13 Real Fast Food Menu Items Under $5 Right Now

Most “cheap fast food” lists online are recycled from other lists, with prices that are years old or never sourced at all. Every price below instead comes from a menu we've researched directly, at a real restaurant, on the date noted on that restaurant's own page. Some of these prices vary by location, and each restaurant's page explains exactly how we got the number.

The list

• Chicken Finger

  Raising Cane's · 130 Cal

  $1.29
• Crinkle-Cut Fries

  Raising Cane's · 400 Cal

  $1.99
• Fries

  Dave's Hot Chicken · 440 Cal

  $3.79
• Single Tender

  Dave's Hot Chicken · 490–550 Cal

  $4.89
• Firehouse Chili

  Firehouse Subs · 180 Cal

  $3.99
• Loaded Potato Soup

  Firehouse Subs · 240 Cal

  $3.99
• Add-a-Piece: Fish

  Long John Silver's · 246 Cal

  $2.69
• Add-a-Piece: Popcorn Shrimp

  Long John Silver's · 249 Cal

  $3.49
• All American Cheeseburger

  Checkers · 330 Cal

  $3.66
• Grilled Hot Dog

  Checkers · 310 Cal

  $3.35
• Pepperoni Crazy Puffs

  Little Caesars · 680 Cal

  $3.99
• Crazy Bread

  Little Caesars · 800 Cal

  $4.99
• Espresso

  Community Goods

  $4.50

A few worth calling out

The single cheapest item on this list is Raising Cane's Chicken Finger at $1.29, sold on its own rather than only as part of a combo. On the other end, Little Caesars' Crazy Bread at $4.99 feeds more than one person, which makes it a different kind of value than a single-serving side.

Community Goods' Espresso at $4.50 is the outlier here: it's the only drink on this list from a specialty cafe rather than a quick-service chain, and unlike most of the other prices, it's the same figure at both of Community Goods' Los Angeles locations rather than a single-restaurant reference price.

Why prices vary by location

None of these chains publish one national price list. Most set prices per restaurant, and some of the prices above came from a delivery platform's listing for one specific restaurant rather than an in-store or drive-thru price, which can run lower. Use these as a real starting point, then check current pricing at your own restaurant before you order. Every source is listed on the linked menu page for each item.