In this battle of fast-food giants, let’s see who is the real winner. Today, I am going to compare Jack In The Box vs McDonald’s. These two fast-food giants have a long history in the fast-food business and have made a significant impact. So, let’s get to know who is the winner.
Let’s have a quick look at the comparison table of Jack In The Box vs McDonald’s:
| Criteria | Jack In The Box | McDonald’s |
|---|---|---|
| Menu | Unique And Innovative Fast-Food Menu | – |
| Price | – | More Expensive |
| Taste | It’s A Tie! | |
| McDonald’s Burger vs Jack In The Box Burger | It’s A Tie! | |
| Breakfast Menu | It’s A Tie! | |
| Desserts | – | More Dessert Options |
| Drink Options | – | More Drink Options |
| Healthy Offerings | – | More Healthy Than Jack In The Box |
| Kids Menu | – | More Kids Menu Options |
| Secret Menu | – | More Options On Secret Menu |
| Best Deals | – | More Deal Options |
| Modern Look | It’s A Tie! | |
| More Successful | – | More Successful |
| Winner | McDonald’s | |
Jack In The Box was begun in 1951 by Robert Peterson in San Diego, California. It gained popularity for its drive-thru concept and unique menu offering. Over the years, the chain has evolved and expanded, offering a variety of menu items like Jumbo jack burgers, chicken fajita pita, and a lot more. Moreover, it’s known for its quirky mascot, Jack, and it created a strome of traffic on social media.
McDonald’s started in 1940 in California, founded by two brothers. Their innovative Speedee Service System paved the way for the fast-food industry. Since then, McDonald’s has grown into a global giant, known for its golden arches and iconic menu items like the Big Mac.
At the end of this battle, we will see who wins it. McDonald’s has the advantage of being well-known globally, while Jack In The Box has unique offerings and a loyal customer base. So, the winner depends on various factors.
Which Is More Popular | Jack In The Box or McDonald’s
McDonald’s is more prevalent than Jack In The Box and McDonald’s. Both fast-food chains have established their names in the fast-food industry, but McDonald’s is globally more successful and is one of the highest revenue-generating fast-food chains in the world.
Moreover, McDonald’s has a higher brand value, with a market cap of $167.91 billion. At the same time, Jack In The Box has more popularity in some regions, such as California and Texas. Overall, McDonald’s has more popularity.
So, let’s look at the comparisons and closely follow these two fast-food giants by comparing them on various factors.
Which Has The Better Menu?
McDonald’s and Jack In The Box offer delicious food, but which chain has a more diverse menu? Let’s take a closer look.
Munching on fast foods has been the best passing time for Americans. Some prefer everything available in one place. Some people like to go for a specific item at a particular restaurant.
Hence, I have considered everything, like total menu items, wide varieties, and prices. Now, let’s compare McDonald’s and Jack In The Box.
So, McDonald’s currently has 145 items on their menu, whereas Jack In The Box has around 116 menu items. Moreover, McDonald’s has extensive menu items from various categories such as breakfast items, burgers, chicken and fish sandwiches, sides menu, kids meals, coffee drinks, desserts, beverages, and dollar menu.
McDonald’s has more classic burger options, such as the Big Mac burger, Quarter Pounder with cheese, and the McDouble burger.
On sides and fries items, McDonald’s has more traditional fries, hash browns, mozzarella sticks, and apple slices. Apart from that, McDonald’s has complete iced and hot coffee lineups, which are the highlight of the menu. They serve mocha frappe, caramel frappe, caramel macchiato, and many other coffees.
Regarding the breakfast menu, McDonald’s consists of various sausage and egg McMuffin options, pancakes, sausage biscuits, a big breakfast platter, breakfast meals, and oatmeal.
Now, let’s get on to Jack In The Box. The fast food chain has around 116 menu items. Their menu also has extensive categories: burger combos, chicken sandwich combos, tacos, fries and sides, shakes and desserts, drinks, late night, breakfast combos, burgers, chicken, all-day breakfast, lighter options, and kids meals.
Moreover, Jack In The Box has unique burger options such as the ultimate cheeseburger, sourdough jack, bacon, and Swiss buttery jack.
Regarding fries and a side menu, Jack In The Box has more food options, such as curly fries, onion rings, half-sie fries, and stuffed jalapenos.
Regarding other menu items, Jack In The Box serves egg rolls, tacos, chicken combos, munchie meals, Coffee, and salads. On their drinks menu, Jack In The Box offers various coffee drinks such as iced caramel cremation, high mountain Arabica coffee, black Coffee, vanilla sweet iced coffee, and others. However, the coffee menu is short compared to McDonald’s.
The breakfast menu of Jack In The Box Includes a sausage burrito, sourdough breakfast sandwich, breakfast platter, breakfast burger, pancakes, and hash browns.
So, overall, both fast-food chains have a variety of items. However, McDonald’s offerings are more expansive and include various coffee options. Hence, I declare the winner here.
Winner – The winner here is McDonald’s.
Which Is More Cheaper?
So now let’s find out which is more affordable – Jack In The Box or McDonald’s? The price menu of Jack In The Box offers the cheeseburger at $7.79 while McDonald’s offers the cheeseburger at $4.19.
The breakfast meal options at Jack In The Box start at $5.89, whereas McDonald’s breakfast starts at $9.29. Talking about everyday items between the two giants, hash browns at McDonald’s cost $3.99, whereas hash browns at Jack In The Box cost around $2.79.
The black Coffee at Jack In The Box costs around $2.79, whereas McDonald’s black and premium roast coffee costs about $2.09. The iced Coffee at Jack In The Box costs around $3.59, whereas McDonald’s iced coffee costs around $3.49.
Moreover, the small Coke at Jack In The Box costs around $3.29, whereas Coke at McDonald’s costs around $2.49. Other Jack In The Box drinks are also slightly higher than McDonald’s.
I have found that the burgers at Jack In The Box are primarily more expensive than McDonald’s. McDonald’s is slightly more costly than Jack In The Box for the side menu.
Now, let’s look at the price comparison of the two chains:
| Menu Items | Jack In The Box | McDonald’s |
|---|---|---|
| Cheeseburger | $ 7.79 | $ 4.19 |
| Chicken Sandwich | $ 2.39 | $ 4.79 |
| Chicken McNuggets | $ 4.79 | $ 7.99 |
| French Fries (Medium) | $ 3.69 | $ 3.89 |
| Breakfast Meal | $ 7.29 | $ 9.29 |
| Hash Browns | $ 2.79 | $ 3.99 |
| Black Coffee (Small) | $ 2.79 | $ 2.09 |
| Chocolate Shake (Medium) | $ 5.19 | $ 3.69 |
Looking at the table, many Jack In The Box items will cost you a little less than McDonald’s. Hence, the winner is….
Winner – Jack In The Box is cheaper than McDonald’s.
Which Has Better Tasting Food?
Comparing the taste of two famous fast-food chains, it’s difficult to say which has better-tasting food. It’s a matter of personal preference, and both have some loyal fans, too.
Jack In The Box is known for its bold and flavorful menu items. The chain’s most famous jumbo jack burger is a fan favorite, and their tacos are also high-rated. The chain also offers unique salads, kids’ meals, and a late-night menu, which are pretty famous among people.
On the other hand, McDonald’s is known for their classic burgers and fries. The chain’s famous burger is the Big Mac burger, and their fries are also world-famous. Moreover, McDonald’s also offers other menu items such as Happy Meals, chicken McNuggets, and hash browns, which are popular among customers.
Ultimately, both chains have something to offer for everyone.
Winner – Hence, both chains are winners in this segment.
McDonald’s Burgers vs. Jack In The Box Burgers
Burgers are the main attraction at fast-food restaurants. Both McDonald’s and Jack In The Box offer a variety of burgers on their menu. So, let’s be a part of this battle and see who wins this.
So, let’s look at the pros and cons of burgers from both chains.
McDonald’s Burger Pros And Cons:
Pros:
- Classic and familiar taste
- Consistent quality
- High protein
- Variety of toppings and sauces
Cons:
- Not many unique burger options
- The chicken in the burger is not too crispy
Jack In The Box burger Pros And Cons
Pros:
- Juicier burger
- Creative and unique burger options
Cons:
- Burgers priced higher than McDonald’s
- Too heavy and greasy burgers
Looking at the pros and cons, both chains have different offerings. For example, McDonald’s offers sausage McMuffins and has many other best burgers on its menu.
Whereas Jack In The Box offers sourdough burgers. Price-wise, McDonald’s burgers are priced less than Jack In The Box. Taste-wise, both have mixed opinions and reviews.
Winner – Both McDonald’s and Jack In The Box are winners here.
Which Has A Better Breakfast Menu?
Regarding the breakfast menu, we all know that McDonald’s was the first chain that started offering a fast-food breakfast menu. The breakfast menu became so popular that customers began coming to dine at McDonald’s. After that, other stores like Jack In The Box also started offering breakfast menus.
McDonald’s offers various breakfast menu items such as sausage McMuffin, egg McMuffin, scrambled eggs, hotcakes, hash browns, coffee drinks, bacon, egg & cheese biscuits, oatmeal, apple slices, breakfast platter, etc. You can try all these menu items available during McDonald’s official breakfast hours.
On the other hand, Jack In The Box offers bacon cheddar biscuit sandwiches, sausage croissants, breakfast burritos, sausage sandwiches, jumbo breakfast platters, pancakes, and hash browns.
Looking at offerings, the competition is neck to neck. Both chains have a variety of menu options to offer. McDonald’s has some of the best breakfast items to order, while Jack In The Box has unique items.
Although McDonald’s breakfast menu prices are higher than Jack In The Box, people prefer the breakfast menu. So, who is the winner here?
Winner – I give marks to both of them for offering the best breakfast menu. Hence, both are winners.
Which Has Better Drink Options?
This section is straightforward in terms of selection and variety. Both chains offer a variety of drink options. However, McDonald’s has various drink options, like Hi-C orange lava burst, frozen drinks, and unique smoothies.
McDonald’s drinks menu offers a variety of frozen drinks, which are the talk of the town. Moreover, they also provide some fruit juices like apple juice and orange juice. It also offers iced tea, chocolate milk, strawberry and banana smoothies, and more. All these items are the best-ranked coffee drinks on McDonald’s menu.
McDonald’s is also known for its best-iced coffee drink options, which include iced caramel mocha, caramel latte iced coffee, caramel macchiato, and more.
Whereas Jack In The Box offers various other drink options such as flavored Red Bulls, cold drinks, iced tea and Coffee, hot coffee drinks, juices, and milk. Some of their best coffee drinks are caramel sweet iced coffee, mocha sweet iced coffee, black iced Coffee, and iced mocha cremation. Apart from that, Jack In The Box also offers iced tea, root beer, Dr. Pepper, Fanta, and apple juice.
Compared to McDonald’s, Jack In The Box has a little less variety of drink options. The fast-food chain offers basic drinks and fewer coffee options. Hence, I found my winner!
Winner – McDonald’s becomes the winner of this segment.
Which Restaurant Has Better Desserts?
Fast-food restaurants may not be the first choice when it comes to desserts. But our beloved fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Jack In The Box have found their places in people’s hearts with their unique dessert offerings. So, let’s look at their dessert menu and find the real winner.
Jack In The Box gets less marking due to its limited dessert offerings. First of all, it doesn’t serve disappointing ice cream. It mainly offers milkshakes, brownies, churros, cheesecakes, and chocolate overload cake.
Whereas McDonald’s wins on its best dessert menu items. It offers beloved McFlurry options (with various flavors), soft-serve ice creams, baked apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, and apple fritters.
You can see that Jack In The Box offers hardly a few items on its menu, and it isn’t enjoyable for the customers who want to enjoy ice creams specifically.
So, I have found the most deserving winner here.
Winner – McDonald’s wins our hearts for its exciting dessert menu options.
Which Is More Healthy?
When it comes to fast food, it is a fact that they need to be well-known for serving healthy foods. However, there are some healthy options that both Jack In The Box and McDonald’s offer on their menu. So, let’s look at their healthy offerings and see who wins this battle.
I have made a table below to check the nutritional value of standard menu items.
| Menu Items | Jack In The Box | McDonald’s |
|---|---|---|
| Cheeseburger | 840 kcal | 300 kcal |
| Big Burger | 520 kcal | 590 kcal |
| French Fries (medium) | 430 kcal | 320 kcal |
| Chicken Sandwich | 510 kcal | 470 kcal |
| Hash Browns | 190 kcal | 140 kbcal |
| Chicken Nuggets | 480 cal | 410 cal |
| Chocolate Shake (small) | 680 cal | 520 cal |
| Iced Coffee (small) | 180 cal | 140 cal |
As you can see from the above table, Jack In The Box menu items are higher in calories. The nutritional profile is better at McDonald’s. After facing much criticism regarding their fast food being bad for the body, McDonald’s has done an excellent job creating their menu items less in calories.
Now, you can find many low-calorie menu items at McDonald’s, which many customers will prefer. Hence, I declare the winner for providing better healthy food items.
Winner – It’s none other than McDonald’s.
Which Has A Better Kids Menu?
We get super excited about the kid’s menu. When fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Jack In The Box offer kids’ menus, they do it on a larger scale. Both chains offer kids’ menus, so the question is, which one offers the better version? Let’s get to the answer.
McDonald’s Happy Meal toys have a vast history. From those fun toys to exciting meal options, grabbing a kid’s meal from McDonald’s has always been a pleasure. They offer various kids’ menu options: hamburger meal, 4-piece chicken nuggets meal, and 6-piece chicken nuggets meal. The meal includes fries, apple slices, low-fat milk, and chicken nuggets.
When we compare the Jack In The Box menu, they have regular items on their kid’s menu. For example, they offer chicken nuggets, hash browns, hamburgers, cheeseburger combo, and milk.
Also, Jack In The Box used to offer toys with their kid’s menu. However, they discontinued offering toys due to concerns about childhood obesity. The company felt toys were an unnecessary part of kids’ meal experiences. Instead, they are now focusing more on providing healthy meal options.
McDonald’s offers better meals for kids. Even history says that McDonald’s kid’s meals were trendy; to date, they are the best any fast-food chain provides. Mainly, they were known for their toys in the kid’s meal box.
One interesting point here is McDonald’s kid’s menu was so popular that in 2022, they released McDonald’s adult Happy Meal in collaboration with Cactus Plant flea market boxes. Customers had to choose between a Big Mac or 10-piece chicken nuggets, including fries, a drink, and a free toy character.
Today, McDonald’s has the most unique toy offering, including books for kids. This inspires kids to become good readers.
So, let’s not guess and get straight to the winner…
Winner – McDonald’s is the clear winner when offering the best kids’ menu.
Which Has A Better Secret Menu?
Many fast-food chains offer a secret menu that needs to be listed on their official menu. Just like that, Jack In The Box offers a personal menu, and McDonald’s also provides a fantastic secret menu.
McDonald’s Secret Menu
- Big McChicken
- Birthday Cake
- The 2 Cheeseburger Meal
- The Chicken McGriddle
- Big Mac Sauce With Fries
- The Land, Sea, And Air Burger
- The MC 10:35
- The McCrepe
- The Mc Gang Bang
- The McKinley Mac
- The Monster Mac
- The McLeprechaun Shake
- Neapolitan Shake
- The Pie McFlurry
- Caramel Apple Sundae
- Orange Creamsicle Shake
- McBrunch Burger
- Poor Man’s Big Mac
- Big Mac N Cheese
- Grilled Cheese
- Chicken Cordon Bleu McMuffin
- Cinnamon Melt A La Mode
- Hash Brown McMuffin
- Biscuits & Gravy
- Root Beer Float
Jack In The Box Secret Menu
- Bacon Bacon Cheeseburger
- Sourdough Bread Hack
- Extra Loaded Breakfast Sandwich
- Churro Cheesecake
- Extra Meat
- Chicken Biscuit
- Churro Pancakes
- Ranch Tacos
- Curly Fry Sandwich
- Protein-Style Burger
- Keto-Friendly Bacon Egg Cheeseburger
- Spicy Nacho Curly Fries
- Mint Oreo Cookie Shake
- Maple Bacon Cheesecake
- Ciabatta Bacon Cheeseburger
- Jr. Onion Bacon With BBQ
- Jalapeno Popper Nachos
- Western Tacos
We can say that McDonald’s has various secret menu items from the list. At the same time, Jack In The Box has fewer items on their menu.
Moreover, McDonald’s secret menu hacks are world-famous and get more customer appreciation. As you can see, their menu has a variety of offerings like shakes, desserts, burgers, ice creams, cakes, and a lot more.
So thereby, I declare the winner here.
Winner – McDonald’s is the winner here.
Which Has Better Deals?
The choices can be overwhelming when searching for the best deals on fast food. Two popular contenders that often come to mind are Jack in the Box and McDonald’s. Both of these fast-food chains offer delicious meals at affordable prices. Let’s take a closer look at what each has to offer.
Jack in the Box is known for its diverse menu and good deals. They are offering 2 $6 cheddar biscuit breakfast sandwiches and two tacos for $0.99. Someone looking for quick snacking can opt for these deals.
Moreover, the chain also offers other fantastic chicken and burger combos starting at only $8. Apart from that, Jack In The Box offers discounts and deals on their app. They provide free deliveries, combos, and sometimes free food items too.
On the other hand, McDonald’s offers exciting deals and offers you should not miss. Some famous deals that McDonald’s offers are a $5 meal deal using McDonald’s app, senior discounts (available in participating McDonald’s restaurants), free fries Friday, and many more.
McDonald’s introduces many deals and offers now and then. So, equip yourself with our blog article’s updated McDonald’s breakfast deals and offers. Additionally, McDonald’s also offers a popular dollar menu. It includes three price tiers: $1, $2, and $3. There are various items lined up in these particular dollar prices.
On top of that, McDonald’s offers various reward programs like MyMcDonald’s rewards, which give members points for every dollar spent. These points can be redeemed for food discounts.
So, overall, McDonald’s offers better deals.
Winner – I declare McDonald’s as the clear winner in this segment.
Which Has A Modern Look?
McDonald’s and Jack In The Box have undergone a modern makeover in recent years. Both chains are known for their current stores’ look and do unique promotions for their brand. Let’s get to know both stores closely and see which has the better modern look.
Jack in the Box’s new “Crave” stores feature a sleek, modern design focusing on digital ordering. The stores have a double drive-thru lane, digital menus, and a smaller dining room. The overall look is more contemporary than that of McDonald’s stores.
On the other hand, McDonald’s has been more gradual in its update. The chain has added digital ordering and other modern features to its stores. The McDonald’s stores have a modern, sleek, and minimalist look.
Talking about promotions, Jack In The Box is famous for its creative and attention-grabbing discounts. The chain offered free food for the next few days on its mascot’s birthday. Jack In The Box’s customers would get daily freebies when ordering from a mobile app.
In the case of McDonald’s promotions, Ronald’s mascot is always highlighted in their ads and promotions. The mascot gives the brand strong recognition. Moreover, the fast-food chain always takes their store promotions higher by introducing celebrity meals such as famous BTS McDonald’s, Saweetie meal, Travis Scott, Kanye West meal, and more.
Apart from promotions, both chains are well-known for making limelight’s on social media by trolling each other. So, Jack in the Box dug McDonald’s for its notoriously
broken ice cream machines in a series of marketing campaigns in 2022. Even Jack In The Box launched Snoop Dogg’s meal, creating social media hype.
Jack in the Box took over McBroken.com, a website that tracks the status of McDonald’s ice cream machines, for March. The takeover featured banners that directed users to Jack in the Box locations by saying, “Don’t get McShammed’ and get where the ice cream machines were working.
To reply, McDonald’s tweeted, “We have a joke about our soft serve machine, but we are worried it won’t work.” Jack In The Box went to the next level and offered a shake for $2 if you download their app or use the code “McShammed.”
If you look at Jack In The Box’s Instagram account, it’s pretty spooky and engaging. Even McDonald’s social media account has refreshing content.
So, looking at all the criteria, I found my winner.
Winner – McDonald’s and Jack In The Box are both winners.
Which Is More Successful?
To assess the success of fast-food chains, it’s essential to look at other elements, such as the revenue they generate and the customer satisfaction they achieve. So, let’s compare the success of McDonald’s and Jack In The Box.
As of 2023, McDonald’s has over 39,000 restaurants in over 100 countries. On the other hand, Jack In The Box has over 2200 restaurants in the United States.
Regarding revenue, McDonald’s generated around 23.18 billion dollars, whereas Jack In The Box generated around $1.6 billion in 2022.
Looking at these numbers, we can see that McDonald’s is more successful than Jack In The Box.
Winner – The winner is McDonald’s.
Who Wins This Battle – McDonald’s or Jack In The Box?
McDonald’s and Jack In The Box are two famous fast-food chains. Both have their strength and weaknesses, but today, one wins the show. So, now I am about to announce the winner.
But before that, let’s go back to the whole assessment. So, we compared both brands regarding their menu items, taste, price, and success ratio. Looking at all the factors, McDonald’s is the clear winner and wins this battle.
Although, at many points, there was a tie between both fast food chains. There was a tie regarding price, breakfast menu items, and a modern look. But in significant segments, McDonald’s won.
The most crucial winning point for McDonald’s here is the revenue. It has the highest income in the fast-food industry, almost 23.18 billion dollars. No other fast-food chain comes at this level. Hence, McDonald’s won the battle.
Now that you know the winner, remember to check out similar blogs like McDonald’s vs. Carl’s Jr. Showdown, McDonald’s vs. Five Guys Battle, Mcdonald’s vs. Hungry Jacks Battle, and Mcdonald’s vs. Whataburger Battle. Have a great day!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Jack in the Box more expensive than McDonald’s?
No, McDonald’s is more expensive than Jack In The Box. Many side items, condiments, beverages, tacos, and salads are priced less than on McDonald’s menu.
Which fast-food chain has healthier food options, Jack in the Box or McDonald’s?
McDonald’s has more healthier food options than Jack In The Box. They have many food items low in calories, such as cheeseburgers, French fries, chicken nuggets, and iced Coffee.
Which fast-food chain has a better reputation for customer service?
McDonald’s has quick and efficient customer service. They even have digital kiosks to let customers order on their own.
What are the main differences between Jack in the Box and McDonald’s?
Jack in the Box and McDonald’s are both fast-food chains but have different menu offerings, branding, and restaurant styles. While McDonald’s is known for its classic burgers, fries, and popular breakfast items like the Egg McMuffin, Jack in the Box offers a more diverse menu with items like tacos, onion rings, and a wide selection of chicken sandwiches.
