Some fast food is now so expensive that a Baconator is almost $10

Just when you thought fast food was supposed to be affordable, we’re now finding out that Wendy’s is so pricey that a Baconator costs nearly $10! That is RIDICULOUS! Pricelisto revealed a fresh data analysis where it compared prices for September 2021 and October 2022. The analysis showed that the overall prices rose by 12.9% in some of the biggest brands in the fast food industry – Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and Wendy’s.

Fast food has always been a synonym for cheap food. However, that changed in 2022. Inflation in the United States had reached an all-time high of 8.2% just a few months earlier before falling slightly to 7.7% in October. Long story short, everything got pricier, and the fast food industry is no exception to the rule.

Wendy’s has become the most expensive fast-food chain this year. The prices increased by 35% in 2022, which is the highest increase this year. No other food chain got that expensive. Wendy’s average price reached $6.63, according to Eat This.

With an average menu item price of $4.65 and a 15.6% rise from 2021, Chick-fil-A had the second-largest increase in price over the last year. With an average price of $3.37, Taco Bell came in third, up 14.6% from just a year ago.

Burger King didn’t seem to be affected by the situation. The fast food chain saw a slight increase of %2 when compared to 2021.

In contrast, McDonald’s this year actually managed to cut their prices. In 2022, the average cost of a McDonald’s menu item was $3.77. That represents a 5% decrease from 2021.

A spokesperson of Pricelisto explained that people go for fast food because of the hectic lives we all live. The biggest culprit for the higher prices is inflation and shipping costs. However, McDonald’s is big enough to mitigate this because of bulk buying and brand deals.

The price rise for Burger King’s Chicken Fries was the highest (16%). Chicken Fries cost $4.64 this year, while the same meal only cost $3.97 in 2021. The cost of the Grilled Chicken Sandwich at Chick-fil-A also increased by 10% (from $6.57 in 2021 to $7.23 in 2022).

Although Wendy’s may have had the biggest total price increase, several individual menu items actually decreased in price. This year, the Baconator cost $2.51 less ($9.62 in 2022 vs. $12.13 in 2021), and the Spicy Chicken Sandwich cost 12 cents less as well.

Despite an Egg McMuffin’s price rising this year by 22 cents to $4.43, the Big Mac’s price only climbed by 17 cents to $5.47 in 2022 from $5.30 in 2021. This year, BK’s Whopper and Double Whopper became more reasonably priced.

Numerous individual menu items at Taco Bell also witnessed price decreases. In 2022, Crunchy Tacos cost 48 cents less than they did, and Soft Tacos cost 49 cents less. Price drops of almost a dollar were also seen for the well-liked Crunchwrap Supreme ($4.42 in 2022, $5.64 in 2021) and Nachos BellGrande ($4.69 in 2022, $6.04 in 2021).