10 Fast Food Chains Hiking Breakfast Prices the Most (You Won’t Believe #1)

Whether you’re hungry during a morning commute or looking to treat yourself on a weekend morning, fast-food breakfast menus have become a staple as a quick and convenient morning pick-me-up. While fast-food menus are typically only available for a limited time each day, some breakfast items are among the most beloved in all of fast food.

While fast-food breakfasts might be popular with consumers, one thing that isn’t popular with anyone is rising prices, a trend we’ve seen time and time again among fast food menus.

To see if that same trend applied to breakfast menus, our FinanceBuzz team compared the current prices of 40 popular breakfast items at 10 major chains to what those items cost five years ago. Here’s where you’ll have the hardest time stretching your fast food budget.

To determine how prices have increased, we reviewed breakfast menus from 10 national fast-food chains and compared the costs of four of the most popular items at each chain today (2024) vs. 5 years ago (2019).

Only items available to customers in both of those years were included for each restaurant. Across those menu items, we found that prices increased by an average of 53%, more than double the national rate of inflation (23%) in that same time frame. Here are the final rankings from the study.

Starbucks increased breakfast menu prices at the lowest rate of any chain, increasing them by just 32% in the last half-decade, which is more affordable than others on our list.

Of the menu items we evaluated at the coffee chain, Starbucks’ chocolate croissant saw the most drastic price increase, rising by 55% from $2.75 to $4.25 since 2019.

At ninth place, Subway came close to matching the coffee-slinging chain, as prices for its breakfast menu only increased by 37% on average.

The chain’s Footlong egg and cheese sandwich took the biggest hit, with the price increasing by 72% over the past five years. Both the 6-inch bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich and the 6-inch black forest ham, egg, and cheese sandwich increased by 21%.

Burger King is the last chain on our list to have raised prices by less than 50% between 2019 and 2024. The fast food joint saw a 41% price hike in the past five years. They’re also the only chain we evaluated that did not see any of the four individual menu items increase by more than 50%.

Burger King’s bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit saw the biggest hike (47%). To save the most money at the fast food joint, opt for the sausage, egg, and cheese Croissan'wich meal, which has only risen by 38% from 2019 to now.

Prices increased by an average of 53% at Sonic, which is more than double the national rate of inflation (23%) in that same time frame, but inflation’s effect on some breakfast items will take a harder hit on your wallet than others.

An order of medium tater tots at Sonic would have cost you $1.99 in 2019. Now, you’ll pay $3.39 for the order.

This chain gained a lot of attention when a FinanceBuzz study showed that McDonald’s average menu prices had doubled (100% increase) since 2014 across popular items. While the increase in the chain’s breakfast items isn’t quite so bad, prices have risen by 54% since 2019, which is still higher than the average across all of the fast food restaurants (53%).

The worst offender by far is the hash brown. Customers at McDonald’s paid an average of $1.09 for a hash brown in 2019. Nowadays, the same item will cost you $2.29. That’s an astonishing 110% increase.

Rounding out the top five, this beloved chicken joint takes the next spot, seeing a 56% increase in the prices of their breakfast menu now compared to five years ago.

The breakfast item impacted least by inflation was the chicken biscuit combo, which saw a 53% increase. The hash browns rose the most (67%) and will cost you $1.65 if you order them today. Five years ago, you would have paid less than a dollar for them.

In fourth place is Dunkin, whose breakfast menu items increased prices by 63% — a rate 10 points higher than average.

The price increase on Dunkin’s egg and cheese wrap is especially shocking. The wrap saw a price hike of a whopping 134% from 2019 to 2024.

Breakfast prices at Jack in the Box just top Dunkin, increasing by 64% since 2019. The chain has seen the biggest jump in price for their hash browns — an astronomical 149% increase compared to five years ago. That’s the highest price increase of any individual item from all 10 chains, tied only with Taco Bell’s 2-count Cinnabon delights.

Tied for first place is Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr., which has upped prices on their morning menus by 72% since 2019. The fast food chain is also another chain where we’ve seen a breakfast menu item increase by more than 100%.

The hash rounds were priced at $1.59 back in the day. Now, they’ll be taking $3.29 out of your pocket — that’s a 107% price hike.

Inflation has had the biggest impact on Taco Bell. The chain takes the cake alongside Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. as prices have increased the most (72%) of any major chain in the last five years.

The restaurant’s 2-count Cinnabon delights, like Jack in the Box’s hash browns, increased by 149%. The breakfast item impacted the least was the breakfast crunchwrap combo (bacon or sausage), which only rose to $6.79 from $4.49 five years prior.

Eating out isn’t cheap, but there are easy ways to save more money.

• Maximize your rewards when eating out. Get the best bang for your buck by using a credit card for dining out to help rack up rewards and offset food prices.
• Set a budget. Cut back on unnecessary purchases and plan ahead with your fast-food expenses in order to keep more money in your pocket.
• Look into a food delivery side hustle. Read up on our Deliver with DoorDash guide to see how you can create your own hours and earn some extra cash on the side.

With prices like these, it might seem impossible to keep more money in your wallet. But there are ways to make the most of your fast food budget while still enjoying all of your favorite breakfast items.

Make sure to check out extra ways you can save money. Take advantage of deals in their apps, and be on the lookout so you can take advantage of any special sales the chains have to offer.