Forget McDonald’s and Dunkin’: analysis shows you can save up to $1,200 per year switching to the cheapest coffee in the fast food industry
Fast food coffee prices vary wildly, and one chain’s small iced coffee is less than half the cost of another’s.
Since you are reading this article, like me, you are likely very aware that your caffeine habit is rather expensive. But how well do you know the differences in the costs of certain drinks across the various fast food chains? Surely they are much of a muchness, right? Well, if this is your stance, be prepared to be shocked, with the obvious caveat below.
Where can I get the cheapest iced coffee?
A big shout out to the folks at Delish (I owe you an iced drink, Megan!) who did the, ahem, groundwork to bring us the surprising price comparison. Before I crunch the numbers for the saving, here’s what was found.
Dunkin’ came out as the most expensive at $5.31 for a small, with Panera close behind at $5.19. Chick-fil-A’s $4.99 and Starbucks’ $4.25 keep them in the premium category, while Sonic ($3.59) and Taco Bell ($3.04) live in the mid-range.
McDonald’s iced coffee is a respectable $2.79, but it’s not the bargain many assume. Wendy’s offers cold brew for $2.49, even with upgrades like caramel cold foam staying under $3.50.
That takes us to the winner of this particular summer saving. And the title goes to Burger King which offers a small iced coffee at $1.99. It’s almost suspiciously low, and may well be a loss leader aimed to get you into the establishment before being seduced with the smells of other treats. I don’t have access to the King’s business strategy so can only speculate.
Here’s Delish’s findings at a glance:
What savings can be had by swapping coffee shop?
Now to the bean counting.
If you swapped one Dunkin’ iced coffee for a Burger King one every workday for a month, you’d save about $66. That’s over $790 a year – enough for a simple vacation or...
But maybe that’s not the easiest switch for your location, so here are a few other comparisons, based on one iced coffee every day:
- Dunkin’ to Burger King – Save $3.32 a cup, or about $1,212 a year.
- Panera to Wendy’s – Save $2.70 a cup, or around $985 annually.
- Chick-fil-A to McDonald’s – Save $2.20 per drink, or $803 a year.
- Starbucks to Taco Bell – Save $1.21 each time, adding up to about $441 yearly.
- Sonic to Burger King – Save $1.60 daily, roughly $584 a year.
Even the smaller gaps shouldn’t be sniffed at. For example, trading McDonald’s for Burger King saves $0.80 a day – over a year, that’s $292 back in your pocket without skipping your caffeine fix. Better lait than never, right?
Caveat: clearly if your chosen drink does not fall into this category then you’ll have to do your own comparison analysis. But I hope this article shows just how worthwhile that can be if every dime counts.
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