Austin's 9 Chain Burger Restaurants Face Off, By-the-Numbers

In honor of Burger Week, Eater put together an exhaustive price index of semi-local fast food burger chains. Spots like Wendy’s and Burger King were left out because the chains can be found everywhere, and instead stuck to places a little more unique to Austin. Below is the informal financial findings on nine of Austin’s most popular fast food burger joints.

No Austin fast food burger—for these purposes, burger is defined as the most basic burger on each menu, meaning no cheese, no extras—is as cheap as a McDonald’s hamburger, which comes in at $.96. In this round-up of quintessential Austin fast food burgers, the cheapest is a P.Terry’s hamburger. Which, coming in at $2.35, is still a whooping $1.39 more expensive than Mickey D’s.

On average, an Austin fast food burger costs $3.73. Read on for the full price breakdown of nine of Austin’s most quintessential burger fast food spots, in order of cheapest to most expensive. Combo meal ("add fries and a drink") prices included—and added items together for places where no combo meals were offered.

There’s some serious price differences. In fact, a Five Guys burger—the most expensive in the price index--will cost almost $4 more than a P.Terry’s burger. But not all burgers are created equal. Since size does matter, Eater also took a look at some nutritional information where available, to compare how these burgers weigh in. A $2.35 P.Terry’s burger might be the best bet for the bank account, but at 156 grams, it’s almost half the size of a Five Guys burger (265 g), which makes that $6.29 price tag seem a little more reasonable.

• P.Terry’s - Hamburger: $2.35; Combo Meal: $5.65; 156 g
• In-N-Out - Hamburger: $2.38; Combo Meal: $5.95; 243 g (w/ onion)
• Dan’s Hamburgers - Hamburger: $2.44; Combo Meal: 4.92
• Whataburger - Hamburger: $3.62; Combo Meal: $6.16; 316 g
• Hat Creek - Hamburger: $3.79; Combo Meal: $7.28
• Mighty Fine - Hamburger: $4.19; Combo Meal: $8.97; 113 g
• Short Stop - Hamburger: $4.21; Combo Meal: $6.38; 113 g
• Smashburger - Hamburger: $4.99; Combo Meal: $8.97;
• Five Guys - Hamburger: $6.29; Combo Meal: $11.47; 265 g

Which favorite spots are missing? Are any of these prices surprising? Let us know in the comments section.

— Sofia Sokolove