15+ Top McDonald’s competitors and Alternatives

By predominantly selling delicious burgers, French fries, breakfast, chicken sandwiches, and desserts, McDonald’s has owned the crown of one of the best American multinational food chain services.

Founded in 1940, Ray Kroc and Richard and Maurice McDonald have introduced people to an all-time-favorite burger outlet that soon grabbed the global market for its food items. 

Currently, McDonald’s serves almost 69 million customers regularly in its 37,855+ outlets across 100 mega countries. It’s the world’s largest restaurant chain known for its profits and the ninth-highest global brand valuation with over S$32.811 billion worth of assets. 

McDonald’s competitor’s list:

KFC.

  • Year founded: 1953
  • Headquarter: Louisville, Kentucky

Introduced in 1930, KFC, or Kentucky Fried Chicken, is nursing people tasteful food items and beverages. It has been listed in the 4th position globally.

Being the oldest fast-food chain, KFC sells authentic fried chicken recipes that won the heart of Millenials worldwide. KFC is widely known for its delicious taste of pressure-fried chicken, originally founded by Harland Sanders in Kentuck.

Now, the subsidiary brand of Yum! Brands gains over US$27.9 billion each year by producing its special fried chicken with 11 herbs and spices. 

Burger King.

  • Year founded: 1953
  • Headquarter: Miami-Dade County, Florida
Burger King - McDonald's competitors

Founded in 1954, Burger King is another powerful rival of McDonald’s worldwide. It’s an American fast-food chain named the second-largest cheeseburger restaurant in the U.S., serving a whopping volume of mouthwatering burgers and other food items.

Burger King is the oldest food outlet than McDonald’s and has set a benchmark in terms of taste and flavor of the hamburgers. The concept of Burger King has helped the company beat McDonald’s establishment.

Burger King is really a McDonald’s biggest competitor.

The company employs nearly 17,796+ individuals, helping the brand gain roughly 1,970,000,000 United States dollars each year. 

Subway.

  • Year founded: 1965
  • Headquarter: Milford, Connecticut

Another American multinational company that beats McDonald’s by sales, revenues, and customer base is Subway. Introduced in 1965, Subway has maintained its authenticity of taste, service, and food quality in every location and outlet it encloses.

Established by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck in Bridgeport, Connecticut (USA), Subway has gained a position in the heart of food buffs through its popular series of sandwiches.

Currently, it’s one of the world’s largest restaurant chains after KFC and McDonald’s recorded having its footprints in over 41,500 locations. 

Starbucks.

  • Year founded: 1971
  • Headquarter: Seattle, Washington

Starbucks is another potent fast-food brand that terrifically competes with McDonald’s and other big food chains like KFC, Burger King, etc. Founded in 1971, the company specializes in the luxury quality and taste of coffee beverages.

Bonus: 15+ Top Starbucks Competitors And Alternatives

It’s identically not a fast-food chain. Instead, it’s an extravagant gourmet coffee shop that motivates coffee lovers to experiment with their passion.

Launched by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl, the company currently attains around US$31.39 billion recorded by 2021 and employs over 33,833 individuals in 84 countries with success on the arrow. 

Pizza Hut.

  • Year founded: 1958
  • Headquarter: Plano, Texas
Pizza Hut - McDonald's competitors and Alternatives

Being the 7th largest fast-food chain in the world, Pizza Hut stands powerfully to defeat McDonald’s in every means. Established in 1958, Pizza Hut has become a popular and widely demanded fast-food chain, especially for tasteful Pizzas worldwide.

The company operates from over 18,500 locations worldwide and is a prominent household name in the United States.

The brand is also the world’s best and largest pizza seller and inventor, headquartered in Plano, Texas. It’s a subsidiary brand of Yum! Brand, which presently employs around 350,000 individuals. 

Domino’s.

  • Year founded: 1960
  • Headquarter: Ann Arbor, Michigan

Established in 1960 by James Monaghan, Dominick DeVarti, and Tom Monaghan, Domino’s is another rival of McDonald’s in the current global market.

The company is currently run by CEO Richard Allison, who helped it generate almost US$4.117 billion in profits each year. With the support and assistance of 14,400 employees of Domino’s.

It’s an American multinational company that has spread its business and operations worldwide with 15,000 stores in 83 countries. 

Dunkin Donuts.

  • Year founded: 1950
  • Headquarter: Canton, Massachussets

Popular for its coffee, doughnuts, and other delicious beverages, Dunkin’ Donuts is another powerful competitor of McDonald’s that ranks in the 10th position amongst the largest fast-food franchises on BizVibe’s list.

Established in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts, Dunkin’ currently yields billions of profits yearly. Last year, the company earned 1.37 billion by operating 12,900 outlets in 42 countries. 

Wendy’s.

  • Year founded: 1969
  • Headquarter: Columbus, Ohio
Wendy's USA - McDonald's competitors and Alternatives

By making soft-serve ice cream, frosty, hamburgers, sea salt fries, and more, Wendy’s has gained popularity for its taste and unique recipes.

Commercialized in 1969, the company has made billions of assets and USD 1.59 billion annual revenue annually. 

Founded by Dave Thomas, Wendy’s has become an identity for sustaining its taste, quality, and reliability. With a huge customer base and selling margins, the company ranks as one of the leading fast-food chains in the world. In the United States, the brand has a craving demand for mouthwatering items. 

Taco Bell

  • Year founded: 1962
  • Headquarter: Irvine, California

Operates under the subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Taco Bell, competes with McDonald’s by a higher margin of sales and profits. Headquartered in California, USA, the company currently operates 7000 stores worldwide with 2 billion active customers annually.

Since 1962, Taco Bell has been offering a series of delicious gourmet food items like tacos, nachos, quesadillas, burritos, and more.

However, the company has expanded with its over 175,000 employees and generates billions of dollars annually. 

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

  • Year founded: 1993
  • Headquarter: Newport Beach, California

Another renowned fast-food restaurant is Chipotle, which was founded in 1993. The concept was inspired by chipotle, a jalapeno chili pepper, which is smoked and dried.

Headquartered in Colorado, USA, the company has outlets in over 2,200 locations with more than 64,500 employees. Founded by Steve Ells, the brand earns revenue of 3.9 billion dollars annually and 2.026 billion dollars worth of assets. 

Mcdonalds Competitors

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