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The whole point of fast food is convenient, cheap food. But nowadays hitting the drive-thru for a quick meal can feel like anything but.

Inflation has Americans paying an average of 37% more for “limited-service” meals and snacks today than they did six years ago, according to the Consumer Price Index. Dollar menus have vanished, and the average combo meal costs over $10. It's not just burgers and fries, either. Social media is filled with posts shocked by the price of tacos, fried chicken, sub sandwiches, and more.

“A select few items are a decent deal and everything else is ridiculous,” one user said in a Reddit thread last month. “For these prices, you can go to a non-fast food restaurant and get a better burger,” another user wrote. “I used to order fast food a couple times a week as a treat. Now I order fast food a couple times a month, if that,” a third wrote.

Although the CPI shows prices are rising even faster at full-service restaurants, the expectations for fast food are different. When you remember getting a hamburger or small fries for $1 or $2, it's harder to stomach the inflation — even if it's hitting everywhere else too.

Fast food prices “have crossed a psychological threshold,” Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Canada, wrote in March. “Fast food is stuck in the middle — too expensive to be cheap, not good enough to be premium.”

There appears to be a limit to what people will tolerate. Traffic has been declining for the “quick serve” industry as a whole, according to data from Revenue Management Solutions (RMS), a restaurant software company. And 62% of people surveyed by LendingTree in 2024 said they were eating fast food less due to the rising prices.

The truth is that our relationship with fast food is, well, complicated.

On the one hand, a combo meal at a quick-service restaurant is still less than half the price of an entree and beverage at a casual dining restaurant as of May — $10.29 vs. $22.97, according to RMS. And fast food is losing fewer customer visits than other restaurant categories including fine dining and fast casual, according to a YouGov survey taken last year.

And yet, as fast food chains face higher costs for food, labor, utilities, and payment fees, consumers are bearing the brunt of it.

“McDonald's for three or four people is $35. That changes my mindset,” said Joel Libava, who advises aspiring owners of food and other franchises. “I'd rather pay $50 or $60, go to a full-service place, and have more of an experience.”

A recent McKinsey survey sheds more light on Libava's mindset: Consumers are unhappy with both the cost and portion size of the fast food they’re buying, which can change the calculus on when to upgrade to a sit-down meal. Gen Z, for instance, tends to prioritize meals at sit-down restaurants over fast food restaurants. This is likely because eating out is an opportunity to socialize, McKinsey speculated.

So what?

The traditional value proposition on fast food is shifting. If you’re not sure it’s worth the money — but you still need a backup plan on crazy days, here are some strategies to help you strike the right balance:

Ditch delivery: Delivery charges, in-app price markups, service fees, and tips can easily double the price of an order, turning a $10 combo meal into a $27 luxury, according to math from RMS. If you're craving fast food, picking it up yourself is the single fastest way to shave money off the bill.

Opt for convenience stores or delis instead: You don't need a fast-food chain for quick, hot food. Convenience stores and grocery delis also have ready-to-go meals, and in fact, 44% of diners in a Tillster survey said convenience stores now offer better quality food than traditional fast-food establishments.

Work the value menus and apps: Ordering standard combo meals off the main menu board is often where sticker shock hits hardest. To keep your tab down, stick to sub-$5 value menu items or download chain-specific apps, where brands may concentrate their best discounts, freebies, and rewards.

Related Reading

Local Burger Chains Are Winning the Fast-Food Wars (The Wall Street Journal)

The New Math of Eating Out: Is It Still Worth It? (SoFi)

Frozen Meals That Taste Better Than Takeout, According to Shoppers (Eat This, Not That)

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