We Tried And Ranked 9 Fast Food Signature Burgers To Determine Which Is The Best

The fast food burger has been a mainstay of American culture since it was first served at White Castle in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921. That humble sandwich has come a long way, and there are now hundreds of variations on this classic food and even more places that serve them. Each restaurant has its own signature burger — a unique arrangement of bun, toppings, sauce, and patty — that serves as a staple on its menu.

Some signature burgers are more famous than others — you'd have a difficult time finding someone who's never heard of a Big Mac. But does fame equate to quality? We wanted to get to the bottom of this and find out who has the best hamburger, so we tried the signature burger from nine of the biggest fast food chains. To crown a winner, we compared buns, patties, toppings, and value based on pricing in Georgia where the testing was done. Keep reading to find out who came out on top... the answer might surprise you!

You're probably familiar with Arby's marketing, which places emphasis on its meats with the slogan: "We have the meats." The chain is most known for its roast beef and smokehouse brisket sandwiches, both of which ranked in the top three in our ranking of Arby's sandwiches. However, you don't often hear buzz about Arby's hamburgers. 

Regardless, since the company is so outspoken about its meats, I had high hopes for its Deluxe Burger. The toppings made it look appealing enough. There seemed to be a balance between the thick patty, shredded lettuce, sliced red onions, hearty tomato slice, melted American cheese, and Arby's special burger sauce; but upon biting into the Arby's burger, I was immediately disappointed. The patty was dry and flavorless, and the cheese tasted artificial. The brioche bun was sweet, and combined with the sweet specialty burger sauce made this sandwich almost taste like dessert. Even the shredded lettuce left something to be desired, as it had a texture that reminded me of cabbage.

All of these factors combined to make this the worst fast food hamburger in my taste test. To add insult to injury, Arby's was one of the more expensive burgers I tasted, ringing up at $6.62 after tax. If you're headed to Arby's, I recommend you stick to one of its more popular sandwiches.

Sonic offers a unique experience as one of America's only remaining drive-in restaurants, a holdover from the 1950s when the company was founded. Its menu is also unique, featuring things like customizable slushes, the Footlong Quarter Pound Coney hot dog, Double Sonic Smasher smash burger, and tater tots, which are Reba McEntire's favorite fast food item. For the purposes of this experiment, however, I ordered the signature Sonic Cheeseburger for $5.98.

Once again, this burger looked fine at first glance. The toppings included shredded lettuce, diced onions, tomato slices, mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, and American cheese. But the illusion was shattered on the first bite. Although not as dry as the Arby's patty, the Sonic hamburger meat was still completely flavorless. The bun was flat and paper-like, crumbling away to a dry dust in my mouth. The pickles and tomatoes were slimy, and the cheese was cold and  hadn't melted. I would not eat this burger again.

Dairy Queen opened as an ice cream shop in 1940, so it makes sense that this chain is still famous for its Blizzards and cones today. Since it shifted to the fast food business in the 1960s, though, the hamburger has been a core part of the fast food chain's menu. Today, Dairy Queen's signature burger is the Original Cheeseburger Signature Stackburger. I picked one for just $5.13 to find out how it stacks up.

For the price, the DQ burger offers a lot more meat than the last two contenders. The two patties are decently sized, but it doesn't have much else to offer in the way of toppings. Each patty is layered with a slice of melted American cheese, while pickles, ketchup, and mustard are hidden under the top bun. The patties actually had decent flavor, but they were unfortunately dry and overcooked, which I couldn't ignore since they were practically the only thing on the bun. The bun itself was a standard white bread bun that tasted pretty cheap and thin.

Overall, the Dairy Queen cheeseburger was underwhelming. If you're headed to DQ, you might want to opt for one of its specialty burgers instead, like the Loaded A.1. Signature Stackburger or FlameThrower Signature Stackburger, which top the list of Dairy Queen's most popular menu items.

Since Wendy's opened in 1969, the restaurant chain has prided itself on using fresh, never frozen prime- or choice-grade beef for its hamburgers. Its burgers also have a unique and easily identifiable square shape, which the chain claims is because it doesn't cut corners. With all these quality guarantees, surely Wendy's has the best fast food burger around, right? Well, not quite.

My Wendy's burger looked pretty unappetizing. It was extremely saucy, with mayonnaise and ketchup slathered over the American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion. The other toppings were sparse and far outweighed by the sauces. The hamburger patty had a good texture and definitely tasted fresh, but I still felt it was under-seasoned and lacking in flavor. The bun was crumbly and too thick for the thin patty, drowning it out. Overall, it felt like the quality of the beef was just overwhelmed by the rest of the toppings, and for $6.20 I wasn't impressed.

The concept behind Cook Out is that of a backyard cookout, and the restaurant serves up an array of plate meals and several styles of burgers. The chain's signature burger is the Cookout Style Burger, which is topped with homemade chili, slaw, mustard, and onion. While it didn't look super appetizing, it tasted surprisingly good. The thick burger patty was well cooked and seasoned with a classic homemade flavor. The chili was slightly sweet from the tomato base, which I enjoyed. The bun was a classic soft and fluffy white bread bun, toasted just slightly to perfection.

The slaw, however, tasted like cabbage tossed in plain mayonnaise — not what I imagine when I think of a great backyard barbecue. The onion and mustard were fine, but there was simply too much of both of them, taking away from the tasty ingredients.

While some aspects of the Cook Out burger were a let down, it still offered some unique flavors. For only $5.33, it was a pretty good value and I would give it another try in the future.

McDonald's most popular signature burger is the Big Mac, and there are plenty of reasons people think it's so delicious. This beloved burger is unique for its double-decker style as well as its famous Big Mac sauce, which was invented by a franchise owner in 1968.

My Big Mac lived up to its image: a perfect stack of three bun slices, two patties, American cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, and that famous sauce. The patties were delicious and flavorful, although very thin. There were just the right amount of pickles and plenty of Big Mac sauce. The sesame seed bun was soft and tasted good but somewhat overwhelmed the other ingredients. While the Big Mac only cost me $5.77, it's mostly bun, which I think hurt its value.

Overall, I think the Big Mac's popularity comes from its novelty, not from its high quality burger patty and overall winning flavors. This was a middle of the road burger experience for me. If you want to try a bigger and fresher tasting version of this classic, you can try ordering your Big Mac with Quarter Pounder patties.

Culver's was born in Wisconsin in the 1980s and its core menu items haven't changed: frozen custard and the signature ButterBurger. Originating in the Midwest, a butter burger is a style of smash burger that involves adding butter at the end of cooking.

The butter definitely set the flavor of this burger apart. The patties were hearty and delicious, with a smoky flavor and crispy edges. The cheese was melty and tasted like quality American style slices. This signature burger didn't automatically come with any toppings, but customers can add their own at no extra charge. The plain white bun, while it looked appetizing, was dry and weak which was disappointing.

While the Culver's burger patties were delicious, this was my most expensive burger at $7.27. With no special sauce or toppings to speak of and a disappointing bun, I don't think this is the best signature burger out there, but it's definitely a great contender.

Burger King has been specializing in fast food burgers since 1954. To this day, its signature burger, the Whopper, is Burger King's best-selling menu item. Over the years, the restaurant has released many new and limited edition versions of this burger, but for this test I ordered a classic Whopper for $6.62.

The Whopper just looks like a regular burger, and it tasted like one too. It's slightly wider than the other chains' burgers, so it makes a great two-handed bite. The sesame seed bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayonnaise, ketchup, and patty are in perfect ratios. The veggies tasted fresh, and the bun was soft and fluffy. The burger patty was a great size and had a delicious chargrilled taste.

All the elements of the Whopper really come together to make a well-rounded burger. It's no wonder that the Whopper is Dolly Parton's favorite fast food burger — but I think there's one that's even better.

Checker's and Rally's joined under one name in 2000. If you visit either of them, you'll find the same menu and popular items, like the famous seasoned fries. My local restaurant is a Checker's, so that's where I headed to grab its signature burger, the Big Buford.

Right away, I was impressed by this burger. It looks like those you see in commercials: tall and hefty. And it did not disappoint. The toasted, bakery-style bun was moist and tasted fresh. The two 100% beef hamburger patties were large and the delicious American cheese melted into them to create the perfect meld of flavors. The lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickles, ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise added complexity but didn't overwhelm the other delicious elements of this burger.

Overall, I was blown away by Checker's Big Buford because it really didn't taste like fast food; it tasted like a great American diner burger. At a cost of $6.84, this wasn't the most expensive burger on my list, and I would spend that again in a heartbeat to have another experience like that. I can say with confidence that Checker's Big Buford is the best signature burger from a fast food chain.

To determine the ranking of these fast food signature burgers, I drove to the chain, ordered, and tasted each one. I based my evaluation on taste and quality of the patty, bun, and toppings, as well as overall value to determine which chain's signature burger was the best. These restaurants are in coastal Georgia, so prices might vary depending on your location.