The Sandwich Chain That Costs Way Too Much Now, According To Former Fans

The cost of eating out has been getting more painful across the board, but it's been especially tough dealing with the rising cost of sandwich chains. While most people understand a sit-down meal is a bit of a luxury, or that things like pizza and fried chicken are indulgences, sandwiches are mainstays of quick, simple, functional meals — it's the type of food an average working person relies on to fill their stomach at a reasonable price while still remaining relatively healthy. And that's why it's been brutal for fans of Subway to see the chain's recent price hikes.

Social media is rife with people complaining about fast food prices, but lately Subway has been a particular target of ire. There are threads on Reddit popping up constantly with people voicing complaints like, "Subway was barely a value at $5, $14 is out of the question," and "Seriously, for my daughter and I, $31 ... I was like what the heck? For tuna??" While people understand that fast food prices have risen in general, there's something about $14 footlongs that really gets a rise out of many.

Although paying $14 for a sandwich isn't always the case at Subway, prices really have jumped. Looking at the cost of a footlong Italian B.M.T. from various locations across the U.S. (which is middle of the road on Subway's sandwich menu), we found prices were usually between $9.40 and $11 on average. That is up from around $7 on average, before the pandemic. Unfortunately for Subway, it has been victim of both larger scale market forces that have driven up the cost of business and bankrupted many restaurants, as well as the perception that comes from its own ad campaigns of the past.

Fast food and restaurant prices have gone up because food inflation and the cost of labor have also risen significantly, but Subway's $5 footlong deal left a lasting cultural footprint. It's certainly understandable that people are frustrated over the cost of a sandwich at Subway, and (like many other fast food spots) even if the price increases are explainable, the value proposition for the quality of the sandwich may just not be worth it anymore. However Subway has also learned the danger of steep discount pricing, given that the former $5 footlong deal from the 2010s has seemingly left a lot of people expecting that kind of price to stick around forever.

The reality is that the $5 footlong deal was never meant to last, and even before the sharp inflation of the pandemic era, it couldn't. The $5 footlong actually started in the 2000s with the idea coming from a franchisee, with corporate adopting it in 2008. This was a recession deal in the late 2000s and early 2010s, a time of low spending and weak economic growth. Even with the lower costs back then, it was barely profitable; and by 2016, the deal had mostly disappeared. An attempt to bring it back in 2017 was met with a revolt from franchise owners, because even a decade ago the chain would have lost money on every $5 footlong sold. Since 2020, however, the cost of food and labor in the industry has gone up over 35%, rendering an already unprofitable deal a total impossibility.

Beyond the $5 footlong promotion, Subway's elevated prices are pretty much in line with the industry average. The cost increases since the pandemic for Subway's Italian B.M.T. that we found were in the 30% to 40% range, and the average increase in cost for dining out over that time is about 33%. Yet just because the economics of the old deals don't work out, doesn't mean Subway is totally blameless in this.

Part of the reason that specials have gotten harder for Subway to offer is that it massively overexpanded in the 2010s — which was partly driven by the success of $5 footlongs. Using its franchise model, the company often opened stores within blocks of each other, which meant individual franchise owners were cutting into each other's sales. That brutal competition drove down margins for local owners, making it harder to sustain discount deals.

However you can still find pretty substantial discounts at Subway. Like McDonald's and many other fast food restaurants, most of Subway's best savings are now only available on its app. As of early 2026, anyone who joins Subway's Sub Club can use a discount code to get any footlong for only $6.99. That's actually cheaper than a $5 footlong in 2012 adjusted for inflation. Given Subway's questionable treatment of its franchisees it's hard to say how long a deal like this will last, but these fast food giants understand fans are still prioritizing big deals.