Burger King Vs McDonald's: Who Makes The Best French Fries?

McDonald's may have been the undisputed sales leader for some time among fast food chains ... but it's not royalty like Burger King. Then again, we're not really interested in any self-appointed titles when it comes to these fast food spots. The only thing we're concerned about for this article is which chain wears the french fries crown.

Now, there may be numerous side options available at burger chains in 2026 (on that note, Burger King has a better overall menu than McDonald's when it comes to sides). Yet the vast majority of consumers really only consider french fries as the companion for their fast food burger. Since these two fast food chains have both been in business since the mid-20th century, I decided to pit the signature side dish from each restaurant against the other.

After purchasing a large order of fries from both restaurants and trying each of them while they were still hot and fresh, I can definitively say which restaurant slings superior deep-fried spuds. Keep reading to discover who makes the best fries.

For this battle of fast food french fries, I set aside all prior memories of eating at either McDonald's or Burger King. Even if I already had a personal preference between the two (and I do, which I'll reveal later), determining which mega-chain served the best fries required an objectively clean slate.

Given the potential variation in quality between locations, I wanted to ensure I was sampling each restaurant's product at its peak. Consequently, I visited both Burger King and McDonald's just after 10:30 a.m. (shortly after the switch from breakfast to lunch). I purchased a large order of fries from the drive-thru at Burger King and ate several fries immediately, focusing mainly on taste and texture while they were hot and fresh. I then purchased a large order of fries from the drive-thru at McDonald's on the same trip, and again ate several fries immediately so I could sample them as they're intended to be eaten.

Additionally, I reheated each batch in an air fryer for one minute once I got home and sampled them with ketchup. Fries and ketchup are a match made in heaven, after all, so it only felt natural to compare McDonald's and Burger King's fries with the condiment (though this ended up having no bearing on the final outcome).

To start, the fries I received from Burger King were exceptionally fresh-tasting and hot without being scalding. The fries themselves were cooked almost perfectly, with a fantastically crisp exterior that wasn't too crunchy or too soggy. Inside that delightful outer layer was a pillowy soft potato filling, which offered an expected (and greatly preferred) contrast to the deep-fried crunch.

Beyond that pleasant textural experience, the flavor was completely on point with BK's fries. A well-balanced salt coating was distributed on each of the individual fries. They were also bursting with a genuine potato taste that made me forget I was likely eating a mass-produced frozen product. Additionally, Burger King's fries retained a substantial amount of flavor as they cooled off. They didn't become stale or mushy with time, unlike the fries from Mickey D's (hold that thought), and they were delightful with a dollop of ketchup, too.

Even if McDonald's fries have changed over time, I've always felt the menu item was hit or miss; I can't count the number of times I've received ice-cold fries in my bag. Now, the fries I sampled from McDonald's were hot and fresh this time around, and they had all the oil-soaked flavor you'd expect from the chain's fries. But the issues I've encountered on McDonald's trips in the past soon reared their ugly head.

For starters, the salt distribution was abysmal, and a far cry from what I experienced while eating Burger King's product. The lack of salt hampered the severely underflavored base product, as the bland and uninspired taste was particularly notable on the less-seasoned spuds.

The fries weren't consistently crisp either, and some were much softer than I expected from a freshly cooked batch. There was a distinctive lack of textural contrast between the inner and outer layers, plus they became stale by the time I arrived home (within 15 minutes). They tasted fine with ketchup, though the less said about reheated McDonald's fries, the better.

To be honest, I've always preferred Burger King to McDonald's when it comes to fries (and the entire menu, in fact). But I've also enjoyed — and ingested — a seemingly infinite number of fries from both chains. Since I've rarely encountered a french fry I didn't like from the Golden Arches, I was truly unsure who would emerge victorious. In the end, though, my personal preferences proved accurate, and Burger King has far better fries than McDonald's.

Is this a controversial conclusion? Perhaps. It certainly clashes with my colleague's previous ranking of fast food french fries, which placed McDonald's several spots above Burger King. Yet similar to my prior comparison of chicken sandwiches from these two fast food chains, I can only go where the taste test leads me.

Burger King's fries were better seasoned, more consistently crispy, and bursting with flavor when compared to the batch I was served by McDonald's. Simply put, the difference was staggering and reminded me of comparing a bowl of scratch-made mashed potatoes (Burger King) with a bowl of instant mashed (McDonald's).