The 10 Chain Restaurants Most Commonly Criticized as Overpriced in the U.S.

American dining has hit a breaking point. According to various 2024 surveys, many Americans now view fast-food dining as increasingly expensive, with numerous consumers reporting shock at rising fast-food bills in recent months. The days of affordable chain restaurant meals have seemingly vanished, leaving customers grappling with inflated prices that rarely match the quality. Here are the 10 chain restaurants that customers consistently criticize as the most overpriced across the United States.

Shake Shack

An analysis found that Shake Shack has the most customer complaints about overly expensive fast food in America in 2024. This comes after two price hikes in 2024. The cost of a single hamburger, or ShackBurger as it’s called, typically falls between $6.99 and $7.99, depending on the region. An order will run you around $4.49, bringing your grand total to at least $11.48, and that’s not including one of its namesake shakes or other beverage. What makes this particularly stinging is that customers expected better value from what was once considered a premium but accessible burger chain.

Waffle House

IHOP increased by 82%, while Waffle House, they say, is up 96%. Finance Buzz reports IHOP prices up 82%, Waffle House 96%, with inflation rising 22%. The beloved Southern institution has betrayed its core promise of being an accessible place for everyone from truckers to college students. When your signature hash browns cost more than an entire meal used to cost, you’ve lost your way as a brand. The chain once marketed itself as an affordable, all-hours dining option, but has priced out many of its original customers.

IHOP

The International House of Pancakes has turned into the International House of Price Shock, with increases that would make a loan shark blush. This chain once marketed itself as a family-friendly destination where parents could afford to take their kids for weekend breakfast treats. FinanceBuzz compared the price of kids’ meals and found that, over the past decade, Chick-fil-A had the largest increase of 63%, double the national inflation rate. IHOP’s breakfast offerings, once a staple for families seeking affordable morning meals, have evolved into expensive propositions that many households simply cannot justify.

Applebee’s

According to FinanceBuzz, Applebee’s have raised their prices by 41% from 2020 to 2024. The Quesadilla Burger was $10.49 five years ago and is now $15.99. Sales at US Applebee’s locations open at least a year slumped 4.6% in the first quarter. In that period, customers who earn $50,000 a year or less visited less often, and spent less when they did, Peyton said, adding that the demographic makes up about 45% of Applebee’s customers. The chain is losing exactly the customers it was designed to serve, proving that their pricing strategy is fundamentally flawed.

Olive Garden

On a June 2024 earnings call, executives from Darden Restaurants, the company who own Olive Garden and other chains, predicted a 2% – 3% price increase for 2025. In response, loyal Olive Garden customers have expressed their frustration since the quality of the food hasn’t matched the increase in cost. One customer on Reddit let loose with this volley: “Easily $40/person if you get a glass of wine, entree, desert + tax + tips. All for mediocre service and soul-sucking ambiance.” Those unlimited breadsticks can only go so far in justifying increasingly steep prices.

Five Guys

Five Guys and Carl’s Jr. rounded out the top three spots for most overpriced fast-food chains. Five Guys, whose prices have been decried as “out of control,” and Sugar Factory followed Shake Shack as the chains with the second and third most overpriced food complaints. At Five Guys, burgers with two beef patties cost between roughly $9 and $13, depending on where in the country you dine – and that’s before you add the famous Five Guys fries. The premium ingredients and preparation don’t seem to justify the premium prices for many customers anymore.

Starbucks

Meanwhile, the cost of eating away from home continued to rise, contributing to Starbucks’ image as overpriced, some analysts say. Customers have expressed frustration with high prices, slow pickup orders on Starbucks’ app and lackluster food options. Starbucks’ menu has become more expensive overall item by item, plus, an additional price increase on add-ins and extras. Major complaints have come to light as livid customers poke holes in the chain’s higher product prices, after being able to report profits were up 31% in 2022 and the CEO of Starbucks was given a 39% raise to a whopping $20.4 million. The coffee giant has lost touch with its value proposition.

Chipotle

A single steak bowl with all the go-to toppings came out to $20.99 for Fayez Beshay, whose angry viral Tik Tok of him screaming to Chipotle for answers blew up at the end of last year. Another dissatisfied Chipotle-goers said in the comments “Chipotle has been getting on my nerves with these price increases. Chipotle increased prices in 2024, and these price increases have contributed to its improved profitability. Chipotle’s food, beverage, and packaging costs were 30% of total revenue, down from 30.6% the prior year, “primarily due to the benefit of menu price increases in 2024 and cost of sales efficiencies,” according to the company. The fast-casual chain has pushed prices beyond what many customers consider reasonable for assembly-line Mexican food.

Pizza Hut

Perhaps no major pizza chain has drawn quite as many customer complaints as Pizza Hut, which operates more than 6,500 stores in the United States alone. “I’ve tried giving Pizza Hut so many chances but every time I order it’s always like 15$+ for a large one topping pizza that ends up being mid,” wrote one customer on Reddit. Another customer, writing in a different online forum, reportedly paid an astonishing $87 for two stuffed crust pizzas and 12 wings. “And that’s without the tip,” they added. The chain’s share of the U.S. pizza market has shrunk from 22.6% in 2019 to 18.7% in 2024, according to Barclays.

McDonald’s

Analysis by FinanceBuzz showed that out of all major fast food chains, McDonald’s raised prices the most between 2014 and 2024, and more quickly than the average inflation rate. The Big Mac has reportedly doubled in price, and a McChicken Sandwich tripled in price in some locations. In a 2025 earnings call, Kempczinski noted that McDonald’s was losing its core audience of low-income consumers. The average cost of a McDonald’s menu item jumped 40% from 2019 to 2024, a company fact sheet said. The golden arches have lost their shine as an affordable dining option, forcing even the CEO to acknowledge the problem.

The study, which tracked 16 chain restaurants from 2020 to 2024, found that all of them raised their prices above the national average inflation rate of 22 percent. These pricing trends reflect deeper issues within the restaurant industry, where labor costs, supply chain disruptions, and corporate profit margins have created a perfect storm of unaffordable dining. For many Americans, the era of cheap chain restaurant meals has officially ended.