In-N-Out wins on burger taste and value, while Five Guys wins on fries and customization, but at $18–24 for a standard meal versus In-N-Out’s $7–9, Five Guys is no longer competing with fast food.
I want to be clear about something before we get into this: this is not a close debate. People make it sound closer than it is because Five Guys fans have a legitimate point about fries and customization, and because scarcity makes In-N-Out feel mythical to anyone who does not live near one. But when you look at the actual food and the actual prices, the answer is pretty straightforward.
Both chains use fresh, never-frozen beef. Both are considered the gold standard of their respective positioning. They just execute that positioning in completely different ways and at completely different price points.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
- A standard In-N-Out meal costs $7–9.50 versus $18–24 at Five Guys for comparable food
- Professional chefs overwhelmingly prefer In-N-Out’s burger by roughly a 2:1 margin in blind taste tests
- Five Guys’ fries are among the best in fast food; In-N-Out’s fries are one of the most criticized items in fast food
- In-N-Out operates only in 10 states, while Five Guys is in all 50, and that availability gap shapes how people perceive both chains
- In-N-Out’s secret menu adds 30+ configurations to a 4-item official menu
The Burger
In-N-Out
In-N-Out’s Double-Double uses two 2-ounce patties seasoned before cooking on a flat-top grill. The chain owns its own beef production facilities, receives whole chucks, grinds them in-house, and forms the patties fresh. Every location must sit within one day’s drive of a distribution center, which means In-N-Out limits how fast it can expand specifically to protect the freshness of its product.
The spread is the real differentiator. It is a Thousand Island-style sauce that gets applied in exactly the right amount to pull the whole thing together. The lettuce is cold and crisp, the tomatoes are fresh-sliced, the bun is soft without falling apart. The Double-Double is a well-designed burger where every component is doing its job.
Ordering Animal Style adds a mustard-cooked patty, extra spread, and caramelized grilled onions. It makes a great burger even better. The Double-Double Animal Style is around $4.95 and is the single best value in premium fast food.
Five Guys
Five Guys’ standard “hamburger” packs two 3.5-ounce patties about 75% more beef than a Double-Double. Both chains use 100% fresh ground chuck with no fillers. Five Guys does not season its patties, deliberately leaving the flavor work to its 15 free toppings, which include grilled mushrooms, jalapeños, green peppers, A1 sauce, BBQ sauce, and hot sauce.
The beef-forward approach works when the burger is loaded with toppings. Plain, it is a bit flat. Loaded with grilled mushrooms, jalapeños, and barbecue sauce, it is a legitimately good burger.
The bun is a sesame seed roll, notably larger than In-N-Out’s, though reviewers consistently note it gets steamed inside the foil wrapping and turns soft by the time you get home.
The Burger Verdict
In-N-Out. Not even particularly close among chefs and in blind taste tests. Anthony Bourdain called it his favorite fast-food burger. Gordon Ramsay said the same. The spread, the balance, the freshness of every component In-N-Out is just a more carefully designed burger. Five Guys has more beef and more topping options, but that does not make it a better burger. It makes it a bigger one.
The Fries
Five Guys
These are excellent fries. Thick-cut, skin-on, double-fried in peanut oil, available in regular or Cajun seasoning.
The portions are borderline absurd fries overflow the cup into the paper bag. A regular serving of Five Guys fries is probably two or three times what you would get anywhere else. They are crispy, hot, and salty in all the right ways.
In-N-Out
In-N-Out cuts fries fresh from whole potatoes, which sounds like it should be good. The problem is they fry them only once without any blanching or soaking, which means they never develop the crisp exterior that makes a great fry.
They come out pale, floppy, and underseasoned. Chef David Chang famously called them garbage. That is harsh but not entirely wrong.
The workaround is ordering “well done” extra time in the fryer makes them noticeably crispier. Animal Style fries, loaded with melted cheese, grilled onions, and spread, are around $3.75 and are genuinely worth ordering. But they are a fix for a problem that should not exist.
The Fries Verdict
Five Guys, decisively. This is the one category where there is no real debate.
The Price
This is where the conversation gets complicated for Five Guys.
A Double-Double combo at In-N-Out burger, fries, and a drink runs around $8.50. The same combination at Five Guys, which means a standard two-patty cheeseburger, regular fries, and a drink, runs around $21–24 depending on location. Five Guys costs roughly two and a half times as much for a comparable meal.
A viral receipt from early 2025 showing a $24.10 Five Guys solo meal got around 25 million views on social media. The price complaints are not new. They are just getting louder. A Five Guys single-patty bacon cheeseburger with fries now costs about as much as a sit-down meal at LongHorn Steakhouse or Texas Roadhouse. At that price, Five Guys is not competing with In-N-Out. It is competing with restaurants that bring food to your table.
In-N-Out prices are consistent nationwide because the chain is entirely company-owned with no franchises. A Double-Double is $4.45 everywhere. A cheeseburger is $3.20. A milkshake is $2.80. Five Guys is franchised, so prices vary by location, but the range is consistently high.
Five Guys is aware of the backlash. The chain is testing a $12.99 Classic Combo at select locations and developing its first-ever loyalty program. Those moves are happening because the pricing problem is real.
The Price Verdict
In-N-Out, overwhelmingly.
The Menu and Customization
In-N-Out’s official menu has four food items: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double-Double, and fries. That is not a typo. The entire visible menu is under 15 items counting drinks and milkshakes.
The secret menu expands this considerably. Protein Style replaces the bun with lettuce wrap at no charge. The 3×3 and 4×4 add extra patties for a few dollars more. The Flying Dutchman is two patties and two slices of cheese with no bun, no toppings, for around $3. Neapolitan shake swirls all three flavors together. These options are available at every location and every employee knows them.
Five Guys offers eight burger configurations, four hot dogs, four sandwiches including a Veggie Sandwich and a BLT, six fry options, milkshakes with 11 free mix-ins, and a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine with 100+ drink combinations. It is a legitimately larger menu and the customization is openly available without any insider knowledge required.
The Menu Verdict
Five Guys for breadth and transparency. In-N-Out’s secret menu is fun, but it still starts from a very small base.
Availability
In-N-Out operates around 433 locations across 10 states. About two-thirds of them are in California. The chain opened its first Washington location in August 2025 and its first Tennessee locations in December 2025, which marked its furthest east expansion in history. That expansion is ongoing but deliberately slow.
Five Guys has around 1,500 US locations across all 50 states and another 450 internationally. If you can eat at Five Guys whenever you want, the scarcity premium that makes In-N-Out feel special simply does not apply to you. East Coasters who grew up without In-N-Out tend to give Five Guys more credit for this reason alone.
For more on what is happening with In-N-Out’s expansion, the In-N-Out expansion guide covers all the new locations coming in 2026 and beyond.
The Availability Verdict
Five Guys, obviously. It is in every state.
Who Should Go Where
Go to In-N-Out if you want the best burger at the best price, you care about calories, you have a peanut allergy (Five Guys cooks everything in peanut oil), or you want simplicity done right.
Go to Five Guys if you want maximum customization, you want the best fries in fast food, you want a massive beef-heavy burger loaded with toppings, or In-N-Out is simply not near you.
For a broader look at where both chains land in the fast food landscape, my fast food tier list ranks every major chain.
The Bottom Line
In-N-Out is the better fast food experience. Better burger, better value, more consistent, and with the cult following and revenue numbers to back it up. Each In-N-Out location generates around $5.2 million in annual revenue versus $1.5 million for the average Five Guys.
Five Guys has the better fries and the more impressive menu. But a $21 meal that competes in price with sit-down restaurants needs to be a lot better than In-N-Out’s $8.50 meal to win this debate. It is not. It is a different kind of good.
If you can get to an In-N-Out, go there. If you cannot, Five Guys is a solid substitute. Just eat before you look at the receipt.
FAQ
Is Five Guys or In-N-Out better?
In-N-Out wins on burger taste and value by most measures, with a standard meal costing roughly half of Five Guys. Five Guys wins on fries and customization. For most people, In-N-Out is the better overall experience.
Why is Five Guys so much more expensive than In-N-Out?
Five Guys is franchised and uses higher beef-to-bun ratios with no fillers, larger portion sizes, and franchisee markup a standard meal runs $18–24. In-N-Out is fully company-owned with no franchises, which keeps pricing consistent and lower nationwide.
Are Five Guys fries better than In-N-Out fries?
Yes, significantly. Five Guys fries are thick-cut, double-fried, and generous. In-N-Out’s fries are consistently criticized for being pale and soft. Ordering In-N-Out fries “well done” helps, but Five Guys is the clear winner in this category.
Does In-N-Out have a secret menu?
Yes. In-N-Out’s secret menu includes Animal Style burgers and fries, Protein Style (lettuce wrap), the 3×3 and 4×4, Flying Dutchman, Grilled Cheese, and more. All locations know these orders and none require extra payment except for extra patties.
Is In-N-Out expanding to more states?
Yes. In-N-Out opened its first Washington and Tennessee locations in 2025 and has announced continued expansion eastward with a new headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee. New Mexico is targeted by 2027.
Cynthia Odenu-Odenu is the founder of Cyanne Eats. She is an avid baker and cook of delicious delicacies. She uses this blog to share her love for different cuisines.
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