Five Guys Burgers and Fries topped a new survey of favorite burger chains, leaving bigger chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King in the dust.

Market Force Information questioned 7,600 consumers, calculated the fan favorite based on total votes and then factored in the number of locations for each chain.

In every region, Five Guys led the list. Overall, In-N-Out was second, followed by Fuddruckers, A&W and Smashburger.

Dairy Queen ranked last in the group of 16 chains considered. Burger King, Hardee’s, McDonald’s and Jack in the Box rounded out the bottom five.


Five Guys ranked best in categories including food quality and taste, service, cleanliness and atmosphere. The only category in which it failed to rank No. 1 was best overall value; In-N-Out won that category.

Smashburger, a newcomer in the so-called better burger industry, ranked second in every category except overall value.

McDonald’s and Hardee’s shared the bottom rankings for overall value. Jack in the Box was last in the food quality and cleanliness categories. Hardee’s was deemed to have the worst service, while Dairy Queen’s atmosphere was voted as the most lacking.

“Five Guys does zero advertising, but by delivering consistently great customer experience, they’re able to build a word-of-mouth buzz that continues to bring new customers through the door,” said Market Force Chief Marketing Officer Janet Eden-Harris in a statement.


In another customer survey this summer, McDonald’s came in last for customer satisfaction. The American Consumer Satisfaction Index found pizza chain Papa John’s the most fulfilling, followed by Subway and Little Caesars.

Burger King and KFC also left patrons wanting more, according to the survey.

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