Fast Food & Restaurant Price Index 2026
Average menu item prices, cheapest and most expensive chains, and year-over-year price changes — computed from 2,564 tracked menu items across 76 restaurant chains (fast food, fast casual, sit-down, coffee, and pizza). Free to cite with attribution to GetFoodMenus.com.
Key findings
- • Average priced menu item: $7.61
- • Tracked menu items: 2,564 (2,599 tracked total)
- • Chains in index: 76
- • Average tracked YoY change: +5.2%
- • Biggest tracked increase: Taco Bell +25.5% vs 2025
- • Cheapest average chain: In-N-Out ($3.14)
- • Highest protein/$ item: 16-Piece Chicken Meal — 17.9g/$
Average menu item price
$7.61
Item-weighted mean across 2,564 priced items — chains with more priced items contribute more observations
Year-over-year change
+5.2%
First 2025 recording → latest, averaged across 76 chains (signature items)
Cheapest chain
In-N-Out
$3.14 avg per item · most expensive: Cooper's Hawk ($20.79)
Cheapest Chains (by avg item price)
| Chain | Avg price | Items | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald's | $4.11 | 82 | +5.3% vs 2025 |
| Taco Bell | $3.99 | 63 | +25.5% vs 2025 |
| Burger King | $3.94 | 52 | +3.8% vs 2025 |
| Del Taco | $3.61 | 48 | +5.3% vs 2025 |
| Dunkin' | $3.63 | 44 | +3.7% vs 2025 |
| Sonic | $4.05 | 38 | +2.1% vs 2025 |
| Krispy Kreme | $3.38 | 32 | +8.4% vs 2025 |
| In-N-Out | $3.14 | 21 | +7.2% vs 2025 |
| Cook Out | $4.15 | 21 | +3.5% vs 2025 |
| Tim Hortons | $3.23 | 14 | +0.0% vs 2025 |
Most Expensive Chains (by avg item price)
| Chain | Avg price | Items | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outback Steakhouse | $16.83 | 62 | +5.9% vs 2025 |
| Texas Roadhouse | $13.11 | 41 | +4.6% vs 2025 |
| LongHorn Steakhouse | $14.76 | 39 | +4.2% vs 2025 |
| The Cheesecake Factory | $16.74 | 30 | +5.7% vs 2025 |
| Red Lobster | $14.94 | 30 | +3.1% vs 2025 |
| TGI Fridays | $12.02 | 29 | +2.4% vs 2025 |
| Crumbl Cookies | $14.01 | 25 | +6.7% vs 2025 |
| Wingstop | $16.87 | 21 | +8.3% vs 2025 |
| Chuy's | $12.28 | 17 | +8.7% vs 2025 |
| Cooper's Hawk | $20.79 | 15 | +6.1% vs 2025 |
Average Price by Restaurant Category
Methodology
- • Chain average price = mean of every menu item with a listed price in our database for that chain (sample sizes shown per chain).
- • Overall index = item-weighted mean across all 2,564 priced items (2,599 items tracked total). Chains with more priced items contribute more observations.
- • The index spans fast food, fast casual, sit-down, coffee, and pizza restaurant categories — see the category table below. Chain averages are directly comparable; the overall index is category-mixed.
- • Year-over-year change = each chain&aposs signature-item price history, first 2025 recording vs latest recording (76 chains with complete histories), averaged.
- • Prices are national-average menu prices from official restaurant sources, before tax and delivery. Verified monthly; dataset snapshot July 2026.
- • All statistics are computed from the structured database — see the data methodology and freshness report.
Restaurant Price Index — FAQ
How is the Restaurant Price Index calculated?
We compute the average menu item price for each chain from the structured menu data on this site (every item with a listed price). The overall index is the item-weighted average across all tracked items — chains with more priced items contribute more observations. Year-over-year change uses each chain's price history for its signature item: the first 2025 recording compared to the latest recording.
What sample size is the index based on?
The index covers every menu item with a listed price in the GetFoodMenus database — currently 2,564 priced items across 76 restaurant chains spanning fast food, fast casual, sit-down, coffee, and pizza categories. Item counts vary by chain.
Do prices include tax or delivery fees?
No. All prices are menu prices from official restaurant sources, before tax and delivery fees. Prices are approximate national averages and vary by location, franchise, and delivery platform.
Cite This Data
Journalists and researchers may freely cite this data with attribution to GetFoodMenus.com. For custom data requests, contact us.
Suggested citation:
“GetFoodMenus. (2026). Fast Food & Restaurant Price Index 2026. Retrieved from https://getfoodmenus.com/price-index”
“GetFoodMenus. (2026). Fast Food & Restaurant Price Index 2026. Retrieved from https://getfoodmenus.com/price-index”