By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-07 17:50:38 | Updated at 2026-06-07 19:26:37
1 hour ago
McDonald's may be one of the biggest fast food chains in America, but it isn't always the cheapest.
In more than one product category, West Coast favorite In-N-Out Burger - known for its secret menu items - has McDonald's beat when it comes to lower prices.
A McDonald's in lower Manhattan lists medium french fries for $4.69 - a small costs a whopping $2.99. At In-N-Out, french fries cost $2.40.
In-N-Out's small, medium and large sodas all beat McDonald's prices - $2.45 versus $2.69 for a medium, respectively.
When it comes to burgers - like In-N-Out's iconic Double-Double, which includes twice the meat and cheese as a regular burger - the cost is $6.35.
A McDonald's Big Mac, which also has two burger patties and two slices of cheese, costs $6.99.
There are important differences between some of these products - the signature sauce that comes with a big mac, for instance - but even a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with cheese, at $6.39, costs more than a Double-Double.
Despite being less expensive than McDonald's, In-N-Out has one big downside: It's only on the West Coast and the Southwest. If you don't live there, getting your hands on Double-Double might involve extensive long-distance travel.
In-N-Out is a primarily West Coast-based fast food chain, with their headquarters located in California
In-N-Out is known for Double-Double burgers and the coveted secret menu 'animal style' fries
McDonald's prices vary by location, but they generally beat In-N-Out when it comes to the recently launched meal deals.
This budget-friendly program replaced the company's buy-one, get-one-for-$1 promotion, offering a bundled McChicken or McDouble with a 4-piece McNuggets, fries and a drink for less than $8.
The In-N-Out in Downey, California, prices a hamburger, fries and medium drink combo at $8.70, not including tax. The Double-Double meal, which comes with two beef patties and cheese, plus fries and a medium drink costs $11.20.
Again, it's not a one-to-one comparison: In-N-Out's burgers are slightly larger and come with lettuce and tomato for free, while adding lettuce and tomato at McDonald's raises the price by at least 80 cents.
McDonald's offers breakfast items like the $1.50 sausage McMuffin and the $4 breakfast meal deal, which includes either a sausage McMuffin or sausage biscuit, hash browns and coffee.
Although In-N-Out restaurants typically open at 10.30am, they do not serve breakfast-specific options.
‘McDonald’s is not going to be beat on value and affordably,’ McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said last month when earnings were announced.
In-N-Out is regularly ranked among America’s best burgers - topping a recent Yelp list and placing near the top of USA Today’s fast food rankings.
A McDonald's Big Mac meal, which comes with fries and drink, costs $12.59 when picked up in New York
Despite rumblings of a shift to nationwide storefront locations, In-N-Out's CEO Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson confirmed the chain is sticking to what they do best.
'We won't compromise on quality just to expand,' she said.
That means no long-awaited leap into the eastern half of the country, even as die-hard fans continue begging the California icon to come closer.
And In-N-Out is still expanding - just not on the East Coast.
The company has more than 430 locations across the United States, with around two-thirds still in California. New restaurants are opening across Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
