Culver’s and Waffle House could hardly be less alike, and that is exactly why the comparison works. Culver’s, founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1984, is a daytime burger chain built on fresh, never-frozen beef pressed to order on a butter-toasted bun, hand-battered Wisconsin cheese curds, and frozen custard made in small batches through the day. Waffle House, founded in Avondale Estates, Georgia in 1955, is a 24-hour diner built on a flat grill with no freezer and no microwave, where the same menu is served at 3 a.m. as at 3 p.m. One sells the best burger board of the two; the other sells the best breakfast plate per dollar. Every figure below comes from our live Culver’s and Waffle House clusters, checked in November 2026, and every conflict between the sources is stated rather than smoothed.
Culver’s vs Waffle House: The Head-to-Head in One Table
| Matchup | Culver’s | Waffle House |
|---|---|---|
| Signature plate | Original ButterBurger $6.39, 390 cal | All-Star Special $12.35–$13.55, 1,010–1,170 cal |
| Cheapest way in | Original ButterBurger $6.39, 390 cal | Classic Waffle $4.95–$5.25, 410 cal |
| Full meal deal | Value Basket (burger, side, drink) $9.49 | All-Star Special (5 items) $12.35–$13.55 |
| Signature side | Wisconsin Cheese Curds Regular $5.69, 490 cal | Hashbrowns All the Way $6.50–$7.50, 545 cal |
| Dessert | Concrete Mixer Regular $5.49, 630 cal | Pecan Waffle $5.45–$5.70, 560 cal |
| Hours | Typical 10:30 AM–10:00 PM, to 11:00 PM Fri–Sat; no breakfast | Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year |
The Burger Round: Culver’s, Clearly
Culver’s wins the burger board on both price and range. The Original ButterBurger is $6.39 at 390 calories, the volume-selling Deluxe is $7.49 at 580 calories, and the Double ButterBurger is $8.99 at 680 calories — fresh beef, pressed on the grill to order, on a butter-toasted bun. Waffle House’s burger is a respectable diner burger, not a burger-chain burger: the Angus 1/4 lb Cheeseburger Deluxe runs $8.50–$9.50 at 420 calories, and the Angus Hamburger Deluxe the same $8.50–$9.50 at 370 calories. That puts the cheapest Waffle House burger above the Culver’s Deluxe, with fewer builds on the board. Waffle House’s Texas melts — grilled chicken, cheesesteak or Angus patty on Texas toast at $9.50–$10.50 — are the better lunch order there, but they are melts, not burgers. One conflict to state plainly: two November 2026 sources list the Culver’s Bacon Deluxe at different prices, $8.79 with 700 calories in one capture and $9.49 with 830 in another, so the live pillar shows the range $8.79–$9.49 and 700–830 calories, and so do we. For the full boards behind every figure here, see our Culver’s menu guide and our Waffle House menu guide.
The Breakfast Round: Waffle House, and It Is Not Close
Culver’s does not serve breakfast at all — no breakfast anywhere in the chain, and no overnight service. Waffle House is the breakfast round by default, and it wins it on value as well as availability. The All-Star Special — two eggs any style, a classic waffle, toast or a biscuit, grits, hashbrowns or tomatoes, plus a meat — is $12.35–$13.55 whichever meat you pick, five items on one plate, against $15+ if you ordered the same items separately. The cheapest full plate is even cheaper: the Two Egg Breakfast with toast and regular hashbrowns is $6.90–$7.80 at 500 calories by official component math. Culver’s has no answer to any of that before 10:30 a.m., because the doors are not open. The All-Star calorie conflict, stated plainly: the official component totals run 1,010–1,170 calories depending on the meat (bacon 1,045, sausage 1,170, city ham 1,010, country ham 1,100, chicken sausage 1,090), while the trackers list 1,050–1,270 calories for the same plate. The gap is the biscuit-with-gravy and grits swaps — swap the hashbrowns for grits and the plate drops by about 100 calories; swap the toast for a biscuit with sausage gravy and it climbs by about 245. We print the official totals in the table and the tracker range here, and we do not pick one number and hide the other. For the full breakfast boards, see our Waffle House nutrition guide and our Culver’s nutrition guide.
The Side Round: Curds vs Hashbrowns, All the Way
Both chains have a signature side regulars order by name, and both are worth the trip. Culver’s Wisconsin Cheese Curds — white cheddar, hand-battered and fried to order — are $5.69 for a Regular at 490 calories and $7.79 for a Large at 730. Waffle House hashbrowns are a language: scattered, smothered, covered, chunked, diced, peppered, capped, topped and country, about $1.00 per topping singly, or all eight together as Hashbrowns All the Way for $6.50–$7.50 at 545 calories by official component math — about two dollars less than buying the eight toppings one by one. The hashbrown calorie conflict: the official sheet puts plain regular hashbrowns at 190 calories, while one tracker lists 310, apparently including the grill oil and butter. The live nutrition guide prints the official 190 and flags the 310, and we do the same. On sodium, though, the curds win easily: Hashbrowns All the Way carry 2,830mg of sodium, the saltiest single item in either cluster. For the off-menu builds that use both sides — the DIY CurderBurger on one side, the hashbrown bowls on the other — see our Culver’s secret menu guide and our Waffle House secret menu guide.
The Dessert Round: Custard vs Waffle
Culver’s treats dessert as a second menu: a Concrete Mixer Regular is $5.49 at 630 calories, a Large $6.49 at 900, alongside single scoops from $3.99, sundaes, shakes, malts and floats, plus a rotating Flavor of the Day chosen per restaurant from a rotation of around thirty. Waffle House’s dessert is the waffle itself — the Pecan Waffle at $5.45–$5.70 and 560 calories is the signature, every tracker agrees on that figure, and a slice of Southern Pecan Pie runs $6.25–$6.75 at 510 calories. The waffle is cheaper and lighter; the custard board is deeper and more of a meal. Neither chain sells a bad finish, but only Culver’s gives you a dessert menu to choose from. The wider picture: our IHOP menu guide covers the closest breakfast-chain benchmark, and our Five Guys menu guide covers the other fresh-beef burger board.
The Clock and the Bill: 24/7 vs the Value Basket
This is the round that decides the verdict. Waffle House is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no breakfast cutoff and no closing time — the same menu at 3 a.m. as at 3 p.m., in 1,900+ locations across 25 states, and the chain has kept a restaurant open somewhere continuously since September 5, 1955. Culver’s typical hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and to 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, in about 1,041 locations across 26 states, and it is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day at most locations. On the bill, Culver’s Value Basket — burger, side and drink — starts at $9.49 for the Original ButterBurger, $10.69 for the Deluxe; Waffle House has no combos, so the All-Star at $12.35–$13.55 is the closest thing to a meal deal, and it is a five-item breakfast, not a burger meal. On deals, Culver’s has the stronger program: Delicious Rewards gives 10 points per $1, a free single scoop with two toppings in your birthday month and again at your half-birthday, and 25% off your first order. Waffle House’s Regulars Club is free and gives sign-up hashbrowns and a birthday waffle, but no food promo codes exist — the coupon-site codes are for the merchandise shop only. For the full deal picture, see our Culver’s coupons guide and our Waffle House coupons guide.
What Regulars Say
There is no national aggregate rating for either chain, and location ratings split by platform — which is the honest story for both. Culver’s sampled Google listings run about 4.5–4.6 stars, with Yelp lower at 3.8–4.1; the praise is consistent, a Yelp reviewer in Birmingham writing of the Deluxe Value Basket: “THAT burger was the BOMB! Perfectly done smash burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, sweet red onion, and mayo. So tasty!” The complaints are consistent too: the curds run salty for some, and the bill draws the occasional complaint. Waffle House ratings vary wildly by location — across eight Yelp locations sampled in November 2026, scores ran from 2.6 to 4.2 stars, while Google-style listings run mostly around 4.2–4.3 — and the low scores are almost always about one specific store’s cleanliness or speed, not the menu. A Yelp reviewer in Savannah, Georgia wrote: “Best Waffle House I’ve been to. Super clean and fast. Food was great and staff was excellent!” and a Google reviewer in Goodyear, Arizona summed up the regulars’ order: “Nothing like a good pecan waffle and hashbrowns, scattered and smothered.”
Culver’s vs Waffle House FAQs
Is Culver’s or Waffle House cheaper?
It depends what you order. The cheapest burger is Culver’s: an Original ButterBurger at $6.39 against an Angus Cheeseburger Deluxe at $8.50–$9.50. The cheapest breakfast is Waffle House: a Two Egg Breakfast at $6.90–$7.80, and Culver’s serves no breakfast at all.
How many calories are in the All-Star Special?
By the official component totals, 1,010–1,170 calories depending on the meat — bacon 1,045, sausage 1,170, city ham 1,010. Trackers list 1,050–1,270 for the same plate, because of the biscuit-with-gravy and grits swaps.
Is Waffle House really open 24 hours?
Yes — 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no breakfast cutoff. Individual locations very rarely close for weather or emergencies.
Does Culver’s serve breakfast?
No. There is no breakfast anywhere in the chain, and no overnight service. Typical hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., to 11:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Which has better dessert, Culver’s or Waffle House?
Culver’s, for range: Concrete Mixers, sundaes, shakes, floats and a daily Flavor of the Day. Waffle House’s dessert is the waffle itself — the Pecan Waffle at $5.45–$5.70 and 560 calories is the one to order.
Which has better deals?
Culver’s. Delicious Rewards gives 10 points per $1, a free birthday scoop and 25% off your first order. Waffle House’s free Regulars Club gives sign-up hashbrowns and a birthday waffle, and there are no food promo codes at either chain.
Conclusion
Order Culver’s when the burger is the point — an Original ButterBurger at $6.39 and 390 calories, a Deluxe Value Basket at $10.69, and a Concrete Mixer to finish is the best burger-plus-dessert value either chain offers, and the custard board alone is worth the drive. Order Waffle House when the clock or the breakfast plate is the point — the All-Star Special at $12.35–$13.55 is five items for the price of a burger meal elsewhere, the hashbrowns all the way are $6.50–$7.50, the coffee is $2.25–$2.75 with free refills, and the doors never close. Culver’s wins the burger board and the custard; Waffle House wins the clock and the breakfast plate per dollar. They are not really competing — they are two different answers to what a roadside restaurant is for.
