Fast Food Wars 2024: Which Value Meals Offer the Most Bang for Your Buck?

As soaring fast-food prices have become a national topic of conversation, fast-food chains have taken notice and are shifting the economics of quick-service meals. In response to social media and news pressure surrounding rising prices, a number of major chains have introduced limited-time value meals and low-cost menu items to try and gain back customer favor.

So, which value meals offer the most savings for customers? Our team at FinanceBuzz decided to compile a list of publicly available value menus and examine these affordable new options to determine which ones give consumers the best value compared to buying a la carte.

Key findings

• Taco Bell’s Luxe Cravings Box offers the best overall value, allowing customers to get $15.65 worth of food for just $7, a 55% savings.
• Both Wendy’s and McDonald’s offer $5 meal deals that include about $10 worth of food, saving consumers around 50% compared to buying each item individually.
• Popeyes’ Big Box offers the lowest value of any meal deal, with $8.50 worth of food for $6.99 (for an 18% savings).

The fast-food value meals that offer the most value

We broke down how much each value meal costs, how much it would cost to buy the items in the bundle individually, and the savings difference between those costs.

A full list of value meal items can be found below:

1. Taco Bell Luxe Cravings Box

• Value meal cost: $7.00
• Included items: Chalupa Supreme ^® , Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, Double Stacked Taco, Chips and Nacho Cheese Sauce, and medium drink
• Combined menu price of individual items: $15.65
• Savings: $8.65 (55%)

• Value meal cost: $5.00
• Included items: Choice of Crispy Chicken Sandwich or Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, 4-piece chicken nuggets, junior fries, small drink, and small Frosty ^®
• Combined menu price of individual items: $10.75
• Savings: $5.75 (53%)

• Value meal cost: $5.00
• Included items: Choice of McChicken ^® or McDouble ^® , 4-piece Chicken McNuggets ^® , small World Famous Fries ^® , and small drink
• Combined menu price of individual items: $9.96
• Savings: $4.96 (50%)

• Value meal cost: $6.99
• Included items: Choice of 2-topping Personal Pan Pizza ^® or half order of Melts plus choice of side of fries or 4-piece boneless wings
• Combined menu price of individual items: $12.29
• Savings: $5.30 (43%)

• Value meal cost: $5.00
• Included items: Choice of Whopper ^® Jr., Chicken Jr., or Bacon Cheeseburger, plus 4-piece chicken nuggets, value fries, and value drink
• Combined menu price of individual items: $8.66
• Savings: $3.66 (42%)

• Value meal cost: $4.99
• Included items: 2 pieces of dark meat chicken (1 drumstick and 1 thigh), side of mashed potatoes and gravy, and biscuit
• Combined menu price of individual items: $8.20
• Savings: $3.21 (39%)

• Value meal cost: $6.00
• Included items: Tall iced or hot coffee or tea and breakfast sandwich
• Combined menu price of individual items: $9.20
• Savings: $3.20 (35%)

• Value meal cost: $6.99
• Included items: 2 pieces of chicken, two regular sides, and biscuit
• Combined menu price of individual items: $8.50
• Savings: $1.51 (18%)

Looking beyond these limited-time value meals, several restaurants have also introduced multi-item value menus to win back budget-conscious consumers. Some notable examples include:

• Taco Bell’s Cravings Value Menu — 10 items priced under $3 each
• Subway’s $3 Footlong Dippers — 3 items priced at $3 each
• Jack in the Box Jack’s Munchies Under $4 Menu — 12 items priced under $4 each
• Sonic FUN.99 Menu — 5 food items and 7 classic shake flavors priced at $1.99 each

Tips for saving money on fast food and beyond

• Maximize your rewards when eating out. Get the best bang for your buck by using a credit card for dining out to help rack up rewards and offset food prices.
• Set a budget. Cut back on unnecessary purchases and plan ahead with your fast-food expenses to keep more money in your pocket.
• Look into a food delivery side hustle. Read up on this ultimate guide to Uber Eats to create your own hours and earn some extra cash on the side.

Methodology

Prices for value meals and individual menu items were collected via the official website or app for each restaurant chain. All prices were collected for restaurants located in the same city. As these value meals are primarily limited-time offerings, some may no longer be available at the time of publication, although FinanceBuzz tried to limit the analysis to offerings announced and launched in summer 2024. Wendy’s $5 Biggie ^™ Bag has been a permanent offering for a number of years but was included due to the limited-time addition of a free Frosty ^™ .