KFC Vs Popeyes: Which Chicken Chain Has Cheaper Fried Chicken Meals?

In American fast food, chicken is the new champion, as chains like KFC and Popeyes take advantage of being cheaper options to competitors. While the largest fast food chains remain burger focused, the rise of chicken has been the biggest story in recent years, with chicken chains heavily outpacing burgers in growth over the past two years. Many of the fastest growing restaurant chains in the country, like Raising Cane's and Dave's Hot Chicken, are poultry-focused, and even chains like McDonald's have added chicken strips to its menus to compete. While this is partially attributable to people loving chicken, the protein has become an affordable option as beef prices have surged. And if you are looking at the two standard-bearers of fast food fried chicken, KFC and Popeyes, and want the cheaper meal, KFC is the way to go.

To compare prices we look at four different combo meals at the two chicken chains: the two-piece fried chicken meal, the three-piece tenders, the fried chicken sandwich meal, and the eight-piece family meal. Using these similar offerings we looked at prices in four different states in four regions, Florida, Delaware, Indiana, and Idaho, that have among the most average prices for fast food fried chicken in the country. We found that across the board KFC combo meals were usually a dollar or two cheaper than the same offerings at Popeyes. And when it comes to larger family meals the difference gets even bigger.

KFC's value really stands out with the eight-piece family meal. Priced at only $20 (consistent at every location we checked across four states), the meal also comes with four sides and biscuits. Popeyes' family meal came in at a much higher $28.75 average across locations. On top of that, the Louisiana-inspired chicken chain only provides one large side and biscuits with the chicken, giving you less food overall.

For the other combo meal options Popeyes was more competitive with KFC, although still more expensive overall. For the classic two-piece bone-in fried chicken meals, Popeyes averaged $10.23, while KFC averaged $9.12. The three-tender combo at Popeyes was a bit more, averaging $12.11 across the four states to KFC's $9.84. And finally, when comparing the KFC and Popeye's spicy chicken sandwiches, Popeye's averaged $10.49 for a meal, while KFC came in at $9.02. For each of these the amount of food was basically the same between the two chains, and overall Popeye's meals were between $1 and $1.50 more than KFC.

Of course, price is only part of the decision, and a dollar or two might not mean much if you prefer the flavor of Popeyes. And if the explosive growth of so many fried chicken chains continues, we might have to add a few more competitors to the price-off.