The Fan-Favorite Cheeseburger That's Cheaper Than Five Guys & Shake Shack

Gone are the days of 20-cent, $1-, and even $2-dollar cheeseburgers. We have officially entered the era of the $10 cheeseburger (at the expensive Five Guys restaurants, at least). It now costs nearly as much to go through the drive-thru of your favorite fast food joint as it would to order a meal at a sit-down restaurant, or perhaps even more, as Chili's debuted a cheaper quarter-pounder meal than you can order at McDonald's in 2025. However, there are still good values among quick-service cheeseburgers, and one of them is at the Texan chain Whataburger.

A single cheeseburger costs around $7 (please note that the price may differ based on your location), and it actually must be ordered as a basic Whataburger, with cheese added on. This burger, beloved among beef patty enthusiasts, certainly costs more than a basic cheeseburger at Burger King or McDonald's, where the beefy sandwich will set you back $2.49 and $2.29, respectively. But among burger chains of comparable quality and merit, it's actually a steal. That's because at Shake Shack, a single-patty cheeseburger will cost you a few cents more, while at Five Guys, a cheeseburger with one beef patty (called a Little Cheeseburger) costs a whopping $9.39.

Of course, price is just one facet of what makes Whataburger's cheeseburger a good deal, particularly over its closest competition. The company NetCredit ran the numbers and found that Whataburger's classic Whataburger (and therefore, by extension, its cheeseburger) is actually the best value among major fast food chains. That means that while you do pay more than you might at McDonald's or Burger King, its 3.5-ounce patty means you're actually getting more meat per dollar.

And while McDonald's and Burger King come close in terms of value, In-N-Out came in third from last overall, while Five Guys actually claimed the very bottom spot, seemingly offering not a lot of beef for a premium price. It appears fast food customers have noticed, too, because over on Reddit, where the OP for a thread proclaimed Whataburger as making the best fast food burger (in its favor, it sources all of its ingredients locally), on account of its "value, taste, freshness, and presentation," they stated that Five Guys could've swiped the best-of title in their mind, but for the price.

And it's apparent that people agree with what the OP wrote because the post has 185 upvotes and stirred a lot of conversation (nearly 250 comments). However, it must be pointed out that quite a few were quick to voice their dissatisfaction with the chain's burgers since the famously Texas-based company was acquired by a Chicago private equity firm in 2024.