McDonald’s Vs. Jollibee | Which One To Try?

Are you craving some delicious fast food? Then McDonald’s has you covered like always. At the same time, another chain of fast-food restaurants is winning hearts, which is Jollibee. Are you wondering which one is better? Well then, you should look at this ultimate battle between McDonald’s vs Jollibee! 

McDonald’s is the winner in the battle of McDonald’s Vs Jollibee. Although there are several parameters where Jollibee is the clear winner, some other criteria make McDonald’s the apparent winner in this battle. 

The table below shows the differences between the two fast food chains and what makes McDonald’s stand out over Jollibee. 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of this battle between McDonald’s and Jollibee, let’s look at the history of these fast food chains. 

McDonald’s has been around since the 1950s! The chain of restaurants is the pioneer of fast-food restaurant chains. The McDonald brothers initially owned McDonald’s. However, it was after Ray Kroc discovered the place that it became what it is today. 

On the other hand, Jollibee is a fast-food restaurant chain that is Filipino in origin. They opened their first outlet in 1978 in Quezon City, Philippines. The first outlet started as a Magnolia ice cream parlor. 

So, both Jollibee and McDonald’s have had rocky starts, but they are now the most loved fast food chains. In this article, we will compare each aspect of both restaurants to find out which one you should choose. So, do read on till the end! Now, let us begin with this battle! 

Which Is More Popular? | McDonald’s Or Jollibee?

McDonald’s is the winner as far as popularity goes. McDonald’s has outlets across 120 countries and territories worldwide, making it a lot more well-known to people than Jollibee. Jollibee has outlets in 34 countries. 

McDonald’s and Jollibee are popular fast-food restaurants that many people know. However, McDonald’s is indeed far more well known amongst people across the world, as compared to Jollibee. 

McDonald’s, an American fast food chain, is far more widespread than Jollibee. McDonald’s has over 40,275 outlets spread across 120 countries and territories, which is a lot of outlets! 

Jollibee is also a popular outlet. However, many people don’t know about it as well as they learn about McDonald’s because it is not as widespread. Jollibee has about 1300 outlets spread worldwide, of which 1150 of their locations are in the Philippines! 

The rest are spread across 24 countries, mainly in southeast Asia, with a few in the United States and Canada. So, Jollibee is far less likely to be known by people as much as McDonald’s is, making McDonald’s the first-round winner! 

Which Restaurant Has A Better Menu? 

Speaking of menus, McDonald’s has a much better menu than Jollibee. This is because McDonald’s offers a far wider variety of options on its menu than those provided at Jollibee. 

One of the most accessible parameters to judge which of these fast food chains is better is by comparing their menus with each other. Sure, they are both fast-food restaurant chains. However, their styles are a little different from each other. 

Starting with McDonald’s most of us have been to McDonald’s at least once in our lives and enjoyed their delicious range of menu items. The great thing about the McDonald’s menu is that the variety is vast, and the prices of the menu items are very affordable! 

McDonald’s is most well known for their range of delicious and pure beef burgers. Their menu includes a range of classic burgers, like Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, McDouble, Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger, and the humble hamburger.

Along with these evergreen burger options, McDonald’s regularly offers a range of limited-time burgers, like their bacon, cheese, and jalapeno Quarter pounder burger. McDonald’s also has a range of sandwiches on its menu, both fish and chicken. 

The menu consists of just one fish sandwich option, which is Filet-O-Fish. But they offer a lovely range of chicken sandwiches like McChicken, crispy chicken, and spicy chicken sandwiches! 

Also, when we talk about McDonald’s, of course, we can never forget their world-famous sides, their chicken nuggets, and their world-famous French fries! Over and above, you can find a range of beverages at McDonald’s. 

Now coming to Jollibee, you will find quite a few options on its menu that are similar to the ones at McDonald’s, while plenty of options are very different. Jollibee also has beef burgers on their menu, four chances to be precise. 

However, beef burgers are different from what Jollibee is famous for. The chain is renowned for its fried chicken, chicken nuggets, gravy, spaghetti, and family bucket meals. Since the main menu item that Jollibee is known for is fried chicken, they offer plenty of variety in this category. 

Jollibee offers fried chicken meals with rice, gravy, spaghetti, and sauce. They also have large buckets of fried chicken for families to enjoy. Jollibee also has a range of chicken sandwiches, which consist of a juicy piece of chicken, which could be mild or spicy. 

Jollibee’s menu has chicken tenders served with a side of gravy or even mashed potatoes. Lastly, they also offer Burger Steaks, usually served with rice, but you can opt for mashed potatoes and sauce on the side. So, although Jollibee’s menu is vast, McDonald’s has more options, making it the apparent winner in this round. 

Winner – McDonald’s has a better menu than Jollibee. 

Which Restaurant Is Cheaper?

McDonald’s offers cheaper food than Jollibee. For similar menu items offered at both restaurant chains, Jollibee’s food is far more expensive than what you would get at McDonald’s. 

Since both McDonald’s and Jollibee are fast food restaurant chains, it is evident that neither would be too pricey. However, for this debate, an easy way to figure out which of these restaurants you should choose when you crave fast food is to determine which is cheaper. 

Again, both restaurants are accurately priced for the quality of the food. However, there are specific fundamental differences between their prices. In the table, we can look at the prices of similar options offered at McDonald’s and Jollibee and see how the prices vary. 

The differences in the prices of the menu items offered at both restaurant chains are minor. However, it is still an evident one. Regarding fast food restaurants serving cheaper options, McDonald’s always wins since they simultaneously offer lower prices and excellent quality food! 

Winner – McDonald’s is the cheaper option. 

Which Restaurant Has Better Tasting Food? 

Jollibee offers fresher-tasting fast food than McDonald’s. McDonald’s also offers delicious fast food, but most people have found Jollibee’s chicken much fresher than the burgers and more at McDonald’s. 

When you are trying to choose the best restaurant to dine at, whether it is fast-food or fine dining, you would always want to look at the reviews people have of the food. Yes, it is indeed a fact that tastes and personal preferences can be subjective. 

However, to determine which of these fast-food restaurant chains offers better-tasting food, we can go by the collective reviews of what people say. Most people who have enjoyed a meal at McDonald’s and Jollibee tend to have better things to say about the latter. 

Jollibee’s burgers and chicken may be steeper in price than what is offered at McDonald’s. However, the meat quality is also much juicier than what is offered at McDonald’s. Most people agree that Jollibee’s fried chicken is also very crispy. 

Jollibee’s spaghetti is also sweeter in flavor than the spaghetti offered for a short while at McDonald’s. But, the sweet spaghetti also compliments the taste of fried chicken very well. Jollibee also has fewer outlets in the United States than McDonald’s, so most people have found their food fresher. All this gives us a winner for this round. 

Winner – Jollibee has better-tasting food. 

McDonald’s Burgers Vs. Jollibee Fried Chicken

Jollibee’s fried chicken is far more filling than a McDonald’s burger. Although Jollibee’s food is more expensive, most people have also found that it offers a lot more value for money than the food available at McDonald’s. 

Burgers are the top-selling items at McDonald’s, while fried chicken is the same for Jollibee. Ideally, since the two options are pretty different, it would be a little tricky to compare them. But, we can make a comparison based on specific criteria.

Firstly, as far as beef burgers are concerned, McDonald’s is known for offering some of the best burgers that any fast food restaurant has ever offered. Not all, but quite a few McDonald’s burgers are very hearty and packed with thick beef patties. 

Moreover, McDonald’s offers smaller burgers that fit people with minimal appetites. Jollibee’s fried chicken is said to be very crispy and juicy, giving the perfect crunch when you bite into a piece. 

The fried chicken is often served with a side of your choice if you go for a single piece, which makes it a complete meal. Moreover, they also have buckets of fried chicken available for sharing. 

So, although they both offer great food that is different from each other, there are a few criteria that can help determine which is better. The first criterion is that most people find Jollibee’s chicken much juicier and tastier than burgers offered at McDonald’s. 

The second criterion is the value for money with both menu items. Although Jollibee’s fried chicken meal may cost more than a McDonald’s burger, it will also be much more filling. Chances are that one meal from Jollibee and you will be sufficiently complete. 

The same cannot be said about McDonald’s. Even if you go for a meal, you might get hungry after you finish it, as the sizes tend to be smaller. Moreover, McDonald’s burgers are also made in a way that you end up craving more. So, you are more likely to spend extra money on McDonald’s burgers, although it is a cheaper restaurant. 

Winner – Jollibee’s fried chicken wins this round. 

Which Restaurant Has The Better Breakfast Menu?

McDonald’s is the pioneer of breakfast menus as compared to Jollibee. Jollibee offers options on its breakfast menu closer to the chain’s Filipino roots, whereas McDonald’s offers breakfast menu items that are more loved by a global audience. 

Fast food breakfasts have become as popular as they are today because of McDonald’s! McDonald’s was one of the first fast-food chains to serve breakfast; soon, most other fast-food chains started the same practice. 

Today, grabbing your favorite fast-food breakfast is almost like a norm for so many people! Since McDonald’s is the pioneer of fast food breakfast, let us begin this section by discussing the McDonald’s breakfast menu first. 

There was indeed a time when the demand for breakfast options at McDonald’s was skyrocketing! Keeping that in mind, for a brief period, McDonald’s even began serving all-day breakfast to customers, which was soon changed back to their official breakfast hours! 

The point here remains that people devour McDonald’s breakfast food items! The chain has some of the best breakfast menu items to order, consisting of varieties like McMuffins, hash browns, and the famous McDonald’s hotcakes. 

Jollibee too offers a lovely range of breakfast options. These options are not strictly American but rather an amalgamation of Jollibee’s Filipino roots and American flavors. 

Jollibee breakfast options are pretty different from the ones offered at McDonald’s. Their breakfast menu consists of Breakfast chicken joy, fried chicken served with rice, and a fried egg. They also provide corned beef with garlic rice, breakfast burger steak, pancakes, hash browns, coffee, hot chocolate, and juice. 

So, compared to McDonald’s, some breakfast options at Jollibee are very different. Although picking which breakfast menu is better is a little tricky, I would say McDonald’s is the better choice. 

This is because some of the breakfast options offered at Jollibee are too close to Filipino culture. Most Americans would instead prefer a muffin for breakfast rather than rice. Hence, more people will enjoy breakfast at McDonald’s than at Jollibee. 

Winner – McDonald’s has the better breakfast menu. 

Which Restaurant Has Better Drink Options? 

McDonald’s has a broader range of drink options than Jollibee. Although both chains offer soft drinks and slushies, McDonald’s is a notch over Jollibee since they also have milkshakes and coffee-based beverages. 

Any fast food, whether fried chicken from Jollibee or a Big Mac from McDonald’s, is essentially incomplete without a beverage to wash it all down. So, even though drinks might not seem like extensive criteria since many of their liquids are packaged, it is here! 

Speaking of McDonald’s first, other than alcoholic beverages, there is barely any beverage that you may not find on the McDonald’s drinks menu! McDonald’s is known for serving fountain drinks like Coke and Sprite, which are much better tasting than any other place! 

Moreover, McDonald’s drinks menu also consists of a lovely range of milkshake options. They usually have three primary flavors available all year round: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milkshake. 

Besides these three flavors, McDonald’s also offers limited-time milkshake flavors, which change occasionally. McDonald’s is also known for serving some of the best coffee options and the best-iced coffee options. 

On the other hand, Jollibee has a much more compact drinks menu. Although they don’t have as many options as McDonald’s does, most of their choices are also pretty great. Their menu has basic options like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Iced Tea.

Other than that, Jollibee’s menu also consists of some wacky drink options like Root Beer, Pineapple Quencher, Pink Lemonade, and Fruit Punch. Unlike McDonald’s, Jollibee does not have milkshakes on its menu, and the coffee drinks are also minimal by comparison. Hence, we have a winner for this round as well. 

Winner – McDonald’s has better drink options than Jollibee.  

Which Restaurant Has Better Desserts? 

McDonald’s is the winner when comparing dessert options with Jollibee. Jollibee offers only two dessert options, while McDonald’s offers plenty more. 

Anyone with a massive sweet tooth would agree that a meal is incomplete without a dessert. Regardless of whether you are enjoying a quick fast food meal or a lovely course meal from a fine dining restaurant, have you enjoyed your meal to the core if there is no dessert involved?

So, keeping that in mind, most fast food restaurant chains, including Jollibee and McDonald’s, serve a delicious range of desserts.

Starting with Jollibee in this round, they have only two dessert options available on their menu as of now. These dessert options are coconut pineapple pie and peach mango pie. As you can see, Jollibee is paying homage to its Filipino origin, and hence the dessert flavors are pretty tropical and stick to the roots as much as possible. 

McDonald’s, however, offers plenty of delicious dessert options. One of the best desserts to order at McDonald’s is their soft-serve ice cream. This vanilla soft-serve ice cream is the base for many other desserts and even milkshakes available at McDonald’s. 

The soft serve ice cream is served along with chocolaty hot fudge to create their famous hot fudge sundae. They also have McFlurries, where the base is made with the same soft-serve ice cream. McFlurry flavors range from Oreo to KitKat and even MnMs. 

That is not all regarding dessert options on the McDonald’s menu! They also have baked apple pie, and holiday pie, with their crispy exterior and delicious sweet interior. Finally, McDonald’s also offers a range of cookies, apple fritters, and cinnamon buns. 

So, just comparing each restaurant’s options, we have a winner here. 

Winner – McDonald’s has better desserts than Jollibee. 

Which Restaurant Is Healthier? 

McDonald’s is healthier than Jollibee. There is not much difference between the calories of similar options offered at both restaurants. But, the food at Jollibee has a slightly higher calorie content than the food from McDonald’s. 

Since McDonald’s and Jollibee are technically fast food restaurant chains, one thing is clear about them. Neither of them offers healthy food per se. They are both masters of fried food, which tends to be greasy and packed with many calories. 

But, regardless of that, we can still determine which of the two is healthier by comparison. For that, you can have a look at the table below. This table shows the calorie values of options available at both restaurant chains. 

There aren’t very major differences between the calorie values of the two restaurant chains, at least for similar food options. Yes, Jollibee tends to offer larger portion sizes, which also contribute to a higher number of calories. 

However, for comparison, we will be comparing one portion to another. In the health aspect, McDonald’s is the healthier option, with fewer calories than the food offered at Jollibee. 

Although the calories of many food items available at McDonald’s may be lower than the ones offered at Jollibee, it is essential to remember that McDonald’s food in high quantities can be bad for the human body. So, sticking to smaller portions or choosing options from McDonald’s low-calorie and healthy menu is best.  

Winner – McDonald’s has healthier food by comparison. 

Which Restaurant Has A Better Kids’ Menu? 

McDonald’s is the pioneer of kids’ menus, with a better one than Jollibee. Jollibee in the United States only offers spaghetti as an option, whereas McDonald’s has three options to choose from, with far better sides. 

Speaking of kids’ meals, how can we forget the fast food chain that is the OG in kids’ meals and menus? Yes, I am talking about McDonald’s, of course. Since McDonald’s has been around for the longest time, most of us have a lot of nostalgia attached to its kids’ meals. 

McDonald’s offers just three options on its kids’ menu: hamburgers, 4-piece chicken nuggets, and 6-piece chicken nuggets. The main dish includes a side of apple slices, a small portion of French fries, and a small beverage, usually plain or chocolate milk. 

Speaking of lovely kids’ meals offered at McDonald’s, how can we ever forget their toys? McDonald’s happy meal toys are well-known, and a toy is handed out with every kids’ meal. Hence, the meal is also called a ‘happy meal’! 

Most people have many memories attached to McDonald’s happy meal toys. Keeping that in mind, McDonald’s launched a Happy Meal for adults! The meal and a lovely selection of adult happy meal toys were served!

McDonald’s is the epitome of a lovely kids’ meal, and very few restaurant chains can come on par with it. On the other hand, Jollibee offers only one option on its kid’s menu, at least in the United States. 

Currently, in the US, Jollibee offers kids a portion of spaghetti with a drink accompanied by a toy. They have many more options in the Philippines, but this is the only option in the United States. So, we have a winner since McDonald’s has many more options. 

Winner – McDonald’s has a better kids’ menu than Jollibee. 

Which Restaurant Has A Better Secret Menu? 

McDonald’s has a better secret menu than Jollibee. The sheer number of options on McDonald’s menu makes it far more favorable than Jollibee’s. 

Sure, regular menu items are great. But secret menus can at the same time be so exciting to decode and, well, devour too! Secret menus tend to have the most hidden gems of any fast food restaurant chain, and the epitome of this sentence is McDonald’s, Secret Menu. 

The real question with McDonald’s secret menu is, what can you not find on it?! The secret menu has mix-n-match items from the McDonald’s menu. Here are the options on the McDonald’s secret menu: 

1. Big McChicken
2. Birthday Cake
3. The 2 Cheeseburger Meal
4. The Chicken McGriddle
5. Big Mac Sauce With Fries
6. The Land, Sea, And Air Burger
7. The MC 10:35
8. The McCrepe
9. The Mc Gang Bang
10. The McKinley Mac
11. The Monster Mac
12. The McLeprechaun Shake
13. Neapolitan Shake
14. The Pie McFlurry
15. Caramel Apple Sundae
16. Orange Creamsicle Shake
17. McBrunch Burger
18. Poor Man’s Big Mac
19. Big Mac N Cheese
20. Grilled Cheese
21. Chicken Cordon Bleu McMuffin
22. Cinnamon Melt A La Mode
23. Hash Brown McMuffin
24. Biscuits & Gravy
25. Root Beer Float

On the other hand, Jollibee has yet to have a secret menu in the open amongst customers. Sure, they do have plenty of private menu items in the Philippines. Here are the hidden menu items that you can enjoy at Jollibee in the Philippines: 

1. Chicken Joy with Burger Steak
2. Burger Steak Supreme
3. Jolly Spaghetti Family Pan

However, the truth is that Jollibee is not as popular a fast food restaurant as McDonald’s, at least in the United States. So, as of now, no one has created hacks for secret menu items. Hence, by default, McDonald’s gets this round. 

Winner – McDonald’s has a better secret menu than Jollibee. 

Which Restaurant Has Better Deals?

McDonald’s offers far more deals than Jollibee. McDonald’s is known for some evergreen deals like the dollar menu and more, which put it over the edge compared to Jollibee. 

Most fast-food restaurant chains tend to have deals worth taking advantage of! Speaking of sales, McDonald’s is a fast-food chain known for having some of the best deals ever! McDonald’s offers deals not just with their regular meals but also fantastic breakfast deals. 

Another evergreen deal you can find at McDonald’s is the Dollar Menu, which consists of menu items at much lower prices. Other than that, McDonald’s has some deals that come up now and then, like the 2 for $ 5 meal and 2 for $ 6 meal. 

Jollibee also offers their customers fantastic deals while ordering in person or online. Some discounts at Jollibee include $ 5 off on orders above $ 35 and free delivery. 

Figuring out which of these fast food chains has better deals can be challenging. But, as of now, McDonald’s has many more sales than Jollibee, which is also more popular amongst customers. Eventually, it comes down to this to decide which is the winner. 

Winner – McDonald’s, since they have more deals which are also much more popular. 

Which Restaurant Has A More Modern Look? 

McDonald’s has a far more modern look than Jollibee. Currently, McDonald’s has a play area for kids which you won’t necessarily find at Jollibee, making it the restaurant with a better and more modern look. 

Regardless of how great the food may be, most of us can only enjoy our meals if the restaurant’s decor is just as good. If you go to a restaurant and the set is not worth looking at, no one would want to spend even an extra minute at the restaurant! 

So yes, it is utterly apparent that the decor or look of the restaurant has to be on par with the food. Speaking of scenery, most of us know that McDonald’s has gone through its fair share of renovations and more ever since it first opened. 

The first McDonald’s restaurant to have ever opened, which the McDonald brothers still managed. At that time, the restaurant chain did not offer dining in. Instead, customers would sit outside to enjoy their meals. 

But, ever since Ray Kroc took over McDonald’s, they introduced seating and everything at their outlets. Since then, McDonald’s has been going through a fair share of changes regarding their decor. 

McDonald’s has a modern look with seating options to accommodate every age group and generation. They have high stools for kids and youth, booths, and other chairs and tables. 

Across the McDonald’s outlet, you will also see their classic red-colored walls, along with golden arches. Moreover, a few years ago, McDonald’s incorporated a separate play area for kids in many stores. 

So, most parents think of it as a great way to let their children enjoy a fun time when they eat their meals. Jollibee also has pretty modern decor since it has a lovely space with its logo all around the area. 

Moreover, Jollibee also has similar seating arrangements to McDonald’s, like booths, high stools, and other deals. The only thing Jollibee does not have, but McDonald’s does, is the kids’ play area. 

This thing puts McDonald’s over the edge as compared to Jollibee. The kids’ play area is so popular that many parents are fond of it. This is also one of the reasons why McDonald’s is the go-to place for many people over Jollibee. 

Winner – McDonald’s has a more modern look than Jollibee. 

Which Restaurant Chain Is More Successful? 

McDonald’s is a more successful chain than Jollibee. McDonald’s has far more outlets worldwide than Jollibee and offers plenty more promotions, making it more successful than the two. 

The last criterion to determine whether McDonald’s or Jollibee is the place to choose is to see which restaurant chains are more successful. Speaking of success, most people worldwide are pretty aware of McDonald’s. 

McDonald’s has outlets as of now across 120 countries and territories in the world. Moreover, the outlets come close to 40,275 across the globe. So, it is evident that there are quite a few McDonald’s outlets worldwide, and many people are bound to be aware of this fast food chain. 

McDonald’s does not stop there, either! They are still expanding and planning on opening more outlets across the world! On the other hand, Jollibee also plans to expand its global outlets. 

However, as of now, Jollibee does not have as many outlets worldwide as McDonald’s. Jollibee has 1300 outlets worldwide, with most outlets still located in the Philippines. Besides this one country, Jollibee only has outlets across 24 countries compared to 120 countries for McDonald’s. 

Hence, if we measure success based on which of these restaurants has more outlets worldwide, McDonald’s wins this round. 

Winner – McDonald’s is more successful than Jollibee. 

Who Wins This Battle – McDonald’s Or Jollibee? 

McDonald’s is the winner of this battle with Jollibee. Jollibee wins some of the rounds in the competition. However, McDonald’s is far ahead compared to Jollibee as far as the bigger picture is concerned. 

That was indeed a very interesting battle between two renowned fast-food chains worldwide. The ultimate winner of this battle is McDonald’s, too, by a high margin. Jollibee is a tremendous fast-food restaurant chain with a great menu and delicious food items. 

However, McDonald’s wins many rounds in the battle against Jollibee. Compared to Jollibee, McDonald’s has a better breakfast menu, a kids’ menu, and even a better secret menu. Moreover, the overall menu at McDonald’s is also much more comprehensive than Jollibee’s. 

Lastly, McDonald’s also has a more modern decor than Jollibee and is far more widespread worldwide than Jollibee. Hence, people are likelier to know about McDonald’s than Jollibee, making it the ultimate battle-winner. 

Moreover, if such fast-food battles seem intriguing to you, there are plenty of other actions that we have covered that you should check out. Have a look at KFC Vs. McDonald’s, and also McDonald’s Vs. Five Guys. 

We have also covered other lovely fast-food restaurant battles, like Subway Vs. McDonald’s and also McDonald’s Vs. Carl’s Jr, which is worth looking at! Which restaurant chain do you prefer out of the two, McDonald’s or Jollibee? Let me know in the comments below! 

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