I stuck to a $15 budget at McDonald's and Burger King. One chain offered more variety.

Business Insider

12-05-2025

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.
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.
The burger came with three beef patties, two slices of cheese, pickles, ketchup, and diced onions.
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.
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.
The nuggets were crispy and could have fed multiple people.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The wrap had a distinct kick and a lot of flavor.
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.
Since the meal deal was under budget, I ordered a side of chicken nuggets, too.
The nuggets were crispy and paired well with the chain's ranch.
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.