Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Five Guys are the two chains that take the smashed, crispy-edged burger most seriously — and they charge very differently for it. Freddy’s is a Kansas-born steakburger shop built on speed, shoestring fries and frozen custard churned fresh through the day. Five Guys is a Virginia-born burger stand built on fresh, never-frozen chuck, hand-cut fries and fifteen free toppings. Both started as single counters — Freddy’s in Wichita in 2002, Five Guys in Arlington in 1986 — and both now run hundreds of stores. Here is every round with real figures, read live from our Freddy’s menu guide and our Five Guys menu guide.
One warning before the numbers: neither chain publishes a national price list, and both set prices by store. Freddy’s figures below are typical November 2026 in-store prices, anchored on a November 7, 2026 tracker capture and cross-checked against store ordering menus, with calories from Freddy’s own published nutrition. Five Guys figures are store-level prices checked in August 2026 across three cities, with official calories. Where trackers disagree, the range is shown and the conflict is stated, not smoothed. Your store’s number is the only one that counts.
Freddy’s vs Five Guys: The Price Gap in One Table
| Item | Freddy’s | Five Guys |
|---|---|---|
| Signature burger | Original Double — $7.49 (730 cal) | Cheeseburger — $14.63–$15.59 (980 cal) |
| Single-patty burger | Single Steakburger — $4–$7 (460 cal) | Little Hamburger — $9.23–$11.39 (540 cal) |
| Bacon burger | Bacon & Cheese Double — $8.49 (790 cal) | Bacon Cheeseburger — $16.79–$17.99 (1,060 cal) |
| Fries (regular) | Shoestring Fries — $3.49 (400–520 cal) | Regular Fries — $8.58–$9.59 (953 cal) |
| Hot dog | All-Beef Hot Dog — $6.50–$9.10 | Hot Dog — $9.35–$10.79 (520 cal) |
| Signature dessert | Concrete (regular) — $6.49 | Milkshake — $7.50–$8.63 (670 cal base) |
| Combo / meal deal | Original Double Combo — $13.99 | No combo; Make it a Meal +$5 (selected stores) |
| Rewards | Freddy’s Rewards — 10 points per $1 | No US rewards program |
The Signature Round: Original Double vs Cheeseburger
This is the whole comparison in one bite. Freddy’s Original Double — two thin steakburgers smashed on the grill so the edges go crispy, with cheese, mustard, pickles and onions — is $7.49 at 730 calories in the chain’s own nutrition data. Five Guys’ Cheeseburger — two patties of fresh, never-frozen 80/20 chuck, hand-formed every morning, cheese on each patty — is $14.63–$15.59 at 980 calories before a single topping. Freddy’s signature costs roughly half of Five Guys’ and carries 250 fewer calories. Five Guys answers with size: its patties are thicker, its bun is bigger, and every one of its fifteen toppings is free. Freddy’s answers with range of its own: the California Style Double at $7.99 and 770 calories, the Patty Melt at $6–$9 and 760 calories, the Jalapeño Pepper Jack Double at 790 calories with no verifiable current price, and the Triple Steakburger at $7–$10 and 1,000 calories. Even Freddy’s heaviest double is cheaper than Five Guys’ plain Cheeseburger. On the signature alone, Freddy’s wins on price and on calories; Five Guys wins on heft and on the topping board.
The Bacon Round
Freddy’s Bacon & Cheese Double is $8.49 at 790 calories in the chain’s own nutrition data — trackers list 750 to 850, so the range is the honest one. Five Guys’ Bacon Cheeseburger is $16.79–$17.99 at 1,060 calories before toppings, the heaviest burger on its board. That is more than double the price for 270 more calories. The lighter Five Guys bacon option, the Bacon Burger at $15.59–$16.55 and 920 calories, is still nearly twice Freddy’s price. If bacon is the point, Freddy’s wins this round outright — and the gap is the largest on either board.
The Single-Patty Round: The Cheapest Way In
Freddy’s Single Steakburger is $4–$7 at 460 calories (380 without cheese), the cheapest burger on either menu. Five Guys’ Little Hamburger is $9.23–$11.39 at 540 calories, and the Little Cheeseburger is $10.55–$12.47 at 610. The “Little” name is the trap: a Five Guys Little is a full single patty with the same free toppings as the double, and it still costs more than Freddy’s double. Five Guys’ cheapest burger costs more than Freddy’s signature. The one Five Guys item that undercuts Freddy’s on price is the Veggie Sandwich at $5.87–$8.75 and 265 calories — the lightest hot item on either board — but it is not a burger. For a real burger at the lowest price, Freddy’s wins.
The Fries Round: Shoestring vs Hand-Cut, and the Extra Scoop
Both chains stake their identity on fries, and they could not be more different. Freddy’s shoestring fries are thin, lightly seasoned and $3.49 for a regular at 400–520 calories, with cheese fries at $4.49 and chili cheese fries at $5.49. Five Guys’ fries are hand-cut in-store each morning, double-cooked in 100% refined peanut oil, and priced like a meal: Little $7.07–$7.38 at 526 calories, Regular $8.58–$9.59 at 953, Large $9.90–$11.51 at 1,314. Cajun seasoning adds just 14 calories at every size, but the salt is the real difference — Large Cajun Fries carry 1,658 mg of sodium. Five Guys’ one unbeatable move is the extra scoop: every order gets a second scoop tipped into the bag, so the cup is not the whole portion. A Regular at 953 calories is the floor, not the total, if you eat the whole bag. Freddy’s wins on price by five dollars; Five Guys wins on portion and on the theatre of the overfilled bag. Calorie for calorie, though, the honest math is that a Five Guys Regular fries order is a meal on its own.
The Meal Math: $13.99 Combo vs No Combo at All
Freddy’s sells combos: the Original Double Combo — sandwich, shoestring fries and a medium drink — is $13.99, the Single Combo $11.99 and the Triple Combo $15.49. The calorie figures in the Freddy’s menu guide are for the sandwich only; fries add roughly 400–520 calories and a medium fountain drink about 150. Five Guys sells no combo meal at all — no national combo has ever existed on its board. Its test offer, Make it a Meal, adds a Little Fry and a drink to any burger, sandwich or hot dog for $5 more at selected stores only. Do the addition yourself: a Five Guys Cheeseburger ($14.63–$15.59) plus a Regular Fries ($8.58–$9.59) is $23.21–$25.18 before a drink — nine to eleven dollars more than Freddy’s full combo with a drink included. A Little Hamburger ($9.23–$11.39) with a Little Fries ($7.07–$7.38) is $16.30–$18.77 and 1,066 calories, the lightest full Five Guys meal. The full macro tables are in our Five Guys nutrition guide. Freddy’s Single Combo at $11.99 is cheaper than that lightest Five Guys pairing, and roughly 860–980 calories with the fries. Five Guys has never tried to compete on the meal deal; Freddy’s built its whole value case on it.
Chicken, Dogs and the Veggie Corner
Freddy’s has the deeper savory bench. Its chicken is a quiet second act: the Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich on its own is the lightest sandwich on the menu at 300 calories with 28 grams of protein and only 520 mg of sodium, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich runs $9.15–$11.35 at 380–570 calories (the chain’s data and trackers disagree, so the range is shown), the Grilled and Crispy Chicken Clubs are $9.80–$12.85, and hand-breaded tenders are $7.70–$10.40 for three pieces at 420 calories. Its All-Beef Hot Dog is $6.50–$9.10. Five Guys has no chicken at all. Its hot dogs are kosher-style all-beef franks, split and grilled lengthwise, at $9.35–$10.79 for a plain dog at 520 calories, up to $10.91–$14.63 for a Bacon Cheese Dog at 670 — every dog takes the same fifteen free toppings as a burger. Five Guys’ answer to the non-beef eater is the sandwich board: the Veggie Sandwich at $5.87–$8.75 and 265 calories, the Cheese Veggie Sandwich at $7.19–$9.35 and 415, the Grilled Cheese at $7.19–$8.99 and 470, and the BLT with six strips of bacon at $9.71–$10.67 and 600. Freddy’s Veggie Burger, a black bean patty at 440–510 calories, has no verifiable current price. Freddy’s wins the chicken round by default; Five Guys wins the hot dog on quality, Freddy’s on price.
Custard vs Shake: Freddy’s Home Turf
This is Freddy’s round and it is not close. Its custard is churned fresh through the day with a minimum of 10% butterfat — the legal threshold for frozen custard — and served as a concrete, blended thick with mix-ins: a Regular Concrete is $6.49, the Create Your Own is $5.99, and the Signature Turtle spans 730 to 1,140 calories across sizes. A classic custard shake is $5.49 at 560 calories, though the Regular Signature Turtle Shake is 1,310 calories — more than most of the burgers on the menu. Five Guys has no custard. Its shake starts from a hand-spun vanilla base at 670 calories and $7.50–$8.63, and every mix-in adds calories, with more than 1,000 combinations from the mix-in list. It is a good shake and a bigger, pricier one than Freddy’s. Freddy’s also owns the seasonal dessert shelf right now: its Hershey’s collaboration runs November 4, 2026 to January 5, 2027, with the French Onion Steakburger back at $9.09–$12.09 (trackers disagree on its calories, 940 against 880, so no figure is stated as fact) alongside three Hershey’s custard treats with no published prices or calories. Five Guys’ seasonal answer is structural, not an event: its 40th anniversary on February 17, 2026 was marked with a buy-one-get-one-free burger offer, one of the rare nationwide Five Guys deals ever. Freddy’s wins dessert on price, range and theatre; Five Guys’ shake is the consolation prize.
Value and Rewards: A Real Program vs Free Peanuts
Freddy’s has a loyalty program and Five Guys does not — in the United States, at least. Freddy’s Rewards is free to join in the app or at freddys.com, members earn 10 points for every $1 spent, points expire one year after they are earned, and a Large Fry is free at 300 points. The higher redemption tiers — 500 points for a regular shake or malt, 600 for a regular concrete, 800 for a Bacon & Cheese Double or a Large Cheese Curd — are tracker-reported from the chain’s app, because Freddy’s does not publish them on its public site, so confirm them in the app before planning around them. Freddy’s other value play is its Everyday Value Menu, launched November 5, 2026: a Steakburger Taco, two-piece Chicken Tenders and a Hot Dog at $3.49 each — in seven test markets only. Five Guys has no US rewards program and no promo-code program; the UK has Five Guys Rewards, but the US has no equivalent, and coupon-site codes are user-submitted and unverified. What Five Guys does give away is real but small: fifteen free toppings on every burger and dog, a free extra scoop of fries in every bag, and free in-shell peanuts while you wait. Its only priced saving move is Make it a Meal, $5 more at selected stores. The full deal terms at each chain are in our Freddy’s coupons guide and our Five Guys coupons guide. Freddy’s wins value by a wide margin — it is the only one of the two with a program to join.
The Secret Menu Round: Burger Dog vs Presidential Burger
Neither chain has an official secret menu, and both have fan builds worth knowing — order by recipe, not by name, because the names are not in the register. Freddy’s three best-sourced builds are the Burger Dog (an Original Double topped with a Vienna hot dog, about $14.49 and about 1,120 calories), the Nutter Butter Concrete (vanilla custard, crushed Nutter Butter, peanut butter, about $6.49 and about 900 calories) and the Chili Steakburger (an Original Double topped with chili and cheese sauce, about $10.49 and about 900 calories). Its free asks are the practical win: the lettuce wrap is free on any burger or sandwich and cuts about 180 calories from a Double, extra pickles and extra grilled onions are free, and a custard sample spoon is free. The one thing that is not free is the Fry Sauce, $1.49 a cup. Five Guys’ flagship build is the Double Grilled Cheeseburger — two grilled cheese sandwiches as the bun with a patty inside, about 1,240 calories — followed by the Presidential Burger, Barack Obama’s 2009 order of a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños and mustard, about 995 calories. Its Patty Melt spent years as a secret build before graduating to the official sandwich board, where it now lists at $11.27–$12.47 and 790 calories. The low-carb play is the Little Bacon Cheeseburger Bowl, bunless at about 450 calories against 690 with the bun. Five Guys’ free asks are its own strength: “All the Way” loads all fifteen toppings, well-done fries are free, and the extra scoop is already in the bag. The full lists are in our Freddy’s secret menu guide and our Five Guys secret menu guide. Five Guys wins this round on depth — 250,000 topping combinations make a secret menu almost unnecessary — but Freddy’s free lettuce wrap is the single most useful ask on either board.
What Regulars Actually Say
Freddy’s scores well for a burger chain, with the California Double and the shoestring fries drawing the most praise. On Yelp, the Indianapolis location sits at 3.5 stars from 133 reviews, San Marcos, Texas at 3.3 from 62 reviews, and Houston at 4.0 from more than 500 reviews, where Google shows 4.5 from more than 1,200 reviews. The Grand Island, Nebraska location scores 4.4 out of 5 on Wanderlog. Freddy’s has no per-reviewer star ratings published, so there is no slider here — the ratings above are the aggregates as published in our Freddy’s nutrition guide.
Five Guys’ Arlington home turf rates it highly: the Columbia Pike store holds 4.6 stars across 43 reviews, with reviewers praising the service and the allergy-aware ordering (“I was immediately greeted… she quickly followed by asking if I had any allergies” and “Excellent service and excellent management,” both September 2026, via the store’s review listings), while the Wilson Boulevard store sits at 4.5 stars across 44 reviews. The recurring complaint across locations is price, not quality — especially at airport stores, where the same burger costs more. No per-reviewer star breakdown with verified reviewer names was available for a slider, so the reviews here are aggregates and labeled quotes in prose, as published in our Five Guys menu guide. Both chains are rated above the average fast-food burger joint, and both have the same weak spot: the price of a full meal — only at Five Guys the weak spot is roughly twice as expensive.
Freddy’s vs Five Guys FAQs
Is Freddy’s cheaper than Five Guys?
Yes, by a wide margin. The Original Double is $7.49 against the Cheeseburger at $14.63–$15.59; the Bacon & Cheese Double is $8.49 against the Bacon Cheeseburger at $16.79–$17.99; regular fries are $3.49 against $8.58–$9.59. A Freddy’s Original Double Combo with fries and a drink ($13.99) costs less than a Five Guys Cheeseburger on its own.
Which has better fries, Freddy’s or Five Guys?
Freddy’s shoestring fries are cheaper and lighter ($3.49, 400–520 calories for a regular); Five Guys’ hand-cut fries are the bigger, richer portion (Regular $8.58–$9.59, 953 calories before the free extra scoop) and the more famous one. Order Freddy’s for value, Five Guys for the overfilled bag.
Which has better dessert, Freddy’s or Five Guys?
Freddy’s, for range and price: concretes from $5.99, churned fresh through the day, plus a $5.49 shake. Five Guys’ shake is good — a 670-calorie vanilla base with more than 1,000 mix-in combinations — but at $7.50–$8.63 it costs more than Freddy’s concrete.
Does Five Guys have a rewards program?
Not in the United States, and it has no promo-code program either. The UK has Five Guys Rewards; the US has free toppings, free peanuts and the free extra scoop of fries instead. Freddy’s Rewards pays 10 points per $1, with a Large Fry free at 300 points.
Which is healthier, Freddy’s or Five Guys?
Freddy’s, on the numbers: the lightest sandwich on its board is the Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich at 300 calories with 28 grams of protein, and the Original Double is 730 calories. Five Guys’ lightest burger is the Little Hamburger at 540 calories, and its lightest full meal — a Little Hamburger with a Little Fries — is 1,066 calories. Five Guys’ lightest hot item overall is the Veggie Sandwich at 265 calories.
Conclusion
Freddy’s wins on price, on value and on custard; Five Guys wins on the topping board, on fry portion and on the sheer heft of a fresh, never-frozen double patty. Order Freddy’s when you want the best burger-to-dollar ratio in the country — the Original Double at $7.49, the California Style Double at $7.99, a Regular Concrete at $6.49 — and join Freddy’s Rewards before you go, because a Large Fry is free at 300 points. Order Five Guys when you want to build your own burger from fifteen free toppings, split a Large fries between two people, and accept that the meal will cost about twice as much. For the full boards behind every figure here, see our Freddy’s menu guide and our Five Guys menu guide. For more burger boards, browse our Burgers category.
Prices checked November 2026. Freddy’s prices are typical November 2026 in-store figures from the chain’s menu guide, anchored on a November 7, 2026 tracker capture; calories are Freddy’s own published figures, with tracker conflicts stated as ranges. Five Guys prices are store-level figures checked August 2026 across three cities; calories are official. Freddy’s Rewards tiers above 300 points are tracker-reported from the chain’s app, not published by Freddy’s. The Everyday Value Menu is a test-market offer in seven states only.
