Top 10 Best Fast Food Hamburgers Ranked

#1 Top Rated!

Hamburger: $3.15

Service: 9/10

Overall, customers are very satisfied with In-N-Out’s service and convenience. This good customer service is also consistent with the higher wages In-N-Out provides (27% above the average). However, the drive-thru services can sometimes be congested. In and Out Burger Coupons

Taste: 8/10

In-N-Out burgers have natural ingredients. They don’t have additives or preservatives which keeps them tasting fresh. The fries are crispy, thin, and salty, and you can watch people cutting up whole potatoes into french fry sized strips.

Value/Quality:10/10

For the service, food quality, and cleanliness, In-N-Out has excellent value. With an average rating of 4 stars on Yelp and 4.5 stars on Google Maps, In-N-Out has very good ratings for a fast food restaurant.

Hamburger: $7

Service: 9/10

Although Smashburger sells typical fast food burgers, they do so in a casual sit-down restaurant environment. Because of this, the service tends to be slightly better and the restaurant cleaner overall.

Taste: 9/10

Smashburger is known for their flavorful, juicy, and fresh burgers. The complaints about the taste tend to be that Smashburgers are too flavorful and that the saltiness overpowers everything.

Value/Quality: 7/10

Although Smashburger burgers are on the pricey side, it is hard to compare them with fast food restaurants because Smashburger is a sit-down restaurant. Additionally, Smashburgers are much larger compared to other fast food chains such as Mcdonald’s and Wendy’s. Smashburger coupons

Hamburger: $3.89

Service: 7/10

Overall, the service quality isn’t terrible for a fast-food restaurant. However, there are some complaints about missing or incorrect orders.

Taste: 8/10

Burger King burgers have a solid, classic burger taste. They taste of real ingredients and are made fresh each day rather than frozen. Something to note about the burgers is that they taste very strongly of smoke because of the grilling process.

Value/Quality: 8/10

A Burger King hamburger costs a little less than $4, making it very inexpensive. The quality of the burgers for this price isn’t bad. Burger King Coupons

Hamburger: $10.43

Service: 6/10

Generally, customers aren’t unhappy with the service at Five Guys. However, there are some complaints about dirty tables and the unsanitary environment in which food is prepared.

Taste: 8/10

5 Guys burgers are known for being juicy and loaded with toppings, unlike other thin burgers from their competitors. They have a classic hamburger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and sauce.

Value/Quality: 5/10

This burger is on the pricey side, especially compared to their competitors with $3 burgers. However, the 5 Guys burgers are also extra thick and loaded with toppings, which helps a little to justify the cost.

Hamburger: $9.59

Service: 7/10

Customers sometimes have trouble with unclear ordering systems at the kiosk. There are also complaints about slow service and incorrect orders. However, generally, Shake Shacks are clean and have a good ambiance.

Taste: 9/10

Shake Shack burgers taste very good, with different sauces, fresh vegetables, and juicy meat patties. However, they are a tad on the small side.

Value/Quality: 3/10

At almost triple the price of most other fast food restaurants, Shake Shack is very overpriced. The burgers taste very good and have more fresh ingredients than most restaurants, however, this is not enough to justify the high prices, especially considering the small size of the burgers.

Hamburger: $10.99

Service: 8/10

Overall, there don’t seem to be many complaints about the service at Arby’s. There are some complaints about the interior being outdated and dirty.

Taste: 7/10

The taste of an Arby’s burger is generally flavorful and fresh. There are some complaints about food being stale or cold which takes away from the taste and the appeal of a hot burger.

Value/Quality: 3/10

The prices are too high for a basic burger at Arby’s. Although the burgers are larger than average, the taste is simple and not enough to justify the price.

Hamburger: $4.03

Service: 2/10

McDonalds has been dead last on the American Customer Satisfaction Index for 2 years in a row. Many reviewers of McDonalds fault the service for being rude and unhelpful.

Taste: 5/10

McDonalds’ best-selling item is the Big Mac Burger. The reviews are torn on the taste of the burgers. Some celebrate the classic salty double patty, but others argue that the slapdash nature in which many of the burgers are thrown together, along with the oversalted meat make the meal undesirable.

Value/Quality: 7/10

On average, a McDonald’s hamburger costs around $4, making it fairly cheap for the amount of food you get. However, to keep up with the low prices, McDonalds also uses cheaper ingredients and lowers wages, so the quality the consumer receives is about the value they pay.

Hamburger: $3.5

Service: 4/10

Reviewers are generally dissatisfied with the service at Carl's Jr. Two of the main problems customers have are the slow service and unsanitary conditions.

Taste: 6/10

The taste for some is a bit on the greasy side. Unlike other burger restaurants, like Wendys’ never-frozen beef and Burger King’s flame-grilled patties, there’s not much that sets the taste of Carl’s Jr. burgers apart.

Value/Quality: 7/10

The value is good for how expensive a burger is. However, in recent years there have been complaints about burger patties becoming thinner.

Hamburger: $7.49

Service: 5/10

Customers that left negative reviews often reminisce about Jack in the Box, and how nice it used to be in the past. However, now, they are mostly disappointed with rude servers, mixed-up orders, and dirty locations. Some customers have had positive experiences, however, so one’s experience will depend on different locations.

Taste: 5/10

Many customers complain that Jack in the Box burgers are bland and the toppings are watered down and tasteless. There are some other items on the menu such as the chicken sandwich that customers prefer, but Jack in the Box is not a good place to get a burger.

Value/Quality: 2/10

For lackluster quality, rude service, and questionable sanitary conditions, the Jack in the Box Burger is way overpriced. Customers don’t get value or quality for the burgers.

Hamburger: $3.74

Service: 2/10

Almost all of the bad reviews are related to rude customer service. The workers at Wendy’s have been accused of a variety of misdemeanors from poor hygiene to incorrect orders to refusing to correct mistakes.

Taste: 4/10

The burgers from Wendy’s tend to be soggy and thin. They lack a lot of fillings that other competitors have and have a slightly bland taste.

Value/Quality: 6/10

Wendy's burgers are very cheaply priced compared to competitors. However, this is not enough to make up for the bad service and mediocre quality and taste.

Overall Best Hamburger Review:

Overall, In-N-Out is the best burger restaurant. Their burgers are quick, convenient, and have a classic burger taste. However, In-N-Out is not available nationwide. Another burger option to try if In-N-Out is not available near you would be Burger King. They have similar menu items to In-N-Out, and have a fast food restaurant style. If you want a dine-in experience, Smashburger is the best. Their burger flavors are slightly more elevated than normal fast food, and the environment is generally nicer and cleaner than a takeout restaurant. The worst burger on the list is Wendy’s. The combination of lackluster flavor, poor service, and bad-quality burgers all contribute to this rating.

Review Notes:

To compare prices of burgers, I compared basic hamburgers across the different restaurants. This was a good baseline because most hamburgers have similar components: bun, burger, lettuce, tomato, etc. I looked at restaurants that were in the Bay Area to compare prices.