Every McDonald's Burger, Ranked Worst To Best

Stopping by the Golden Arches but not sure what to order? The iconic burger from McDonald's is its pride and joy, so beloved by customers that statistics shared in recent years show more than 6 million burgers flying off the grill each day. However, it can be hard to know which to order, especially when some differences are very subtle. Add in the honking from the car behind you in the drive-thru lane and pressure to order the right thing mounts.

While many of the burgers share the same basic assembly of beef patty, cheese, ketchup, mustard, and pickles, there are a few that add extra flavor, texture, and even secret ingredients. These rankings of all of the McDonald's burgers will help you know which ones are best and when you might want to steer clear of certain offerings. Flavor, texture, and preparation were our top criteria, since a great burger first has to taste great. Most people go to McDonald's for a fast meal that won't cost a lot, so value and convenience were also factors that made certain selections stand out on the menu.

With three kids, it wasn't hard to find taste testers to compare all of these burgers side by side. Like most families, we have our go-to favorites but it was helpful to try all of them at once to really see what made the cut. Surprisingly, some of our most-anticipated selections didn't make our taste buds dance while the classic options hit the spot. 

The Double Quarter Pounder with cheese is a mouthful, both to say and to eat, thanks to its long name and large size. This is truly a colossal burger, with two quarter-pound beef patties made of 100% beef, which are grilled fresh at each location when ordered. The burger includes two slices of cheese, onions, ketchup, mustard, and pickles. This seemed like the beefiest of the burgers, since it had a full half-pound of meat between two simple sesame buns and few toppings to offset the main ingredient.

The extra large burger patties coupled with the large slivered onions make this my least-favorite burger on the menu. Even if you're going to McDonald's with an intense appetite, the patty to toppings ratio on the Double Quarter Pounder is a bit much. I would recommend getting two smaller burgers rather than this giant one. While all of McDonald's burgers are grilled fresh, you can't ask for medium or rare. The texture of the thicker quarter pound patty is a bit chewy, or at least more noticeable, because it is well done. The standard patty is cooked the same but is much thinner, making the well-done burger less obvious because the rest of the sandwich adds different flavors and textures. With the Double Quarter Pounder, it's hard to overlook the well-done meat. The one thing this burger does have going for it compared to other Quarter Pounder options is that fewer toppings makes it less messy overall.

One of McDonald's best-known burgers is the Big Mac, named for its large size. With a distinctive flavor and more buns than any other burger on the menu, it is even the go-to order for celebrity chef Paul Hollywood. It has two patties, plus a bun in between, as well as a secret Big Mac sauce! Many dupes and copycat recipes exist, but the exact concoction is kept by McDonald's and only available on this one menu item. The Big Mac lives up to the name as one of the biggest options available from a chain known for their burgers. If you're hungry, this is a good menu item to try, but be ready for a large order.

My kids were most excited about testing out this option, since it is one of the offerings that McDonald's is famous for, but the abundance of lettuce made it less popular in reality than it was in theory. The sauce is also pretty messy, which doesn't work well if you're grabbing a bite on the go. I liked the extra bun in the middle to give it more heft, but that also meant that a single sandwich was way more than I needed for a filling meal. The Big Mac is 590 calories for a single order, something to consider if you're looking to keep a lower calorie count. This is the only option that comes with any sort of special sauce, which adds a unique flavor to the burger. 

If you want something filling that has a bit more texture variety, check out the quarter pounder with cheese. It's made with a burger patty that weighs a full quarter pound, although you should note that the weight is calculated before cooking. The patties used in all of McDonald's burgers are prepared ahead of time rather than formed on the line, although they do put each burger fresh on the grill to cook. McDonald's uses 100% beef for its patties, plus a little bit of salt and pepper for simple seasoning. This patty had a noticeably chewy texture, a common trait among all of the Quarter Pounder varieties we tried. The addition of the slice of cheese was not enough to offset the Double QP but works for the single Quarter Pounder, which is why this burger ranked slightly higher on the list.

Even with the well-done patty, this was a pretty good fare among the sesame seed bun burgers. The Quarter Pounder patty is bigger than the standard patty and threatens to overshadow the other flavors, but the addition of onions and pickles helps. This wasn't a popular option with the younger diners due to the larger pieces of onion on the burger. The pickles, one of my favorite parts of a McDonald's burger, could also be a bit stronger to keep up with the rest of the sandwich, so I would order extra pickles if I tried this option again.

This is one of the most suped up burgers available at McDonald's and the closest that the fast food chain comes to a gourmet option. Don't get me wrong, it's still the quick fix McDonald's that we know and love, but the addition of a few extra toppings puts this one a bit above some of the others on the list. The quarter pound patty is still seasoned with just salt and pepper. You can certainly find burgers at upscale restaurants with more complex spice blends, but keeping things simple is Bobby Flay's tip, and it seems to be working for McDonald's as well.

The deluxe version of the quarter pounder adds extra toppings for a heftier burger that has a nice balance of taste and texture. Shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes, my favorite addition, give the burger a bit of extra crunch. It also has mayo spread on the inside of the top bun alongside ketchup and mustard with two slices of cheese. When I ordered it, there was a lot of mayo on one side and little on the other, but the exact application will vary with each sandwich. The downside of all of these delicious toppings is that this is a messy one to eat, since the lettuce and tomato slide around on the burger and even fall out the back. As long as you're ready for that and not eating attempting to eat it in the car, this is a tasty option.

If you're a bit more hungry but don't want to go for the massive Quarter Pounder or Big Mac, try the double cheeseburger. It has double patties and double cheese, plus the standard McD's condiment duo of ketchup and mustard. It uses chopped onions, which my entire family preferred to the larger sliced onions on the Quarter Pounders. It's one of the larger burgers you can get while still staying true to the McDonald's classic taste and texture.

I love the buttery bun of the double cheeseburger compared to the sesame bun that's used for the larger burgers, so this one got higher marks from me for that alone. The extra slice of cheese, which is the only difference between this and the McDouble, held the top bun in place while I ate it. There aren't a ton of toppings to slip out the back of the burger, but enough ketchup and mustard to add flavor, so it works well if you're looking for a larger burger to eat in the car. It comes with the standard amount of pickles, so you may want to ask for extra if you want the tang to be able to hold up to the extra patties and cheese.

Don't let the squished appearance fool you, this is a great tasting burger that's full of tried-and-true McDonald's flavor. If you like the classic taste of a McDonald's hamburger but want an extra burger patty, try the McDouble. It has two standard McDonald's patties on it, plus cheese, ketchup, mustard, and pickles. The McDouble has one slice of cheese in between two patties, while the Double Cheeseburger has an extra slice of cheese. I actually preferred the lesser-cheese option, since the burger patties were on the thin side. It was also a bit less messy without as much gooey cheese coming out the sides. 

All of the burgers with chopped onions instead of sliced, including the McDouble, were hits with the younger members of my family. The texture and flavor are the onions are less intense, plus they aren't as likely to fall out the back of the burger as you eat. I like that they blend right in with the condiments, really letting the flavors mix rather than stand alone in each bite. The onions are a bit less noticeable in this burger compared to the regular cheeseburger because the extra beef patty overpowers them, so consider asking for extra onions if you really like that flavor. For me, the standard amount was plenty without any boost.

This is the only burger on the McDonald's menu with bacon, which is surprisingly good quality for a fast food chain. The applewood smoked bacon on the Quarter Pounder with cheese and bacon adds a bit of saltiness to the burger as well as a crunchy texture that pairs well with the cheese, which is right underneath the bacon when it's assembled. This balance of gooey cheese and crispy bacon was my favorite aspect of this burger. It also has a quarter-pound beef patty, onions, pickles, and the standard combo of ketchup and mustard.

The addition of the bacon balanced out the larger patty and made this a better burger than the standard Quarter Pounder in terms of flavor. Like the other larger burgers, the onions are sliced rather than chopped, which means they're a bit stronger and more noticeable. You may want to ask for fewer onions or even omit them completely if you don't like the intensity. I have to admit that they didn't add much to the burger that would be missed. The bacon, however, was a welcome addition that everyone who tasted it enjoyed and what earned this sandwich the top spot among the Quarter Pounder options in our test.

This is one of the simpler burgers from McDonald's. It has a standard beef patty, seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper. This is an ideal burger to eat when you're short on time, since it stays together well and can be held with one hand, making it my go-to when I'm ordering McDonald's for my kids in the car. Each kid has their preference between the cheeseburger and hamburger, but they are pretty comparable to me. I like that the gooey cheese keeps the burger top in place but it all depends on where it is placed during assembly. I've had McDonald's cheeseburgers where the cheese was so far off the patty that it hardly melted at all.

This was the burger that I expected to like the most since it is my usual order when I go to McDonald's. Alongside fries and a drink, it's the right size for me, although some of my hungrier friends opt for a double cheeseburger instead. It keeps things simple with just cheese, ketchup, mustard, and pickles on a classic bun. The pickles really get to shine, which I love. McDonald's does note that its pickles use preservatives, but you can always ask to omit them if needed. The zing from the pickles is what makes this one of my favorites, though, since the taste isn't overshadowed by a bunch of toppings. It's truly a toss-up, and personal preference, whether this outshines the equally delicious classic hamburger.

This is the burger that started it all and called a classic for a reason. Along with great taste and texture, it has the coveted number one spot on our list. It comes with a beef patty, seasoned with salt and pepper before grilling, tangy pickles, small onion pieces, ketchup, and mustard. This is the simplest option in McDonald's burger lineup but everything else is a variation on this OG version. This was the sandwich I was most intrigued by, but surprisingly had never tried because it always just seemed so plain. Once you replace "plain" with "classic," you get to the true identity of this burger (Now if only we could determine the true identity of the notorious Hamburglar, one of the more mischievous characters in the McDonald's character lineup).

While it might not sound like much, the classic McDonald's hamburger was my kids' favorite thing on the menu. It's also their choice when they order a Happy Meal, which I love because it's one of the cheapest kid's menu fast food items out there. Maybe it's the size of the sandwich, the seasoning on the patty, or the combination of the simple condiments, but something about this burger works. It is easy to eat on the road, has as good amount of condiments, and is loaded with delicious pickles. The classic burger can come a bit squished, but that just makes it easier to eat in my opinion.

Even though we already have a standard McD's order, which usually involves a toy for my youngest participants, it was helpful to try all of the options at once to really compare them. I already knew I preferred the standard bun over the larger sesame seed one, so many of my favorites tended to be simpler classics. I enlisted the help of my three kids to run a true taste test and they were more than happy to taste as many burgers as their stomachs could hold. We lined up all of these burgers side-by-side, tried samples of each, and made a list of our favorites.

As expected, the ones with larger pieces of onion and a lot of lettuce were messier, which was a big consideration for me since we often pick up fast food when we are on the road. My kids focused on taste and the burgers with a good balance of patty, cheese, and bun tended to get the highest marks. Surprisingly, the larger burgers didn't fare as well, mainly due to the lettuce and onion overshadowing preferred flavors like pickles and ketchup. I liked the classic buttery bun more than the sesame bun that came with the Quarter Pounders and Big Mac. Convenience was also a factor, since we mainly order fast food when we're on the road. Burgers that were really messy were harder to eat and are selections we're not likely to try again.