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Looking to save money as you quell the grumbling beast inside your stomach? Maybe you don’t feel like scanning the menu to find the best bargain, or perhaps you want to play drive-thru roulette to keep life spicy. In any of those situations, you might feel compelled to just tell the drive-thru worker to give you whatever menu item is going to be the kindest to your wallet. 

Regardless of your reasoning, take heed from a TikToker who headed to four different fast-food joints and asked for the cheapest thing on the menu. The result? Not every fast-food joint will rise to the challenge. Here’s how they ranked:

@littleremyfood k, but what’s up with the last one??? likee…. 👀 #food #tiktokfood #fastfood #mcdonalds #wendys #burgerking #tacobell #cheap #dollar #fyp #fypシ ♬ original sound – Little Remy Food 🐭🍝

McDonald’s

Upon hitting the McDonald’s drive-thru and asking for the cheapest thing on their menu, TikToker @littleremyfood said she was given a McChicken, which cost her $1.74. In her viral video, she admitted that the McChicken wasn’t up to par and was pretty dry. 

Taco Bell

She then headed to Taco Bell, where she was given a cheesy roll-up, the most affordable item on the menu at $1.40. But the roll-up was admittedly nothing she couldn’t whip up in a few seconds at home making it a rip-off, even for less than two bucks. 

Next Up: Wendy’s

Wendy’s handed the TikToker a $2.90 crispy chicken, which she said was “the crispy chicken we asked for,” before describing how hot and tender the sandwich was and declaring, “Wendy’s is the new McDonald’s.”

And Finally … Burger King

Also known as absolutely no one’s favorite place to grab a bite to eat (you can @ us if we’re wrong). 

BK’s drive-thru headsets must be on the fritz because despite asking for the cheapest thing on the menu, @littleremyfood received a Double Whopper with a $9.19 price tag. Chalk it up to yet another Burger King fail. It won’t be the chain’s last, we’re sure.

The Bottom Line

If you take Burger King out of the equation (we think its fail warrants a disqualification), the value item that the TikToker gave the highest rating to was the one that cost her the most. But based on her review — “this is the crispy chicken we asked for … it’s hot and tender” — we’re pretty sure she’s OK with spending almost $3 for the Wendy’s cheap chicken sandwich.

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Meet the Writer

Rachel is a Michigan-based writer who has dabbled in a variety of subject matter throughout her career. As a mom of multiple young children, she tries to maintain a sustainable lifestyle for her family. She grows vegetables in her garden, gets her meat in bulk from local farmers, and cans fruits and vegetables with friends. Her kids have plenty of hand-me-downs in their closets, but her husband jokes that before long, they might need to invest in a new driveway thanks to the frequent visits from delivery trucks dropping off online purchases (she can’t pass up a good deal, after all). You can reach her at [email protected].