Close Menu
    Money

    Review: $15 Meals at McDonald’s and Burger King, Best Value

    Press RoomBy No Comments7 Mins Read

    • Sticking to a budget can prove difficult, especially with fast food getting more expensive.
    • I tried to order as much food as possible for under $15 at McDonald’s and Burger King.
    • I used deals from both chains’ mobile apps to save money.

    Trying to spend less than $15 at a fast-food joint and still get a full meal can be harder than finding the last fry at the bottom of the McDonald’s bag.

    Chains like Taco Bell and McDonald’s are leaning into the concept of value through cheaper meal deals and app-exclusive offers, especially as members of Gen Z — a key demographic for fast-food chains — continue to seek out the best value in terms of portion size, menu innovation, and variety.

    “Gen Z is less about being loyal to one brand for the long haul, and more about chasing value, experience, and innovation,” Hope Neiman, the chief marketing officer at Tillster, an ordering provider for brands like Burger King, Baskin-Robbins, and Popeyes, told Business Insider.

    “A few years ago, people were either die-hard Chipotle fans or loyal Qdoba patrons. Today, that kind of loyalty is more rare, and Gen Z consumers are willing to bounce between brands — not just for lower prices, but for better food, more creative menu options, or a seamless ordering experience.”

    I set myself a $15 budget at McDonald’s and Burger King — about the going rate for a burger, fries, and a drink at many fast-food chains — to see if I could get even more food for the same price. I tried to order as much food as possible using both chains’ mobile apps for deals, which saved me money.

    Here’s how my two meals at McDonald’s and Burger King compared.

    My meal at McDonald’s included a triple cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink.


    mcdonalds meal

    The meal came with a large order of nuggets, a triple cheeseburger, fries, and a drink.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    I used the McDonald’s mobile app for a deal to get the most food for under $15.

    I was able to order a 20-piece chicken McNuggets for $5, and then added on a triple cheeseburger meal, which included a medium fry and a medium drink, for $10.19, excluding tax.

    There were a couple of other meals that would have been around or within the budget, but the triple cheeseburger was the biggest burger offered within that price range.

    The cost of my meal came to $15.19, excluding tax.

    I was a fan of McDonald’s triple cheeseburger.


    mcdonalds triple cheeseburger

    The triple cheeseburger came with three beef patties.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The burger typically costs $6.48, excluding tax, at my local McDonald’s in Brooklyn.

    The burger came with three beef patties, two slices of cheese, pickles, ketchup, and diced onions.


    mcdonalds triple cheeseburger

    The burger came topped with pickles, onions, and two slices of cheese.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The triple cheeseburger is one of the chain’s only triple-stacked burgers, though it didn’t feel overly heavy.

    The ingredients were evenly distributed throughout the burger, ensuring each bite packed the most flavor.

    The burger was juicy and flavorful.


    mcdonalds triple cheeseburger

    I liked the flavor of the burger.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The cheese and three patties were savory and flavorful, while the diced onions and pickles added tartness and crunch.

    Even though it had three patties, I didn’t feel weighed down by this burger.

    The star of this value meal was the chicken nuggets.


    mcdonalds chicken nuggets

    The 20-piece nuggets cost $5 when I used the app-exclusive deal.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    For $5, I ordered a 20-piece nuggets.

    At my location, a 20-piece typically costs $10.69, excluding tax. Using the app-exclusive deal, I saved more than half on this part of the order.

    The nuggets were crispy and could have fed multiple people.


    mcdonalds chicken nuggets

    The nuggets were crispy and paired well with sauces.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    If you’re trying to get the most food for your money, this was excellent value. I ended up sharing the chicken nuggets with my two roommates.

    I could also order three sauces with the nuggets. I chose ranch and honey mustard, and enjoyed both.

    The meal also came with a medium order of fries.


    mcdonalds fries

    The order also came with fries.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The fries were what I expect from McDonald’s: crispy, salted, and easy to eat by the handful.

    Overall, I thought this meal was a good value and an impressive amount of food for the price. However, compared with the meal from Burger King, I thought it lacked variety.

    My meal from Burger King included a Whopper with cheese, fries, nuggets, a drink, and a spicy chicken wrap.


    burger king meal

    The meal came with a Whopper, chicken wrap, fries, drink, and an extra order of nuggets.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    I also ordered the meal on the Burger King app and used one of the app’s exclusive meal deals to save money.

    The King of Wrap meal came with a Fiery Royal Crispy Wrap, a Whopper, medium fries, and a medium drink. I added cheese to the Whopper, bringing the cost to $12.49, excluding tax.

    I also added a four-piece order of nuggets to my meal for $1.89 and two ranch dipping sauces for $0.25 each, bringing the total cost of my meal to $14.88, excluding tax.

    The Whopper with cheese is one of my favorite fast-food burgers.


    burger king whopper with cheese

    The Whopper comes without cheese, but can be added for an extra $0.50.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The burger typically costs $7.99, excluding tax, and comes without cheese, but cheese can be added to the burger for an additional 50 cents.

    The Whopper with cheese comes with a quarter-pound beef patty, tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, and sliced white onions.


    burger king whopper with cheese

    The burger came topped with lettuce, tomatoes, sliced white onions, and cheese.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The generous amount of ingredients added to the overall weight of this burger, which felt a lot heavier and heartier than the McDonald’s burger.

    I preferred the flavor profile of this burger.


    burger king whopper with cheese

    The burger was large and flavorful.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    It felt more homemade, thanks to the thickly sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and the chargrilled flavor of the burger patty. The mayonnaise also added more moisture and flavor compared to just the ketchup on the McDonald’s burger.

    If I had to pick between them, I’d choose to order this burger again.

    The meal deal also came with one of the chain’s chicken wraps.


    burger king fiery crispy chicken wrap

    The Fiery Royal Crispy Wrap came with lettuce and tomatoes.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The wrap typically costs $3.89 from my local Burger King in Brooklyn.

    The wrap had a distinct kick and a lot of flavor.


    burger king fiery crispy chicken wrap

    The spiciness of the chicken was balanced out by the lettuce and tomato.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The wrap features a chicken tender coated in the chain’s spicy glaze, lettuce, tomatoes, and Royal sauce.

    The wrap had a slight kick to it. The spiciness of the glaze, however, was balanced by the fresh vegetables and the Royal sauce.

    The meal also came with fries.


    burger king fries

    The fries from Burger King were thicker than the fries from McDonald’s.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The fries were thick and salted, but I had to admit I preferred the crispiness of the McDonald’s fries.

    Since the meal deal was under budget, I ordered a side of chicken nuggets, too.


    burger king chicken nuggets

    The four-piece order of chicken nuggets cost under $2.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    The four-piece order of chicken nuggets cost under $2, and added even more variety to my meal.

    The nuggets were crispy and paired well with the chain’s ranch.


    burger king chicken nuggets

    The nuggets complemented the other items in the meal deal.


    Erin McDowell/Business Insider

    I preferred the peppery taste and crispy texture of these nuggets compared to McDonald’s chicken nuggets, even though I got far fewer of them in the $15 budget.

    Overall, I felt that I got more variety with the meal from Burger King. I was able to get a burger, which was bigger and more flavorful than the one from McDonald’s, two different kinds of chicken entrées, fries, and a drink for a lower cost than the bigger chain.

    If I had only $15 to spend on a fast-food meal, I’d choose Burger King every time.

    Share.

    Related Posts

    Leave A Reply