14 Key Differences Between McDonald’s and Burger King Explained

A lot of fast food restaurants seem more or less the same. And when it comes to popular burger joints, like McDonald’s and Burger King, that sameness is even more evident. If you’re not familiar with both of the brands, you might assume that there’s not really much that sets one apart from the other. In reality, though, there are some very stark differences. Knowing what they are can guarantee that you go to the right fast food joint for the kind of food and experience you really want.

We’ve detailed some of the most important differences between McDonald’s and Burger King, from differences in how the companies are run to what you can expect when you’re going through the drive-thru. By taking a closer look, you’ll probably realize that there are more differences between these two seemingly similar fast food restaurants than you may have thought. Once you do recognize those differences, though, you’ll be more likely to snag the burger (or the chicken nuggets, or the fries) that you’re actually craving.

Fast food restaurants are all about convenience, which generally means that you’re not going to want to travel for miles and miles just to grab a quick burger after work. That’s why you’ll find so many different fast food locations often even within a short drive of one another. And when you’re craving a burger, there’s a good chance that you’re just going to go to whatever fast food chain is closest.

In a lot of cases, that’s probably going to be McDonald’s. Although both McDonald’s and Burger King are huge companies with locations scattered all across the U.S. and many other countries, McDonald’s does have significantly more locations than its burger-focused brother. There are over 38,000 McDonald’s locations across the globe, which means that you can grab a Big Mac in most markets. On the other hand, Burger King only boasts around 19,000 restaurants — about half as many locations as McDonald’s. So, if you’re just looking for convenience and nothing else, there’s a good chance that you’ll find yourself at a McDonald’s over a Burger King.

You may be closer to a McDonald’s, but that doesn’t mean that’s where you’re going to get the most options. If you’re not the kind of person who orders the same thing every time you go to a fast food joint, then Burger King might just be the place for you, at least on the burger front. That’s because Burger King offers a wider variety of burger options to choose from. Check out the burger menu at Burger King, and you’ll find that you’re able to snag 15 different types of burgers. Although the differences between them are sometimes small, having a lot of options is nice when you love variety.

On the other hand, McDonald’s only displays nine different burgers on the burger section of its menu. That still represents plenty of options from which to choose, if you ask us, but it does mean that you’ll have to choose from a relatively smaller selection. If you always go for a McDonald’s Big Mac or a Burger King Whopper, having myriad choices may not make much of a difference. Sometimes, though, changing things up can make for a more interesting meal.

You may have never known a world without McDonald’s or Burger King. But the chains haven’t been around forever, and McDonald’s has a slightly longer history than Burger King. McDonald’s first entered the fast food scene all the way back in 1948, when the chain made a splash with its super fast service and 15-cent hamburgers. The restaurant was groundbreaking when it first hit the market, and it’s still an industry leader decades later.

Burger King isn’t exactly a new establishment, either. It was founded in 1954, a full six years after McDonald’s had already gotten its start. All these decades later, that six-year head start may not mean much in the grand scheme of the burger business, but it’s definitely interesting to know that McDonald’s has been in the fast food game a bit longer than its slightly smaller counterpart.

When you go to a burger-focused fast food joint like McDonald’s or Burger King, you’re probably thinking first and foremost about the burgers themselves. Side dishes play a role in the creation of your meal, of course, but they aren’t necessarily the star of the show. However, having a lot of side options can make for a more delicious and varied dining experience, which is why we love the fact that Burger King has so many different side dishes to offer. You can get the standard french fries, but you can also snag onion rings, jalapeño cheddar bites, or mozzarella fries if you want to switch things up every once in a while.

McDonald’s, on the other hand, offers fewer sides from which to choose. Apart from fries, the only side dish you can get is apple slices, which probably isn’t what most of us are looking for when we go to a fast food restaurant. If you’re set on enjoying fries with your meal, having extra options probably doesn’t make much difference; however, when you want to explore beyond your usual order, you’ll probably have a better experience at Burger King.

You may not think of McDonald’s as a place to go specifically for breakfast, but it actually has one of the better fast food breakfast menus out there. And compared to Burger King, there’s really no competition. You’ll only find six items on Burger King’s entire breakfast menu, and one of them is Potato Bites (aka tater tots). On the other hand, McDonald’s boasts 16 different food items on its breakfast menu, and with that variety comes more satisfying options. For example, where else can you get pancakes to go? Sure, they may not be the best pancakes you’ve ever eaten, but having that option wins McDonald’s some extra points in our book.

To make matters worse for Burger King, every one of its breakfast sandwiches comes on a croissant. McDonald’s, on the other hand, delivers its breakfast sandwiches on English muffins, biscuits, and even biscuit-shaped pancakes known as McGriddles, which give those savory sandwiches a pop of sweetness. Taking all of these factors into consideration, it’s safe to say that McDonald’s beats out Burger King on the breakfast front.

Should you go to a burger-focused fast food chain restaurant when you’re craving fresh vegetables? Probably not — there are better options out there from which to choose. However, just because you’re craving a burger doesn’t mean that you don’t want it topped with fresh ingredients. Fresh, crisp veggies really can make or break a burger, which is why it’s something you should pay attention to when you order from a fast food joint. And say what you will about Burger King’s burgers, but in my experience, the chain usually does have fresher toppings than McDonald’s does.

Most of Burger King’s burgers are outfitted with crisp lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, although there are exceptions. When you get a burger from Burger King, you’ll notice that those toppings usually aren’t sad and wilted, and you can actually taste the flavors of the vegetables themselves — they’re not just an accessory to the meat. In my experience, McDonald’s doesn’t offer that same level of freshness in its toppings. The shredded lettuce is usually sad and wilted, the pickles look anemic, and several of the burgers barely feature any vegetables at all.

When you think of the difference in size between McDonald’s and Burger King as companies, you shouldn’t be surprised that McDonald’s brings in significantly more revenue than Burger King. For example, in 2024, McDonald’s generated a revenue of nearly $26 billion.

Burger King is raking in much less than McD’s. In 2024, the burger chain pulled in $1.45 billion. That number is nothing to scoff at, of course, but it doesn’t even come close to McDonald’s numbers. In fact, there’s really no competition here at all. That may not sway your decision over which chain to eat at — after all, a company’s revenue doesn’t exactly determine the deliciousness of its burgers — but it does mark a stark difference between the two burger chains.

We’ve already discussed just how important the vegetables are to a good burger, but perhaps the most important vegetable of them all is the onion. It can completely transform a burger, offering a fresh sharpness to the sandwich that makes for a bolder, more intense, and more balanced flavor. But McDonald’s and Burger King handle onions in very, very different ways. On the burgers that feature onions at Burger King, you’ll find onion slices. These provide more of a crunchy texture and don’t necessarily guarantee a uniform bite.

On the other hand, several of McDonald’s burger options, including the iconic Big Mac, come with finely diced onions, which offer a whole different experience. Using diced onions ensures you get some of that oniony flavor in every bite, but they don’t offer the same freshness or crunch that you’d get from onion slices. It’s up to you, though, to decide which one you prefer.

Going out to a fast food restaurant isn’t exactly the same thing as choosing a nice sit-down restaurant at which to dine. That means that cost and affordability might be a more significant factor when you’re deciding where to eat. After all, if you’re just grabbing a burger that you’re going to eat in your car anyway, you probably don’t want to spend more money than you have to. If you are looking for the most cost-effective burger place out there, you’re generally going to be better off going to McDonald’s. Comparable prices seem to be slightly less expensive at McDonald’s, if only by a few cents.

However, you should also take quality into account — you might be getting a burger for cheaper at McDonald’s, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting a better-quality meal. So while, yes, McDonald’s may be cheaper, you might be getting a better value at Burger King depending on what you order.

Have you ever gone through the drive-thru at McDonald’s, craving a McFlurry, only to be told that the ice cream machine is broken? If you’ve been to McDonald’s enough times, you’ve almost certainly had this experience. At this point, McDonald’s seemingly constantly broken ice cream machines have become a meme. And although it may not be that big of a deal to skip dessert when you’re getting a whole meal, it’s definitely a bummer to discover that you can’t, in fact, order ice cream from McDonald’s when you’re going there solely for a sweet treat.

This isn’t a problem you’re likely to encounter at Burger King, though. Admittedly, that may be because there aren’t actually that many ice cream options available on the menu in the first place — the most you’re going to find at Burger King is soft serve or a milkshake — but at least you know you’re not super likely to be denied ice cream altogether when you visit the chain.

When you’re going to a fast food joint in the morning, it’s probably because you’re in desperate need of sustenance and just don’t have the time or ability to make it for yourself. For many of us, that morning sustenance includes coffee. We’ve already covered the fact that McDonald’s leads the pack on the breakfast food front, but what about coffee? Well, it turns out that the ubiquitous chain also beats out Burger King in terms of coffee.

At Burger King, you have exactly three types of coffee to choose from: plain hot coffee, decaf hot coffee, and iced coffee. That’s it. But at McDonald’s, you’ll be met with a wealth of coffee options, ranging from a standard Americano to a cappuccino, caramel macchiato, and iced French vanilla latte. If you’re just looking for a basic cup of joe, Burger King will get the job done. But if you actually want to sip on a well-constructed coffee beverage, you’re better off going to McDonald’s instead.

Have you ever noticed that Coke and Sprite just seem to taste better at McDonald’s than they do at Burger King or any other fast food restaurant out there? If so, you’re not alone — and there’s actually a very good reason for this. All the way back in 1955, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola joined forces to ensure that every cup of soda at the restaurant would come out tasting as crisp and delicious as possible, and the fast food chain goes to great lengths to make sure that you enjoy every sip.

For starters, McDonald’s gets its soda syrup in steel tanks, which helps preserve the quality of the syrup inside. Additionally, these tanks are temperature-controlled, so you get the perfectly chilled sip every time. And perhaps even more important, McDonald’s makes sure that all the water that runs through its soda fountains is filtered to a greater extent than other brands, so you won’t taste a difference in soda quality no matter where in the world you are. With McDonald’s taking all of these steps and Burger King simply offering a standard array of soft drinks, it’s no wonder that McDonald’s boasts the better soft drink game.

You can get chicken nuggets just about anywhere, including McDonald’s. But unless you’re a particularly picky kid, you’re probably not making a trip to the Golden Arches just to snag yourself some McNuggets — if you ask us, they’re just not that good. Sure, they’re nice and crispy, but they’re super processed and don’t seem to offer much that you can’t get from frozen chicken nuggets at the grocery store.

Burger King, on the other hand, delivers a totally different “nugget” experience by offering Chicken Fries instead. The brand’s Chicken Fries are slender, crispy, and oh-so-much more delicious than McNuggets. It’s not just that they’re seasoned well and crisped to perfection (which they are); it’s also the fact that this is a novel product you can’t get anywhere else. Burger King’s Chicken Fries feel like a treat, while McDonald’s McNuggets seem more like an afterthought than a main attraction.

Ask just about anyone who likes fries, and they’ll tell you that McDonald’s french fries rank near the top of the fast food french fry hierarchy. They have so much going for them: They’re thin and salty, with a good ratio of crispy to soft fries. They have a lovely greasiness to them that may not make you feel like you’re eating the healthiest side dish, but that nonetheless tastes delicious. And if you’ve had McDonald’s fries before, you’re likely in agreement that they’re some of the best in the fast food business.

Burger King’s fries, on the other hand, are forgettable. They’re not terrible, but they don’t have that same thin structure, appealing crispiness, or even salt content. Sure, you can order them as a side dish, but they really don’t shine in the same way McDonald’s fries do. The only benefit of ordering Burger King’s fries over McDonald’s is the fact that Burger King’s fries are vegan, while McDonald’s are not (nor are they even vegetarian).