• The best part of getting out of bed is arguably a warm, toasted breakfast sandwich on a buttery English muffin or a flaky, Southern-style biscuit.
  • However, what if you’ve only got a few dollars to spare on your breakfast sammie of choice?
  • I tried the cheapest breakfast sandwiches from five different fast-food restaurants to determine which one reigns supreme, and which ones were total flops.
  • The sausage McMuffin from McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A’s chicken biscuit impressed me the most. On the other hand, I thought Dunkin’s egg and cheese English muffin was overpriced, dry, and flavorless.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

When you’ve only got a few dollars to spare, you want to make sure your fast-food breakfast sandwich is the best one out there.

I went to five different fast-food restaurants – McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Dunkin’, and Chick-fil-A – to determine which breakfast sandwich is the best bang for your buck.

Chick-fil-A’s chicken biscuit impressed me with its flaky, authentic-tasting biscuit and juicy chicken, while the sausage McMuffin from McDonald’s came out on top in terms of taste and value.

On the other hand, I thought Dunkin’s egg and cheese English muffin was overpriced, dry, and flavorless.

Here's a breakdown of every breakfast sandwich I tried, and how they ranked from worst to best according to taste and value.


7. DUNKIN': In my opinion, the egg and cheese English muffin from Dunkin' left a lot to be desired — and not just because it was the only meatless sammie.

Foto: Egg and cheese English muffin from Dunkin'.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

Despite being thin and meatless, the sandwich was the second-most expensive sandwich of the ones I tried. It cost $3.49.

Foto: Egg and cheese English muffin from Dunkin'.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

The English muffin was overdone, thin rather than fluffy, and utterly butterless. The sandwich contained thick egg, but not nearly enough cheese.

Foto: Egg and cheese English muffin from Dunkin'.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

All I could taste was the egg — which definitely needed more flavor — and the dry, crusty muffin.

Foto: Egg and cheese English muffin from Dunkin'.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

6. BURGER KING: The second-cheapest breakfast sandwich I tried was Burger King's sausage biscuit without cheese, which cost $1.39.

Foto: Burger King's sausage biscuit without cheese.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

I thought the biscuit was painfully dry and crumbly, though the sausage had a decent amount of flavor.

Foto: Burger King's sausage biscuit without cheese.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

However, despite the low price, I couldn't get over the biscuit's poor texture.

Foto: Burger King's sausage biscuit without cheese.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

5. BURGER KING: Since the sausage biscuit was so reasonably priced, I decided to see if adding cheese for just $0.30 could save it.

Foto: Burger King's sausage biscuit with cheese.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

Alas, I was wrong. Despite smelling like pure butter when I opened the wrapping paper, I thought the sandwich was just as dry as the first.

Foto: Burger King's sausage biscuit with cheese.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

Though the cheese did add slightly more flavor, what was done was done.

Foto: Burger King's sausage biscuit with cheese.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

4. McDONALD'S: One of the cheapest menu items on McDonald's value breakfast menu is its sausage biscuit, which cost $2.19 at the location I went to.

Foto: McDonald's sausage biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

The biscuit was crumbly and cake-like, rather than flaky like traditional biscuits.

Foto: McDonald's sausage biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

However, the gooey cheese atop the sausage patty was plentiful and cut through the biscuit's dryness.

Foto: McDonald's sausage biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

The sausage also had a nice level of kick and seasoning.

Foto: McDonald's sausage biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

3. WENDY'S: The sausage biscuit sandwich from Wendy's cost just $0.99, making it the cheapest sandwich I tried.

Foto: Wendy's sausage biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

Wendy's has yet to launch its breakfast menu in all of its locations nationwide, so trying this sandwich from a nearby location in New York City was a true privilege.


I was intrigued by the square-shaped patty, which is the same shape Wendy's uses for its beef patties.

Foto: Wendy's sausage biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

The biscuit was softer and less crumbly than the McDonald's one. It had a moist inside, unlike others that I tried.

Foto: Wendy's sausage biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

The sausage had a slightly spicy, delicious flavor, accentuated by its buttery biscuit. I could've gone for some egg or cheese, but for $0.99, I wasn't complaining.

Foto: Wendy's sausage biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

2. CHICK-FIL-A: Chick-fil-A's plain chicken biscuit was the most expensive breakfast sandwich I tried. It cost $3.79.

Foto: Chick-fil-A's chicken biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

The biscuit was slathered in butter and, frankly, didn't look like a fast-food biscuit — it looked like the real deal.

Foto: Chick-fil-A's chicken biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

I tried it first without sauce — the chicken was juicy and the biscuit melted in my mouth.

Foto: Chick-fil-A's chicken biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

Then, just for kicks, I decided to try it with a little Chick-fil-A sauce.

Foto: Chick-fil-A's chicken biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

This sandwich is the stuff breakfast dreams are made of.

Foto: Chick-fil-A's chicken biscuit.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

However, I couldn't ignore the fact that the sandwich was the most expensive - the value factor alone knocked it down to second place.


1. McDONALD'S: At the price of $2.39, the McDonald's sausage McMuffin — despite being among the cheapest sandwiches I tried — came out on top.

Foto: McDonald's sausage McMuffin.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

The cheese was perfectly gooey and the buttered muffin was moist from a heavy slathering of butter.

Foto: McDonald's sausage McMuffin.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

The sausage patty was so flavorful and juicy, I almost forgot there wasn't egg inside the sandwich — and I didn't care.

Foto: McDonald's sausage McMuffin.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider

If you have a couple of dollars laying around, opt for this classic fast-food item — no egg required.

Foto: McDonald's sausage McMuffin.sourceErin McDowell/Business Insider