In 2023, America’s fast-food industry reached $388 billion, expanding by 66% over the past decade.
In an industry defined by speed and accuracy, customers order in high volumes while restaurants average 5-8% profit margins. Earning customer loyalty often hinges on quality and consistency, especially as people are cutting down on eating out amid inflationary pressures.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows the fastest drive-thru chains, based on data from the annual InTouch Insight Drive-Thru Study 2024.
Taco Bell is the Fastest Drive-Thru in 2024
Below, we rank 10 fast food chains by their total drive-thru time in 2024. To analyze drive-thru times, the study captured data through 165 unannounced visits for each restaurant by mystery shoppers, in locations across America.
For the second year in a row, Taco Bell tops the list, with wait times half that of Chick-fil-A, at just over four minutes.
Following closely behind is KFC, but with higher order accuracy at 89%, compared to 85% for Taco Bell. Both companies are owned by Yum! Brands, which has a $32 billion market capitalization as of October 2024.
However, it’s worth noting that part of the reason these companies were top-ranking was due to a lower volume of cars in drive-thru lines.
While average wait times were the longest for Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s, they both tied for the highest order accuracy, at 93%. Moreover, Chick-fil-A ranked first overall by fastest total time by car, reflecting the highest efficiency across chains.
Overall, average drive-thru times across chains fell to five minutes and 29 seconds compared with six minutes and 13 seconds in 2022 as companies seek to win over increasingly cost-conscious customers.
Fast Food Chain Prices are Outpacing Inflation
How do fast food chains compare when it comes to price increases?
Since 2019, prices at McDonald’s have risen by 40%, more than double U.S. inflation. This has boosted the company’s operating profits until March 2024, when they missed expectations.
Furthermore, McDonald’s price increases exceed other chains over the past decade. The average price across 10 items has ballooned 100% since 2014, outpacing Taco Bell (81%), Arby’s (55%), and Chick-fil-A (55%).
To learn more about this topic from a global perspective, check out this graphic on the price of a Big Mac around the world.
