Seven burger chains, compared by the numbers

Official figures from McDonald’s, MOS, Subway and more show the burger itself is often the light part — the set is what decides the total.

Same name, 55 kcal apart

The plain hamburger is 259 kcal at McDonald’s (13.0 g protein), 270 kcal at Lotteria and 314 kcal at MOS Burger. Even the Big Mac (524 kcal, 26.1 g protein) keeps single burgers mostly in the 300–500 kcal band.

The seven chains at a glance

Subway has the lightest meal average at 233 kcal — every sandwich lands between 150 and 449 kcal. KFC averages 294 kcal. McDonald’s and MOS tie at 435 kcal. The ceilings differ sharply: Lotteria’s King Zeppin cheeseburger reaches 1,334 kcal with 6.4 g of salt — 85% of the Japanese daily target in one item.

The set decides the total

French fries at McDonald’s run S 225 / M 410 / L 517 kcal — a medium fries outweighs a hamburger. Downsizing the fries saves more than downgrading the burger. Note the disclosure gaps too: Subway does not publish salt, and Dom Dom publishes little beyond calories — blanks on our pages mean “not disclosed”, not zero.

Figures in this article are aggregated from the 30,399 items across 191 chains we publish (as of 2026-09-18). Reference values follow Japan’s Dietary Reference Intakes (2020).

Written by

Okazaemon (runs tabecal)

Sales job, late twenties. Lost 18 kg over three years without giving up eating out, with one rule: 20 g+ protein and 10 g or less fat per meal. Checks every chain’s officially published nutrition data daily. Not a nutrition professional — consult a doctor or dietitian for medical decisions. About the operator →

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