Value Meals Rate High Despite Premium Prices

Combo and value meals command some of the highest prices on quick-service and fast-casual menus, yet consumers still rate them among the best value available, according to Datassential’s State of Value report.

Combo meals at quick-service restaurants averaged $8.20 in 2025, 27% above the segment’s $6.45 average across all limited-time offers and pricier than a sandwich sold individually ($7.33).

In fast casual, combo meals averaged $11.08, 30% above the segment’s $8.54 average. Midscale dining was the exception: combo meals there averaged $6.24, a discount against the segment’s $11.04 average.

The industry’s high-water mark for value was 2020, when combo meal pricing hit its low point and value ratings peaked. Prices have since risen, making it harder for combo and value meals to stand out, the report said.

Even so, combo meals ranked among the highest-rated item types on value in 2025, averaging 53% against a 43% platform average across all item types — an edge that is growing more expensive to hold onto.

Combo meal pricing held flat against 2024 while limited-time offer prices overall fell 11%, widening the gap with the rest of the menu and making value harder to signal. Price carried more weight in value judgments last year than in the historical average, though the report cautioned it is not the only factor.

Combo meals that pair a full meal with an accompaniment, such as a dessert or chicken nuggets, tend to rate highly on value. Datassential pointed to the apple pie bundled in Checkers & Rally’s $4 MVP Meal Deal, alongside a sandwich, value fry, and small drink, as the reason it earned the highest value rating of any quick-service combo meal so far this year, at 84%.

McDonald’s dominated on composite score — Datassential’s blended measure of appeal, uniqueness and value — holding three of the four top spots among quick-service combo meals, led by its Under $3 Menu at 99. Its $5 McDouble Meal Deal, which pairs a double cheeseburger with fries, four chicken nuggets, and a drink, had a composite score of 89 and rated 82% on value.

Outside of combo meals, fast casual’s best value performers were smaller and cheaper. Farmer Boys‘ Mini Cakes Skillet, three silver dollar pancakes with an egg and bacon, rated 75% on value — a smaller portion with a little of everything for under $5, which the report cited as a possible hint at the future of value offerings as GLP-1 use continues.