Is Burger King Cheaper Than McDonald’s in South Africa?
McDonald’s and Burger King are the two global burger names, having many branches in South Africa, and you actually have a choice between them. McDonald’s has a larger presence in the country, with approximately 400 restaurants, while Burger King has at least 150. Burger King has been there since 1995. That size gap shows up in the pricing, too, when you have to choose between both of them. Some restaurants offer good prices for meal deals, but on the other hand, you may find a better choice for desserts or drinks at another branch. So prices may vary from branch to branch or from one brand to another brand. Here is exactly how the two menus of both brands compare, item by item.
Prices last checked: September 2026. All figures are McDonald’s South Africa and Burger King South Africa standard national list prices in rand, taken from our full McDonald’s price list and Burger King price list.
The short form
The entry-level price is lower at McDonald’s, as is the price of its famous burger. The price of a Big Mac® is R72.90, while Burger King’s is R69.90, so that one is more or less a draw. Look at the cheapest burger on each menu, though, and it’s R26.90 against Burger King’s R29.90, a clear win for McDonald’s. It’s one thing: Burger King gets ahead with its bigger, multi-patty burgers, and its Double and Triple WHOPPER®s are a little cheaper than McDonald’s. When looking for the lowest cost meal, head to McDonald’s. Burger King’s top-of-the-range burger is a good option for those looking for the largest burger for their money.
| Compared | McDonald’s | Burger King |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa since | 1995 | 2013 |
| Locations | ~400 | ~150 |
| Signature burger | Big Mac® , R72.90 | WHOPPER® , R69.90 |
| Cheapest burger | Hamburger, R26.90 | Hamburger, R29.90 |
| Soft drink | Coca-Cola | Pepsi |
| Breakfast | Full breakfast menu, all day until ~10:30 | Small English muffin range, morning only |
| 24-hour branches | Some, especially highway stops | Rare, most close by 22:00 |
Big Mac vs. Whopper: the Main Competition
They look for this kind of comparison, and the truth is it doesn’t really make any difference. There is a small gap of three rand between the two, but this isn’t sufficient to make a decision on. The build is more important. The Big Mac® is a special sandwich consisting of two smaller patties of meat in lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onion, all on a 3-part bun. The WHOPPER® is one larger, flame-grilled patty, served on a single bun, topped with lettuce and tomato, and stuffed with mayo, pickles, and onion. It’s not that they’re the same burger with different names; it’s that they’re two different concepts of what a signature burger is.
| Signature burger | Price |
|---|---|
| WHOPPER® | R69.90 |
| Big Mac® | R72.90 |
| WHOPPER® with Cheese | R75.90 |
| Quarter Pounder® with Cheese | R81.90 |
If flame-grilled matters to you, that is a Burger King point in its favour that no price comparison captures. If you want the two-patty, three-bun format McDonald’s is known for, the extra R3.00 is not going to change your mind either way.
Cheapest burgers on each menu
Here McDonald’s has a clearer edge over Burger King, as every entry-level item is a few rand cheaper than the Burger King equivalent, and it stays that way as you move up through cheeseburgers and doubles. If you are shopping purely on price, our roundup of the cheapest fast food under R50 puts both chains against the rest of the market.
| Item | McDonald’s | Burger King |
|---|---|---|
| Basic burger | Hamburger, R26.90 | Hamburger, R29.90 |
| Cheeseburger | Cheeseburger, R30.90 | Cheeseburger, R34.90 |
| Double cheeseburger | Double Cheese, R43.90 | Double Cheeseburger, R44.90 |
| Big Mac®-style | Big Mac®, R72.90 | Big King®, R59.90 |
The last row is the interesting one. Burger King’s own answer to the Big Mac®, the Big King®, is R13.00 cheaper than the McDonald’s original; it is built to compete with. If you like the two-patty format but don’t care which brand’s name is on the box, the Big King® is the better-value pick.
Chicken burgers
McDonald’s wins clearly here, both at the cheap end and in the middle of the range.
| Item | McDonald’s | Burger King |
|---|---|---|
| Basic chicken burger | Chicken Burger, R26.90 | Chicken Burger, R49.90 |
| Crispy chicken | McChicken®, R56.90 | Crispy Chicken, R59.90 |
| Spicy chicken | Cajun Deluxe, R62.90 | Fierce Crispy Chicken, R69.90 |
The gap on the basic chicken burger is the biggest single difference on this whole page. McDonald’s Chicken Burger at R26.90 costs almost half of Burger King’s R49.90 equivalent. That is not a rounding difference, it changes which brand you’d pick if chicken is what you’re after and budget matters.
Fries and sides
| Item | McDonald’s | Burger King |
|---|---|---|
| Small/regular fries | Fries®, R29.90 | BK® Fries Small, R24.90 |
| Chicken nuggets (4pc equivalent) | Chicken McNuggets®, R48.90 | Chicken Nuggets (4 pc), R34.90 |
| Onion rings | Not on menu | Onion Rings, R34.90 |
Burger King’s small fries undercut McDonald’s by exactly R5.00, and its nuggets are noticeably cheaper too. Sides are one category where Burger King is the better value across the board, even though it loses on the mains.
Breakfast
This is not really a fair fight. McDonald’s runs a full breakfast menu, including the South African-only Boerie Burger, and provides it daily until around 10:30. Burger King’s breakfast is five items built around English muffins, with no full breakfast plate on offer at all.
| Item | McDonald’s | Burger King |
|---|---|---|
| Entry breakfast item | Hash Brown, R33.90 | Egg & Cheese English Muffin, R44.90 |
| Local breakfast burger | Boerie Burger, R35.90 | Boerie English Muffin, R49.90 |
| Egg-based option | Egg McMuffin®, R54.90 | Egg & Cheese English Muffin, R44.90 |
If you’re choosing between these two based on breakfast, McDonald’s has both the cheaper entry point and the much larger menu. Burger King wins only on the direct egg-and-cheese comparison.
Drinks and desserts
The biggest non-price difference in this whole contrast sits here. McDonald’s serves Coca-Cola. Burger King serves Pepsi. If you have a strong preference between the two, that decides your order before you even look at a single price.
| Item | McDonald’s | Burger King |
|---|---|---|
| Soft drink, medium | Coke, R26.90 | Pepsi (Medium), R29.90 |
| Soft serve / ice cream | Sundaes, R30.90 | Ice Cream Cone, R19.90 |
| Milkshake | Vanilla Milkshake, R39.90 | Vanilla King Shake, R39.90 |
| Premium dessert | McFlurry® Oreo, R56.90 | Oreo Fusion, R49.90 |
Milkshakes come out identical at R39.90. Everywhere else Burger King’s dessert menu is a little cheaper, including its own Oreo option against the McFlurry®.
What a full meal typically costs
Single-burger prices only tell you half the story, because most people order a meal. The table below builds a like-for-like combo on each side: burger, the smallest fries, and a medium soft drink, using each chain’s own list prices. McDonald’s fries are R29.90, and a medium Coke is R26.90. Burger King’s small fries are R24.90, and a medium Pepsi is R29.90.
| Meal (burger + fries + medium drink) | McDonald’s | Burger King | Cheaper by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signature burger meal | Big Mac®, R129.70 | WHOPPER®, R124.70 | Burger King, R5.00 |
| Cheapest burger meal | Hamburger, R83.70 | Hamburger, R84.70 | McDonald’s, R1.00 |
| Two-patty meal | Big Mac®, R129.70 | Big King®, R114.70 | Burger King, R15.00 |
| Basic chicken meal | Chicken Burger, R83.70 | Chicken Burger, R104.70 | McDonald’s, R21.00 |
| Double cheeseburger meal | Double Cheese, R100.70 | Double Cheeseburger, R99.70 | Burger King, R1.00 |
Those amounts are based upon list prices and are only a maximum price and not an actual till slip. The difference is really only because McDonald’s advertises the price of its standing meals, and Burger King South Africa doesn’t. The price of a cheeseburger meal is R39.90, the price of a double cheeseburger meal is R52.90, the price of a triple cheeseburger meal is R65.90, and the price of a boerie burger meal is R48.90. The McSmart Meal for 2 will cost R131.90 and is equal to one built up meal on the McSmart Menu. Burger King promotions are given through the Burger King app, and promotions change according to the week.
Coffee: McCafé vs Café Royale
Both chains run their own coffee line, and this is the one category where neither brand wins outright.
| Drink | McDonald’s (McCafé®) | Burger King (Café Royale) |
|---|---|---|
| Cappuccino | R26.90 | R36.90 |
| Americano | R38.90 (Tall) | R32.90 |
| Hot chocolate | R42.90 | R39.90 |
A McCafé® cappuccino is R10.00 cheaper than the Burger King equivalent, which is the biggest gap in the drinks range. Burger King is the cheaper stop for a plain americano or a hot chocolate. McDonald’s also sells a Homestyle Doughnut at R15.90 and pairs it with a filter coffee for R26.90, which Burger King has no answer to.
Kids’ meals and plant-based options
Two categories that price comparisons usually skip, and where the menus are not evenly matched at all.
| Option | McDonald’s | Burger King |
|---|---|---|
| Kids’ meal | Happy Meal®, R65.90 | No standing kids meal published |
| Meat-free burger | Veggie Burger, R52.90 (vegetarian) | Vegan Royale, R59.90 (fully vegan) |
| Smaller signature burger | No junior Big Mac® | WHOPPER® Junior, R49.90 |
| Family bundle | McSmart Meal for 2, R131.90 | No standing bundle published |
If you are feeding kids, McDonald’s is the only one of the two with a proper kids’ meal on the standard menu. If you want meat-free, Burger King’s Vegan Royale is R7.00 more than McDonald’s Veggie Burger but is fully vegan rather than just vegetarian, so the cheaper option is not automatically the right one. The WHOPPER® Junior at R49.90 is also worth knowing about: it is the cheapest way to get the flame-grilled taste, and it undercuts a Big Mac® by R23.00.
How These Prices Can Shift by City
The numbers above are national standard prices and not a guarantee of your branch’s prices, as both chains have company-owned and franchised restaurants. The price at both McDonald’s and Burger King is typically higher at the mall and at airports than at suburban stores, and delivery-platform rates, such as Uber Eats and Mr D, tend to be higher than the till price.
The verdict: who wins each category
Twelve categories, and the split is closer than the headline question suggests. McDonald’s takes the cheap end and the family stuff, Burger King takes sides with desserts and the upper burger range.
| Category | Winner | The numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest single burger | McDonald’s | R26.90 vs R29.90 |
| Signature burger | Draw | Big Mac® R72.90 vs WHOPPER® R69.90 |
| Two-patty burger | Burger King | Big King® R59.90 vs Big Mac® R72.90 |
| Chicken burgers | McDonald’s | R26.90 vs R49.90 |
| Fries | Burger King | R24.90 vs R29.90 |
| Nuggets | Burger King | R34.90 vs R48.90 |
| Breakfast | McDonald’s | R33.90 entry vs R44.90, and a far bigger menu |
| Desserts | Burger King | Cone R19.90, Oreo Fusion R49.90 vs McFlurry® R56.90 |
| Coffee | Split | Cappuccino to McDonald’s, americano to Burger King |
| Advertised meal deals | McDonald’s | Meals from R39.90, no published BK equivalent |
| Kids’ meals | McDonald’s | Happy Meal® R65.90, no BK equivalent |
| Plant-based | Burger King | Vegan Royale R59.90 is fully vegan |
| Cheapest full meal overall | McDonald’s | Cheeseburger Meal R39.90 |
Read it simply: McDonald’s is the cheaper restaurant if you are ordering a meal, chicken, breakfast or feeding a family. Burger King is the better buy if you are ordering sides, dessert, a two-patty burger, or something at the top of the burger range.
Other burgers worth comparing
- Full McDonald’s menu prices
- Full Burger King menu prices
- Wimpy menu prices
- Steers menu prices
- RocoMamas menu prices
McDonald’s vs Burger King: quick answers
Is Burger King cheaper than McDonald’s in South Africa?
It depends on what you order, as some items may be cheaper at Burger King and some may be cheaper at McDonald’s. McDonald’s is cheaper on basic and chicken burgers, where the gap is large. Burger King is cheaper on fries, desserts, and its own Big Mac® rival, the Big King®. The signature burgers, Big Mac® and WHOPPER®, are within R3.00 of each other.
Is a Big Mac or a Whopper cheaper?
The WHOPPER® is R69.90 and the Big Mac® is R72.90, a difference of R3.00. This is close enough that taste and portion preference should decide it rather than price.
Does Burger King or McDonald’s have more locations in South Africa?
McDonald’s, by a wide margin. McDonald’s has roughly 400 restaurants in South Africa against Burger King’s approximately 150, reflecting McDonald’s much longer presence in the country since 1995.
Does McDonald’s or Burger King have better breakfast in South Africa?
McDonald’s, on both range and price. It runs a full breakfast menu including the Boerie Burger, while Burger King’s breakfast menu offers five English muffin-based items with no full breakfast plate.
Does Burger King serve Coke in South Africa?
No. Burger King offers Pepsi products. McDonald’s is the Coca-Cola partner of the two.
Which is cheaper for a full meal, McDonald’s or Burger King?
On the advertised pricing of meals, McDonald’s. The least expensive standing meal is available at Burger King South Africa for R39.90, which is the Cheeseburger Meal, but there is no Burger King South Africa standing combo price available to match this. The gap is, of course, smaller at the top of the Big Mac®, as built from list prices, a WHOPPER® meal is R5.00 less than the Big Mac® meal (R124.70).
Does Burger King or McDonald’s have cheaper coffee in South Africa?
It depends on the drink. A McCafé® cappuccino is R26.90 against R36.90 at Burger King, but a Burger King americano is R32.90 against R38.90 for a Tall Americano at McDonald’s.
Does Burger King have a vegan option in South Africa?
Yes. The Vegan Royale is R59.90 and uses a plant-based fillet. McDonald’s counterpart, the Veggie Burger, is cheaper at R52.90 but is vegetarian rather than vegan.