Food & Drink
Fast Food Tier List Maker
Rank fast food chains from McDonald's and Chick-fil-A to Taco Bell and In-N-Out. Make your own fast food tier list and see where your favorite drive-thru lands.
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Meet every chain (16)
These 16 chains load into the maker above. Each write-up covers what the chain is and what to weigh when you rank it. Facts were last checked on .
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McDonald's
Founded in 1940 as a restaurant run by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California. It grew into one of the world's largest restaurant chains, and most locations are run by franchisees.
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Burger King
Founded on July 23, 1953, as Insta-Burger King in Jacksonville, Florida. Two Miami franchisees, David Edgerton and James McLamore, bought the struggling company in 1959, and it is now headquartered in Florida.
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Wendy's
Founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. It merged with Triarc, the parent company of Arby's, in 2008, and as of 2018 was the third-largest hamburger chain.
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KFC
Short for Kentucky Fried Chicken, it specializes in Southern fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, it is owned by Yum! Brands, which also owns Taco Bell.
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Taco Bell
Founded in 1962 by Glen Bell in Downey, California. It serves Mexican-inspired foods such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos, and is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, the owner of KFC.
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Subway
Founded by Fred DeLuca in 1965 as Pete's Super Submarine Sandwiches in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and financed by Peter Buck. It was renamed Subway in 1972, and it specializes in subs and wraps.
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Chick-fil-A
The largest chain specializing in chicken sandwiches, headquartered in College Park, Georgia. The name is a play on the American English pronunciation of "filet," and it has operations beyond the United States.
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Popeyes
A Southern fried chicken chain founded in 1972 in New Orleans. It is headquartered in Miami, is a subsidiary of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International, and about 98 percent of its locations are franchised.
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Five Guys
A chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs and french fries, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. The first restaurant opened in 1986 in Arlington County, and franchising began in early 2003.
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In-N-Out Burger
A regional chain founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder. It is headquartered in Irvine and has spread across the West Coast and Southwest, but not nationwide.
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Domino's
A pizza chain founded in 1960 and headquartered near Ann Arbor, Michigan. It has stores in more than 83 countries, with large footprints in the United States, India and the United Kingdom.
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Pizza Hut
Founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney while they were students at Wichita State University. It began franchising in 1959 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.
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Chipotle
A fast casual chain founded by Steve Ells on July 13, 1993, serving bowls, tacos and burritos made to order. Its name comes from the Nahuatl word for a smoked and dried jalapeño.
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Shake Shack
Began as a hot dog cart in New York's Madison Square Park in 2001. It received a permit for a permanent kiosk in 2004, adding hamburgers, fries and its namesake milkshakes to the menu.
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Arby's
A fast food sandwich chain and the flagship property of Inspire Brands. In 2017, Food & Wine called it America's second-largest sandwich chain, behind Subway.
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Sonic Drive-In
Founded by Troy N. Smith Sr., it opened in 1953 as Top Hat Drive-In, a walk-up root beer stand. It later grew into a drive-in chain owned by Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby's.
About Fast Food
Fast food chains differ by menu, price, speed and region. A chain that is popular in one country may be hard to find in another, which is why local favorites show up in so many rankings.
Decide whether you are ranking the food, the value, the drive-thru experience or just your go-to order. Rank the chain overall, or pick one menu item, such as the chicken sandwich.
What to consider when you rank chains
- Taste
- Value
- Speed and service
- Menu variety
- Consistency between locations
Fast Food tier list questions
Which fast food chains on this list share an owner?
KFC and Taco Bell are both owned by Yum! Brands, while Arby's and Sonic are owned by Inspire Brands. Popeyes is a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International.
Which of these chains are regional?
In-N-Out Burger is the clearest example, since it operates mainly in California and parts of the West Coast and Southwest. Most of the others are national or international chains.
How should I rank fast food chains?
Common criteria include taste, price, menu variety, consistency and favorite items. Because chains specialize in different foods, ranking by a single signature item, such as the best burger, makes the list easier to compare.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these references on .