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6 Burger Chains That Are No Longer Worth the Wait or the Money

If fast food isn't fast or cheap, can it survive this economy?

By Amanda Machado , Edited by Calista Headrick

Updated July 15, 2026

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Fast food burger prices have surged dramatically over the past decade. As prices climb, customer complaints about shrinking portions, declining quality, and inconsistent service have followed.

The public understands that rising costs of ingredients, labor, and energy are contributing to the increased price of grabbing food on the go, but consumers also see price gouging, sneaky marketing, exorbitant CEO salaries, and hidden delivery fees as larger contributors to the problem.

Stretching your fast food budget can only take you so far, and at the end of the day, some burger chains just aren't worth the price tag anymore. See which chains are the worst offenders, according to public opinion.

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Five Guys

A focused menu with high-quality ingredients should be a winning formula, but Five Guys has hit the upper limit on what customers are willing to pay for a basic burger and fries. "2 little Cheeseburgers, 1 large Fry, 2 large sodas. $32 before tip," said Redditor Smidge-of-the-Obtuse.

"It caught me by surprise, not sure when we will go back. It's a shame, because we really do like their burgers and fries, but for $32 I can get takeout from numerous places and still have leftovers for lunch."

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Carl's Jr.

Ten years ago there were 3,664 Carl's Jr. locations across 44 states. Now there are 974 in 15 states. A Reddit post asking which chains have gotten the most expensive had a comment from u/tomandshell that summed it up nicely, "Can I interest you in a medium-sized combo for $21.49 at Carl's Jr.?"

It's not just the fancy combos that are expensive; even the run-of-the-mill Single Big Carl was ranked the second most expensive fast food burger by Delish this year.

Jack in the Box

Tasting Table ranked Jack in the Box as the worst burger chain in 2025, and they used a combination of consumer reviews, social media discussions, their own experiences, and the quality of ingredients in their methodology of comparison.

There are many varied complaints about the chain, but the main themes are that the food is way too greasy, the service is terrible, and the wait times are excessive for something that is supposed to be "fast". Even fans of the food say the prices have doubled while the portions are shrinking, and it's not delivering the value that loyalty customers expect.

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Shake Shack

Wall Street doesn't think Shake Shack is worth it anymore, as shown by the stock falling 30% this year, and customers agree. "They make good food, but I just spent $15 on a SINGLE double truffle burger," said an anonymous Redditor, "It was literally smaller than a DOUBLE SLIDER FROM WHITE CASTLE."

McDonald's

The average McDonald's menu item has increased in price 100% since 2014, and customers are angry. Redditor u/Airaen explained it well, "I'd understand the 'occasional treat' mentality if the quality of the food was higher, but the last few times I've been to McDonald's I've been so disgusted with what I'm eating that I basically shamed myself into never going back."

Another Redditor, u/jster1311, took it further, "I'm tired of all the app apologists that pop up every time someone complains. Yeah, I can get one of these couple of offered items at an almost reasonable price that would've been beat like 5 years ago by normal prices. Even the app offers have become less and less appealing over the past couple of years."

Wendy's

According to The Takeout, Wendy's increased prices 32% between 2022 and 2024. The average meal combo has climbed to around $16, and it still only gets customers a bare-bones, extremely average fast food meal.

"The quality of the food has been going down for quite some time, but the value has been there," u/SquareAromatic7160 said on Reddit, "but somehow in the past 6 months they destroyed the value AND the quality at once. Got rid of leaf lettuce. Started charging for sauces. Food became noticeably smaller. Prices went up. Quality severely went down."

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Bottom line

Burger chains became an American staple because they were a fast and affordable way to feed a family - but when they are no longer fast or affordable, what is left for a fast food chain?

Customers are seeking new ways to save money on groceries and eating at home more often in the face of continually rising restaurant prices. Fast food is considered a "treat" more than a functional part of a regular diet, but even that is losing steam as the declining quality drags the perceived value even lower.

Nobody wants to pay sit-down restaurant prices with similar wait times just to eat "fast" food from a drive-thru.

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