Fast-Food Chains With The Longest And Quickest Drive-Thrus

The act of driving to a fast-food restaurant and leaving with a hot meal without even stepping out of your car seems like second nature to us today, but it was an invention that changed the game when it first appeared. Fast-food drive-thrus really kicked off in 1948, when In-N-Out started its business by offering its customers food directly from their car windows. A key part of In-N-Out's concept was speed, and that's something that virtually all fast-food chains have tried to emulate since. So why are some of them so darn slow, and why do others manage to get customers through so rapidly?

There are many reasons, including the food style that restaurants offer and how much they invest in customer service and new technology, that cause fast-food chains to offer long or quick drive-thrus — but the difference between some of their times is pretty wild. You can be in and out (if you'll excuse the pun) of certain drive-thru lines in no time, while in others you'll be sitting there for minutes on end. The question is, which should you be going to if you want a speedy meal, and which should you be avoiding? Well, we've got the lowdown here, and we'll also tell you why some fast-food chains take way more time than they should.

Quickest: Taco Bell

If you want speedy service, get in your car and drive down to Taco Bell. This fast-food chain is the champion of quick drive-thrus, providing the fastest of any of the major fast-food chains out there. A 2024 report by QSR and InTouch Insight found it to have the fastest average total time and average service time. This isn't a recent improvement on Taco Bell's part, either, as it topped the leaderboard in QSR's reports for four years in a row, with another study by Statista, published in 2022, also finding that it was the quickest.

It's worth bearing in mind that Taco Bell's average total time of 255.78 seconds, as published in QSR's report, is just that: An average. As such, individual times experienced by other customers may be significantly longer. Things can also depend heavily on how many cars are ahead of you in the queue and when exactly you go to get your favorite Taco Bell menu items. If you grab a particularly large order, too, you may be waiting for more time. However, it appears that Taco Bell is generally pretty speedy, and it has ambitions to get even faster by leveraging the power of AI technology and automated voice ordering across its stores.

Longest: Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A may be good at a lot of things, but one thing it isn't especially good at is the speed of its drive-thru. Chick-fil-A's drive-thrus are historically pretty slow, and unfortunately, the most recent data hasn't changed things very much. In 2024 this restaurant had the longest total times, average wait times, and service times out of all of the major fast-food chains. Chick-fil-A is at a notable disadvantage when it comes to the drive-thru, as its lanes can be way busier than some other fast-food restaurants. However, that's all the more reason to figure out how to speed them up, right?

It's worth pointing out, though, that what you lose in speed, you do gain in other things. Chick-fil-A's customer service is renowned for being some of the best out there (as long as you avoid some things that Chick-fil-A employees really hate), and it invests heavily in its employees to improve customer experience and food satisfaction — even when they have to wait a little bit longer. So while you might be sitting in your car for a few extra minutes, you'll likely have a better overall encounter with the restaurant than if you went somewhere else.

Quickest: KFC

KFC is renowned for being one of the quicker drive-thrus out there, which makes a lot of sense. After all, when you take its sandwiches, bowls, and mashed potatoes and gravy out of the equation, many of its menu items require little more than putting pieces of pre-cooked fried chicken into a container. This gives it a rapid edge, with it consistently ranking highly in terms of its average total time and service times. Plus, it's also pretty reliable at getting its orders right, too.

KFC has spent a lot of time considering how to speed up its drive-thru, with the 2021 rollout of its "Quick Pick Up" system allowing customers to roll up and grab pre-made orders, speeding up the drive-thru line overall. Judging by how quick the drive-thru is nowadays, it seems to have worked. However, things can go out of the window when it comes to individual experiences, especially if you catch your restaurant at a time when they're playing catch-up with their cooking. YouTube creator Sam Reid put fast-food drive-thru service times to the test, and his experience of KFC found him waiting considerably longer than the average time, largely because the restaurant was in the middle of cooking fries.

Longest: Carl's Jr. & Hardee's

Dear, oh, dear. Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have gradually become more and more similar following Carl Jr.'s acquisition of the Hardee's name, and one thing that they clearly like to keep equal is how long they want their customers to wait in the drive-thru. In the 2024 QSR and InTouch Insight reports on drive-thru wait times, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's (which were counted as one restaurant) ranked exceptionally low. Its average service time, clocking in at 287.88 seconds, is second only to Chick-fil-A as the slowest around. It also has the longest experience overall per car from start to finish — although once you actually get to place your order, things do get pretty speedy.

It's clear that Carl's Jr. and Hardee's know that this is an area the restaurants have to work on, and in 2023 Carl's Jr. began to roll out an automated ordering system. The idea behind it was to improve wait times for customers by having an AI assistant take your order, which would also free up its other employees to make the process quicker and smoother behind the scenes. However, early feedback from users noted that while the AI assistant was pretty accurate, it also made ordering feel even slower. That's probably not what the restaurants are going for here.

Quickest: Arby's

Given that Arby's specializes in sandwiches, you wouldn't expect its drive-thru to take a huge amount of time — after all, all that needs to be done is to put them together — and to be honest, you'd be right. Arby's drive-thru is pretty speedy, and on average it takes just under five minutes from your car entering the queue to you driving away with your food. This speed makes it one of the quickest drive-thrus out there, and if that wasn't enough, its customer service and order accuracy are also decent. Trust us, folks, you can do much worse.

Arby's has spent years refining its drive-thru process, not only by harnessing the power of new technology but also by focusing heavily on production processes. The restaurant doesn't compromise on its promise to make sandwiches uniquely to order, but it shaves off valuable seconds in doing so by making sure that its production line and equipment configurations are as efficient as they can possibly be. Even details like the packaging are considered carefully for their impact on time, which can ultimately have an effect on customer experience and desire to return to the restaurant.

Longest: McDonald's

Considering how long McDonald's has been around, and how classic and unchanging so many of its menu items are, you'd think that it had nailed its drive-thru process by now. After all, McDonald's drive-thrus were first created for the military, so you'd hope it'd bring some military precision to its timings. Unfortunately, that's not quite the case. The world-famous burger chain has one of the longest drive-thru experiences out there, with a slow average service time, average wait time, and average total time.

That lengthy time has been confirmed by more anecdotal reports, and while McDonald's has made efforts in the past to slash its drive-thru wait times, it still lags behind a lot of its competitors. It's been found to be pretty slow in previous reports from the same organizations too, speaking to a chronic problem with its timings. So why is McDonald's so slow? Well, it might be because these days, it offers way more options, like so many other fast-food restaurants out there. Although its classics are still there and available, its kitchen staff are increasingly required to put together new and innovative combinations of food, which can drag down how long things take overall. McDonald's is also typically more busy than some other fast-food restaurants too, which means you're contending with more cars in the drive-thru — and therefore a longer wait.

Quickest: Dunkin'

Everything about Dunkin' screams speed, with its central menu offering of coffee and donuts promising that you'll be in and out of there in minutes. They're not cooking those donuts from scratch for every order, and while the coffee can take a while to brew, it's still pretty swift. All of this translates into Dunkin' having one of the quickest drive-thrus out there — although interestingly, it's a touch slower than some other restaurants that serve slightly more complicated menu choices.

Dunkin's speed isn't new, either. For several years it's been found to be one of the quicker drive-thrus out there. However, it does suffer in other areas. Dunkin's customer service can be notoriously poor, and you likely won't get any of the smiley, chirpy interaction that you'd get somewhere like Chick-fil-A or Raising Cane's. It's fair to say, though, that this brand's focus is squarely on speed. In fact, in 2022 it made a statements by opening its first solely drive-thru restaurant in South Carolina, followed by another one in Delaware County in 2023. Could a drive-thru-only model be in the fast-food chain's future? Only time will tell.

Longest: Raising Cane's

We've got to admit that this one surprised us a little. A glance at Raising Cane's menu doesn't really reveal anything that takes that long to make — after all, let's be real, how much time does it take to put some chicken fingers in a box? Apparently a fair bit of time, as Raising Cane's clocks in as one of the longer drive-thru experiences out there. In 2024, it clocked in as having the third-slowest average total time. Where it suffers especially is on its wait time, which is second only to Chick-fil-A; you can spend several minutes in the drive-thru queue before you even have a chance to place your order.

Raising Cane's has a lot of work to do if it's going to improve things for its customers, especially because it's recently indicated a push toward drive-thru-only locations; many of its more recent restaurant builds are freestanding drive-thru units. It could be the case that these new units make overall wait times shorter, alleviating the problem that Raising Cane's does experience a much higher volume of cars in its drive-thru than other restaurants. Unfortunately, though, it risks putting people off completely if it doesn't speed things up.

Quickest: Wendy's

Wendy's specializes in all-American cuisine that gets to your table (or your car) in mere minutes. Thankfully, it doesn't disappoint when it comes to its drive-thru times, although there is definitely room for it to improve. On average, Wendy's is one of the faster drive-thrus you can go to, and its average service time is particularly speedy. Where it could do slightly better, though, is in its customer service and its order accuracy, which can leave quite a bit to be desired.

It's also fair to say that Wendy's restaurants can keep people waiting for way longer than usual, depending on where you go. YouTuber Sam Reid documented his experience at Wendy's and how his time stacked up against compiled data about the restaurant's speediness. He found that he spent more than 14 minutes in the drive-thru queue. Not only that, but he was very nearly overcharged for the meal he was buying — his bag didn't include napkins, and his drink came without ice or a straw. Naturally, this could be an isolated incident at the specific Wendy's he went to, but honestly, it's not a great look for the brand.

Longest: Burger King

Burger King is far from the worst drive-thru experience out there, but we wouldn't exactly call it speedy. Although other drive-thrus are noticeably slower, Burger King averages out with below-average times. Its typical service time is pretty low, as is its average total time, with a notable saving grace being that it usually doesn't have too many cars in its drive-thrus. Its customer service also doesn't particularly stand out as being exceptional.

Interestingly, things used to be much worse for this restaurant. So much so that it had to make some pretty hefty changes a few years back. In 2021, Burger King bosses noticed that its drive-thru speeds had slowed to a snail's pace, no doubt resulting in a host of unhappy customers. It responded by revamping its menu and removing certain menu items, in a bid to make decisions easier for its customers and speed up its overall service. This appears to have worked somewhat, given that it's no longer renowned as being especially slow — but we'd say that it can still do a little bit more to speed things up a notch.