Which Burger Has Better Value: Culver's Or Five Guys'?

A good burger makes for a good meal, but a good price makes it even better. With so many burger chains out there competing for our cash, value for money often swings our decisions on where we go. In Mashed's head-to-head comparison of Culver's and Five Guys, Culver's came out as the better-value burger.

Five Guys actually had the edge in terms of several individual components, getting nods for its larger patties, unlimited free toppings, and better-quality buns. Culver's, however, had the overall better taste as a whole, partially because Five Guys doesn't season its burgers. Because of this, the significantly lower pricing at Culver's made it the overall winner in terms of bang for the buck. When the testing took place in 2023, a cheeseburger meal with fries and a drink cost more than $20 at Five Guys, whereas a similar Deluxe Butterburger meal was less than $10. The gap is a little smaller in 2026 prices, but still pretty large — around $19 for a double-patty cheeseburger, regular drink, and regular fries at Five Guys and roughly around $12 for a double-patty Culver's Deluxe Value Basket.

Even if you're willing to spend $19 anyway, you'll still be getting more value by going to Culver's. You can get the same meal as you might have at Five Guys, while still having enough left over to treat yourself to Culver's fan-favorite frozen custard for dessert. A medium Concrete Mixer costs around $5.50, so you'd even get some change back.

The original ButterBurger isn't even the best sandwich on the chain's menu. In Mashed's rankings of Culver's burgers, the Wisconsin Swiss Melt came out on top thanks to its combination of rye bread, melted Swiss cheese, and griddled onions. A double-patty Value Basket is only about 40 cents more expensive than the double Culver's Deluxe Basket, but the flavor upgrade is worth way more than that. It's also a lot cheaper than Five Guys' take on a single-burger patty melt, with a single-patty Wisconsin Swiss Melt costing under $6 to Five Guys' roughly $9 sandwich.

Getting value for your money at Five Guys is a different matter altogether, and it's not just because of our own taste test. On a Reddit thread comparing the two brands, Five Guys was often called out for being overpriced, even by users who actually found its burgers better than Culver's. The one thing most people agreed that Five Guys did better was the fries. They aren't cheap at around $6 for a regular-sized order, but Five Guys' servers often give you a load of extra fries to top off your bag.

If you want your order to feel worth all that money, make sure to include fries with every order. The Cajun fries, specifically, were the best-ranked Five Guys' menu item during Mashed's taste tests, so if you're good with a little spice, you'll get the most value by getting them with your burger. While you're there, you might as well load up on all those free toppings, too.