I compared the most expensive burgers at McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's, and it was clear only one was worth the premium price

Irene Jiang

Nov 24, 2019, 19:44 IST

I compared the most expensive burgers at McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's, and it was clear only one was worth the premium price

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

I tried the most expensive burgers at McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's to see whose burger best justified its price tag.

Bigger isn't necessarily better, especially when it comes to fast-food burgers.
Sometimes, a higher price tag means a better burger. Sometimes, it just means a bigger burger.
I tried the most expensive burgers at McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King to see whose burger was most worth the elevated price. McDonald's double quarter pounder with cheese and bacon was the only burger with ingredients and a taste that justified its high cost.
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Bigger doesn't always mean better, and that's especially true when it comes to burgers.

Sure, burger size may matter when it's the difference between a filling meal and an unsatisfying one, but there definitely is such a thing as "too big" when it comes to America's favorite meal-in-a-bun.

So when it comes to the most expensive burgers fast food has to offer, which ones are better, and which ones are just bigger?

I tried the most expensive burgers at McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's to see whose bougie burger best justified its elevated price tag. Here's how they compared:

Prices below are for items sold at Manhattan locations of each chain. All prices are before tax.

The most expensive burger at my local Burger King is the BBQ Bacon Triple Whopper, which costs $11.19.

This BBQ bad boy contains 1240 calories of bun, beef, BBQ sauce, and veggie toppings.

They're supposed to have cheese, but the Burger King I went to forgot to put cheese on mine.

Burger King is known for its flame broiler method of cooking beef. The beef in this burger is the same as the beef in its cheapest burger. There's just more of it.

A lot more of it. I struggled to hold this burger up with just one hand. It was a monstrous mess

This saucy mess was hard to bite into, and once I did, all I tasted was beef.

And it wasn't the best beef. Burger King's beef does have a nice char, but it's otherwise dry and unexciting.

For the price of this burger, I could have gotten myself a much, much nicer one at a diner or a fast-casual restaurant.

The most expensive burger at my local Wendy's is the Triple Bacon Jalapeño Cheeseburger, which costs $8.59.

This behemoth weighs in at 1,280 calories.

It's obvious that the accoutrements are what make this burger stand out. Fried onions and jalapeños offer more exciting flavors than your standard cheeseburger.

Still, this burger was more showoff than substance.

The crispy onions were a great touch, and the pickled jalapeños added a nice kick

But I couldn't get over the fact that the beef and the bun — the most important elements of a burger — didn't feel worth the price tag.

This burger just tasted like too much of an OK thing.

The most expensive burger at my local McDonald's is the Double Quarter Pounder Cheese with Bacon, which costs $7.99.

Unlike the other burgers, this is a double, not a triple. It contains only 820 calories.

McDonald's recently switched to fresh beef for its quarter-pounder burgers.

Everything in this burger is just a bit shinier than what you'd expect from McDonald's. The bun is a shiny dome, the beef perfectly charred, and the cheese melty.

It's also a cheaper meal that's more of a reasonable price.

But even though this is the cheapest burger on the list, it tastes by and far the best.

The fresh, juicy, and flavorful beef makes all the difference. Sure, it's a pretty burger, but it also tastes great.

When it comes down to it, McDonald's shiny sandwich is the only one out of the three that's worth the higher price tag.

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