If you like McDonald’s and Subway, you might be curious which fast-food restaurant wins in the McDonald’s Vs. Subway battle.
While it’s a debate people have often, do you know which has more locations and better prices? Keep reading because I’ll tell you all about the McDonald’s vs. Subway debate below!
McDonald’s Vs. Subway
Subway is somewhat healthier than McDonald’s, depending on what you’re ordering. Also, Subway has more ingredients and toppings for sandwiches, but it doesn’t have the iconic McDonald’s fries! Additionally, McDonald’s has more of an international presence, but Subway has more locations than McDonald’s overall.
Do you want to know more about McDonald’s and Subway? Which has better customer service? Which place is cheaper? Keep reading to learn even more details!
Which Is Better: McDonald’s Or Subway?
McDonald’s is better in the battle between McDonald’s and Subway if you’re looking for variety and the legendary fries!
However, you’ll find that Subway can produce better sandwiches and offer more variety when it comes to toppings and the type of bread you want on your sandwich.
Overall, it’s tough to determine which is better because it depends on what you’re looking for to eat.
Does Subway Or McDonald’s Have More Locations?
Subway has more locations than McDonald’s worldwide, with more than 41,000 locations.
With that, compared to the number of McDonald’s locations as of 2021, McDonald’s has roughly 39,000 locations.
On top of that, Subway has more locations in the United States, with over 24,500, and McDonald’s has about 14,000 locations in the United States.
Does Subway Make More Money Than McDonald’s?
McDonald’s is the winner in revenue because it had nearly $20 billion in revenue in 2020 and has been first in revenue for decades.
Furthermore, looking at Subway, the company had an annual revenue of $689.1 million in 2020, which is far below McDonald’s yearly income for the year.
That said, McDonald’s annual revenue is hard to beat, and Subway doesn’t even come close in that category. However, Subway is expected to pass $1 billion in sales for the upcoming year.
Is Subway More Expensive Than McDonald’s?
McDonald’s wins when it comes to price if you’re comparing it to Subway, and McDonald’s offers a lot of Dollar Menu items and low-cost sandwiches and sides.
However, Subway prices aren’t unreasonable, and it depends on what you’re looking for in a sandwich and what kind of sandwich you’re craving since sometimes it’s worth the money.
With that, Subway prices can range from $4 to $10 or higher, and McDonald’s offers $1 to $7 menu items with few choices above that price.
Is Subway as Unhealthy as McDonald’s?
As a whole, Subway is healthier than McDonald’s, but calorie-wise, the two are almost identical, with Subway just barely edging out McDonald’s.
For example, McDonald’s sandwiches averaged 572 calories, and Subway sandwiches averaged 784 calories. But that’s an average, so it depends on what you order.
Also, the drinks at Subway were half the calories of drinks at McDonald’s, with Subway averaging 61 calories per drink and McDonald’s averaging 151 calories.
Additionally, Subway side items averaged 35 calories, and McDonald’s side items averaged 201 calories, which is a huge difference!
Moreover, Subway averaged 36 grams of sugar and 41 grams of protein for a meal, whereas McDonald’s averaged 54 grams of sugar and 32 grams of protein.
However, McDonald’s wins in the sodium category with an average of 1,829 mg, while Subway averaged 2,149 mg of sodium.
So, given that you’re not supposed to go over 2,300 mg of sodium per day, one Subway meal is nearly your total sodium intake for the day!
Does McDonald’s Or Subway Have Better Service?
McDonald’s and Subway are not great when it comes to customer service, but Subway ranked higher on the American Customer Service Index with a score of 75.
McDonald’s had a score in this same survey of 70, which looked at factors such as cleanliness, perceived value, customer expectations, and food quality at restaurants.
However, Subway recently added new sandwiches to the lineup and introduced fresher ingredients hoping to lure customers back, and also upgrading the mobile app!
McDonald’s vs. Subway Food & Menu Options
Subway has more than 38 million different food combinations, which gives it a huge advantage in food options.
However, McDonald’s offers more variety in terms of whether you want burgers, chicken nuggets, chicken sandwiches, fries, desserts, coffee, etc.
Comparing the food and menu options, McDonald’s is the clear winner for variety since Subway is a sandwich shop only and doesn’t have burgers or other food items.
McDonald’s vs. Subway Global Market
McDonald’s has a significantly higher number of restaurants outside of the United States since only 37% of McDonald’s restaurants are in the United States.
However, Subway is currently in more than 100 countries, while McDonald’s is in over 121 countries. So, both restaurants are close when it comes to the number of countries they’ve entered.
To know more about McDonald’s, you can also read our related posts on McDonald’s vs. Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s vs. KFC, and McDonald’s vs. Five Guys.