | Zur Seite |
| Domino's Large Hand Tossed Pizza: $9.99 to $21.99 | A 120% spread across 7,233 restaurants; 23% charge $14.99. | Zur Seite |
| Big Mac in Australia: 47% from the cheapest restaurant to the dearest | Across 1,058 McDonald's restaurants; percentages only, prices are never converted. | Zur Seite |
| McDonald's Big Mac, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | $3.99 (1) | Cypress, TX |
| McDonald's Big Mac, am teuersten (Restaurants) | $8.99 (3) | Blythe, CA |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | $46.91 (1) | Kodiak, AK |
| Dunkin' Medium Original Blend, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | $2.19 (3) | Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Dunkin' Medium Original Blend, am teuersten (Restaurants) | $4.69 (1) | Tejon Ranch, CA |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | $23.75 (1) | Tejon Ranch, CA |
| Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | $3.99 (8) | Lubbock, TX |
| Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme, am teuersten (Restaurants) | $9.59 (1) | Farmington, CT |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | $39.44 (1) | Farmington, CT |
| Domino's Large Hand Tossed Pizza, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | $9.99 (2) | Minocqua, WI |
| Domino's Large Hand Tossed Pizza, am teuersten (Restaurants) | $21.99 (2) | Duarte, CA |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | $49.46 (23) | Albany, OR |
| Burger King Whopper, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | $4.59 (2) | Knoxville, TN |
| Burger King Whopper, am teuersten (Restaurants) | $10.19 (9) | Hilo, HI |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | $50.44 (9) | Hilo, HI |
| Wendy's Dave's Single, am günstigsten (Restaurants) | $3.99 (242) | Aiken, SC |
| Wendy's Dave's Single, am teuersten (Restaurants) | $8.79 (2) | Sacramento, CA |
| Teuerste Bestellung (Restaurants) | $41.04 (2) | Sacramento, CA |
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 October 26, 2026, in US 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
Hintergrundquellen
Nicht Teil der Mitteilung: Berichte, die die eine Zeile Kontext darin belegen, für Rückfragen von Journalistinnen und Journalisten.
- 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.