National fast food chains only. No local legends, no neighborhood favorites, no sentimental hometown exemptions. This is the definitive list of the best of the best in three categories that matter deeply when you are standing beneath a glowing menu board: burgers, fries, and fried chicken sandwiches.
The rankings are simple. The higher the restaurant appears, the better it ranks. Someone has to finish last. Condolences in advance.
Best Burgers
Burgers need their own expanded ranking because the field is crowded. The category is split between fast-casual burgers, traditional fast food favorites, and the unfortunate residents of the worst-burger section.
Best Fast-Casual Burgers
- Five Guys
- Shake Shack
- The Habit Burger Grill
- Fatburger
- MOOYAH
- BurgerFi
- Wahlburgers
- Johnny Rockets
Five Guys takes the fast-casual crown, with Shake Shack directly behind it. Johnny Rockets closes out this portion of the rankings. Eighth place is still a place. We checked.
Best Fast Food Burgers
- Culver’s
- Freddy’s
- Steak ’n Shake
- Swensons Drive-In
- Wendy’s
- Burger King
- Whataburger
- Mr. Hero
- Farmer Boys
Culver’s sits at the top of the traditional fast food burger list, followed by Freddy’s and Steak ’n Shake. Farmer Boys rounds out the group before we cross into much more dangerous territory.
Worst Fast Food Burgers
- In-N-Out Burger
- McDonald’s
- Sonic Drive-In
- A&W
- White Castle
- Checkers / Rally’s
- Jack in the Box
- Bojangles
- Carl’s Jr. / Hardee’s
- Dairy Queen
Yes, In-N-Out Burger is in the worst-burger section. Yes, McDonald’s is right behind it. And yes, Dairy Queen lands at the bottom. Please direct all strongly worded correspondence to the nearest drive-thru speaker.
Best Fast Food Fries
A burger can disappoint you. A chicken sandwich can betray you. But bad fries feel personal. Here is the ranking of the best fast food fries.
- Checkers / Rally’s
- Arby’s
- Taco Bell
- Chick-fil-A
- Mr. Hero
- McDonald’s
- Steak ’n Shake
- Popeyes
Checkers / Rally’s takes first place, followed by Arby’s and Chick-fil-A. McDonald’s makes the top eight for fries, which is considerably happier news than its position in the burger rankings.
Worst Fast Food Fries
- In-N-Out Burger
There is only one name on the worst-fries list: In-N-Out Burger. A remarkably efficient section.
Best Fried Chicken Sandwiches
Finally, we arrive at the fried chicken sandwich, a category where crispy chicken meets bread and every chain gets a chance to prove itself.
- Chick-fil-A
- Popeyes
- Raising Cane’s
- Dave’s Hot Chicken
- Houston’s Hot Chicken
- Culver’s
- Jollibee
- KFC
- Church’s Chicken
- Burger King
Chick-fil-A claims the top spot, Popeyes takes second, and Raising Cane’s comes in third. Burger King rounds out the top ten.
Worst Fried Chicken Sandwich
- McDonald’s
McDonald’s receives the distinction nobody orders at the counter: worst fried chicken sandwich.
The Final Fast Food Scorecard
If you are choosing strictly from these rankings, the winners are clear: Five Guys leads the fast-casual burger category, Culver’s tops the fast food burgers, Checkers / Rally’s wins the fries ranking, and Chick-fil-A takes first place for fried chicken sandwiches.
At the other end, In-N-Out Burger appears on both the worst-burger and worst-fries lists, while McDonald’s lands in the worst-burger group and takes the bottom spot for fried chicken sandwiches.
Agree completely? Excellent judgment. Disagree violently? That is also part of the fast food experience.
