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The same Classic Roast Beef costs $3.29 at one Tennessee Arby's and $5.29 at another
As fast food pricing becomes more data-driven, Drive Thru Index compared the pickup prices of the same items at 954 restaurants of five chains in Tennessee. Within each chain, prices for the same item differ by up to 61% from one restaurant to the next.
数据截至 。
关键事实
- Arby's Classic Roast Beef: $3.29 to $5.29 (+61%)Cheapest in Oneida, TN, most expensive in Chattanooga, TN; median $4.89, 4% below Arby's US median.
- Burger King Whopper: $5.39 to $7.89 (+46%)Cheapest in Knoxville, TN, most expensive in Nashville, TN; median $5.99, 5% below Burger King's US median.
- Krystal Original Krystal: $1.29 to $1.88 (+46%)Cheapest in McMinnville, TN, most expensive in Pigeon Forge, TN; median $1.69, 13% above Krystal's US median.
- McDonald's Big Mac: $4.39 to $6.29 (+43%)Cheapest in Pikeville, TN, most expensive in Collierville, TN; median $5.59, 7% below McDonald's US median.
- Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme: $5.19 to $6.99 (+35%)Cheapest in Oakland, TN, most expensive in Nashville, TN; median $6.39, 4% below Taco Bell's 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.
Arby's: a Classic Roast Beef costs $3.29 at the Arby's in Oneida, TN and $5.29 at 17 Arby's restaurants in Chattanooga, Cleveland, Athens, Clarksville, Dayton, East Ridge, Hixson, Hurricane Mills, Jellico, Kimball, Ooltewah and Winchester, TN, $2.00 (61%) more. Across its 115 restaurants in Tennessee, the median is $4.89, 4% below Arby's US median of $5.09.
Burger King: a Whopper costs $5.39 at ten Burger King restaurants in Knoxville, Clinton, Greeneville, Jefferson City, Maryville, Morristown, Newport and Oak Ridge, TN and $7.89 at the Burger King in Nashville, TN, $2.50 (46%) more. Across its 173 restaurants in Tennessee, the median is $5.99, 5% below Burger King's US median of $6.29.
Krystal: a Original Krystal costs $1.29 at the Krystal in McMinnville, TN and $1.88 at two Krystal restaurants in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville, TN, $0.59 (46%) more. Across its 67 restaurants in Tennessee, the median is $1.69, 13% above Krystal's US median of $1.49.
McDonald's: a Big Mac costs $4.39 at the McDonald's in Pikeville, TN and $6.29 at the McDonald's in Collierville, TN, $1.90 (43%) more. Across its 341 restaurants in Tennessee, the median is $5.59, 7% below McDonald's US median of $5.99.
Taco Bell: a Crunchwrap Supreme costs $5.19 at the Taco Bell in Oakland, TN and $6.99 at 65 Taco Bell restaurants in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Cookeville, Franklin, Lebanon, Brentwood, Columbia, Hermitage, Maryville, Mount Juliet, Spring Hill, Ashland City, Baxter, Bellevue, Carthage, Clarksville, Dickson, Fairview, Hohenwald, Joelton, Lafayette, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg, Manchester, McMinnville, Old Hickory, Portland, Pulaski, Shelbyville, Sparta, Tullahoma, Westmoreland and Woodbury, TN, $1.80 (35%) more. Across its 258 restaurants in Tennessee, the median is $6.39, 4% below Taco Bell's US median of $6.69.
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.
可引用语句
The same Arby's Classic Roast Beef costs $3.29 in Oneida, TN but $5.29 in Chattanooga, TN.
The same Burger King Whopper costs $5.39 in Knoxville, TN but $7.89 in Nashville, TN.
The same Krystal Original Krystal costs $1.29 in McMinnville, TN but $1.88 in Pigeon Forge, TN.
The same McDonald's Big Mac costs $4.39 in Pikeville, TN but $6.29 in Collierville, TN.
The same Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme costs $5.19 in Oakland, TN but $6.99 in Nashville, TN.
图片
新闻稿背后的事实
每个数字均来自我们2026-10-02的价格数据，并附上本站显示该数字的页面。
研究方法、关于我们与联系方式
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 2, 2026, in US dollars. The area covers every restaurant in Tennessee. 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
背景资料来源
不属于新闻稿内容：这些报道佐证了文中唯一一句背景说明，供记者提问时参考。
- 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.