More for your dough: Prices vary up to 38% at fast food chains in Ireland depending on county 

The Drive Thru Index compared prices at individual chains across the country

Prices for a portion of pizza and fast food at international restaurant chains in Ireland vary by up to 38% depending on what county the food is purchased, a new comparison index published this week has shown. Picture: Peter Hince

Prices for a portion of pizza and fast food at restaurant chains operating in Ireland vary by up to 38% depending on what county the food is purchased, a new comparison index published this week has shown.

The index created by an Australian software developer compared several fast food chains operating in Ireland and found that while some prices were standardised across chains, others could vary considerably within the same chain at different outlets. 

Anthony Gherghetta says he created the Drive Thru Index to see how big the price differences between restaurants really were. "Fast food apps now know what you order, when and where, but customers can’t see how prices are set. So I built Drive Thru Index to check every restaurant, every day,” said Mr Gherghetta.

The Drive Thru Index reads the restaurant menu from each chain's own ordering app every day, from individual restaurants. It then calculates a chain's 'spread': how much more its dearest restaurant charges than its cheapest. The Irish restaurant chains compared in the index include Burger King, Supermac's, Domino's, Four Star Pizza, KFC, and Eddie Rockets. 

Domino's Original Cheese & Tomato (medium) pizza varied in price by 19%.

This week, it found that a Domino's Original Cheese & Tomato (medium) pizza varied in price at Irish outlets from €15.99 in Dublin 11 to €18.99 in outlets including Castlebar and Tuam, translating to 19% spread across 74 restaurants. Prices in Cork stores for the item were €16.99.

Prices for a Four Star Pizza 'The Americana' ranged from €8 to €11, a 38% spread across 44 restaurants. A basket of four items (Americana pizza, wedges, garlic baguette, and can of Coke) varied from €19.60 in Wexford to €26.70 in Drogheda. 

At Supermac's, the price of a snack box was €9.25 across all of its restaurants and a basket of five selected items was priced €28.90 at every one. Similarly, at KFC, a Zinger Burger was priced at €7.95 across 36 restaurants, with A basket of five items costing €29.40 at every one.

Every one of Eddie Rocket's 22 restaurants charged €11.95 for The Classic, while the same basket of four items costs from €30.20 to €30.40, a spread of 1%. Every one of Burger King's 10 restaurants charged €6.95 for the Whopper while the same basket of five items costs from €28.65 to €30.25, a spread of 6%.

Mr Ghergetta said the spread is particularly wide in the US.  "In Australia, where I’m from, a Big Mac costs much the same wherever you buy it. In the US the price changes from one restaurant to the next," he said. A Big Mac in the US varies by 114% in price from the cheapest restaurant to the dearest. 

The Economist’s Big Mac Index, which has been used for 40 years as a way to compare the purchasing power parity between countries, shows that the price of the Big Mac sandwich in the US rose by around 23% between 2019 and the end of 2025.