Culver's Vs Shake Shack: Who Has The Better Burger?

Nothing is more American — or as tasty — as a burger and fries. In fact, the population of the U.S. consumes as many as 50 billion burgers per year (via Rabobank), and many of those are consumed at one of the country's numerous burger joints. From McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King to Sonic, Culver's, and Shake Shack, there are a lot of options to choose from. That's why when the craving hits, it's important to know which ones have the type of beef that's going to thoroughly satisfy your desire for a juicy burger.

Both Shake Shack and Culver's are fast casual restaurants that are well-known for their smashburger-style preparation and delicious taste. At Culver's, which can be found in 26 states, the burgers are made with fresh, never-frozen beef and served on a toasted, buttered bun. Meanwhile, Shake Shack, which has restaurants in 35 states (plus Washington, D.C.), makes its burgers from 100% Angus beef and serves them on a toasted potato bun. Both are delicious in their own way, but is one burger better than the other?

To answer this question, we did a head-to-head comparison of the Culver's ButterBurger and the Shake Shack ShackBurger. Below, you will find out how the burgers compare in taste, texture, and toppings. Here's what you need to know about each burger to determine which one is right for you.

A Culver's ButterBurger is cooked on a flat-top grill, seasoned lightly with salt and pepper, and smashed while cooking. The butter is added to the crown of the bun, not to the patty itself, as many Wisconsin butter burgers are made. This gives the burger a simple, juicy, and decadent taste without overpowering it with a buttery flavor.

When reviewing the Culver's double ButterBurger, my burger had cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickle, onion, mayonnaise, and ketchup. These simple ingredients were fresh and helped cut through the richness of the beef and cheese. However, Culver's uses red onion instead of a sweet, yellow onion on its burgers, so it had a bit more bite than I like, and the oniony flavor lingered with me throughout the day. Next time I order a ButterBurger, I will skip the onion for sure.

At its core, though, this burger is a solid choice if you prefer smashburgers. The edges were crispy without being dry, and the beef remained the star in every bite, highlighted by a sharp yet not overpowering cheesy taste. Each bite of the perfectly seared beef tasted rich and flavorful and kept me enjoying the burger without getting bored or tired of the taste, as can happen with some larger burgers like this. Overall, this thoughtfully designed burger is definitely one worth savoring to the very last bite.

Much like Culver's, Shake Shack's burgers are smashed on a flat-top griddle and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper. The end result is a beef patty that caramelizes in its fat. And while this burger certainly had the texture of a smashburger with perfectly crispy edges, I found the double I ordered a little dry.

The American cheese, while perfectly melted, was somewhat bland, and the special ShackSauce had a very vinegary undertone that slightly overpowered the richness of the beef. On the plus side, the pickles on this burger were substantial in size and added a nice crispness, while the white onion used was sliced thin and wasn't overpowering. That said, I could have done without the thick piece of curly green leaf lettuce. Even though this type of lettuce is commonly used for burgers or lettuce wraps, the texture was more distracting than anything else. I prefer the lettuce on my burgers to play more of a background role. The signature potato bun is also lightly toasted, though I ate my burger with a gluten-free bun that was somewhat grainy and dry.

All in all, this is a solid choice and a tasty burger, though it did feel a little heavy in my stomach. And while it's a burger I would order again, I think the double is a tad too much beef for my liking. I would also skip the lettuce and the infamous ShackSauce — the blend at my local restaurant had too much acid for my liking.

When it comes to the size of the double ButterBurger and the double ShackBurger, you're going to get much more meat with the ShackBurger. The thickness of the sandwich is substantially larger than what Culver's offers. This makes it a hefty burger with a tendency to feel heavy in your stomach. In hindsight, I should have ordered a single at both establishments. My stomach would have thanked me, I'm sure, especially since a double at Shake Shack is likely a ½-pound of meat. That's a lot of food, even when you're as ravenous as I was.

With that much beef in one serving, it should come as no surprise that ShackBurger is more expensive than the ButterBurger. At the Easton Town Center location in Columbus, Ohio, the ShackBurger costs $9.99. And if you choose to add bacon, you can tack another $1.99 to the total. The gluten-free bun is $0.99, and extra toppings — such as cherry peppers and avocado — range in price from $0.49 to $1.99. All in all, this makes for a pretty expensive burger.

Meanwhile, the double ButterBurger runs about $7.39 at the Reynoldsburg, Ohio, location, which is a suburb of Columbus. Adding bacon will cost $1.50, while mushrooms will cost you $0.70 extra and a tomato will run you about $0.40. And, if you want a gluten-free bun, tack on an extra $1.50. Interestingly, if you choose to order your burger without a bun, they will deduct $0.30. I've never seen that at a burger restaurant before, and I was really impressed by that option.

When it comes to toppings, you're going to find a few extra options at both Culver's and Shake Shack. So if you like to dress your burger up, you'll appreciate all that these two fast casual restaurants have to offer. The ShackBurger comes with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce on a toasted potato bun. To keep the condiments consistent across both burgers for the sake of a fair review, I omitted the tomato and added onion and pickles. You also have the option of adding bacon, caramelized onions, crispy onions, avocado, or cherry peppers.

I ordered my ButterBurger with cheese, lettuce, onion, pickles, mayonnaise, and ketchup. The main difference from the ShackBurger was the mayonnaise and ketchup, which stood in for the ShackSauce. As for additional toppings, at Culver's you have a choice of American, cheddar, or Swiss cheese, of which I recommend the cheddar. You can also choose to add bacon, mushrooms, pickles, and grilled onions.

At both restaurants, I ordered a double, thinking that with thin, smashed burgers, this would be an appropriate amount of meat. But in hindsight, this was simply too much beef for me, especially at Shake Shack. Its burgers are 4 ounces each before cooking, which made them extremely heavy in my stomach. As for calories, the double ButterBurger is 700 calories, and the ShackBurger is 760 calories. For me, one double was all I had room for, and I didn't bother with the sides. It was simply too much food. Next time, I plan to order the single, which is 500 calories at Shake Shack and 460 calories at Culver's.

Both the ButterBurger and the ShackBurger are cooked on a flat-top grill, seasoned with salt and pepper, and smashed thin. But the Culver's burger that was delivered to my home had more crispy edges and the telltale thinness I was expecting. Meanwhile, the ShackBurger was surprisingly thicker and heavier, but not in a good way. I expected thinner burgers from Shake Shack, since it regularly receives high reviews as one of the best smashburgers around. When tasting it, it didn't have the mouthfeel of a traditional smashburger.

While both regular buns come toasted, Culver's has a signature buttery taste that you would expect from a ButterBurger. I also ordered the gluten-free buns at both establishments, and Culver's comes wrapped individually in a package, and the bun is both soft and tasty. Of course, having an individually wrapped gluten-free bun means the bun remains untoasted, but it still offers a good bite that doesn't detract from the juiciness of the burger. Meanwhile, the gluten-free bun at Shake Shack was somewhat browned and appeared to be toasted.

Both burgers were delicious with a nice beefy taste, so choosing between the two wasn't easy. But in the end, I preferred the classic, straightforward approach of the delicious Culver's ButterBurger. In fact, I didn't want to stop eating it — it was juicy and savory with fresh toppings and just the right amount of crispiness on the beef patty. All in all, it was a perfect balance of beef, cheese, bun, and condiments.

Plus, instead of a strong sauce with the potential to overpower the burger's authentic beef taste like Shake Shack, Culver's lets the beef shine so you can dress it up however you like. (Of course, you can order the ShackBurger without sauce, but because it's recommended, I tried it that way.) Likewise, the cheddar was perfectly melted on the Culver's ButterBurger. Shake Shack uses a mild American cheese that lacks the sharpness of cheddar I think is needed for a double burger. I also really appreciated the soft gluten-free bun offered by Culver's. While it was toasted, Shake Shack's gluten-free bun was somewhat dry and grainy.

For those who don't have to eat gluten-free, my family assures me that the Culver's regular bun reigns supreme, likely because it's lightly buttered and toasted. Overall, it's rare to find a fast casual burger restaurant with a drive-thru that also offers gluten-free bun options that taste amazing. So, when we're traveling or out and about, and we want a good burger — as well as some Wisconsin cheese curds — we will likely choose Culver's each and every time. But Shake Shack is certainly no slouch and a nice backup.

When conducting this review, I ordered one double from Culver's and one double from Shake Shack. I also included the recommended toppings — lettuce, onion, and pickles — and skipped the tomato. For the Shake Shack ShackBurger, I ordered it with ShakeSauce, and for Culver's, I ordered it with mayonnaise and ketchup. Both were delivered to my home with a delivery app. The Shake Shack order was placed with Uber Eats and ordered at the Easton Town Center location in central Ohio, while the Culver's order was placed with DoorDash in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Both locations are within 20 minutes of my home. I used two different delivery apps because the two locations aren't near one another.

When reviewing the burgers, I paid particular attention to the beef taste, construction, cheesiness, and mouthfeel. I also considered the quality and freshness of the ingredients, the burger-to-bun ratio, the cook on the burgers, and whether its construction held up during transport. The texture and weight of the meat were also a factor, and I noted whether the gluten-free buns I ordered were soft, grainy, or dry. I even considered how well the restaurant adhered to my instructions, though both burgers arrived as expected.