Jimmy John's Vs Jersey Mike's: Which Is Better?

Italian cold cuts with cheese on bread is like pizza — it's pretty hard to mess up. And just like pizza, there are plenty of places trying to perfect the art of the Italian cold cuts sandwich, each with its own twist on the satisfying formula. Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's are two of the biggest sandwich chains in the U.S. according to 2023 data, and arguably the two largest that focus exclusively on high quality subs. As the foremost proprietors of Italian cold cuts in the world of chain restaurants, Jimmy John's and/or Jersey Mike's may well be synonymous with the sandwich style to a pretty sizable customer base.

In order to determine which chain's spin on the submarine sandwich is superior, I visited my closest Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's locations and pitted multiple menu items from each in head-to-head competition. My findings include analyses of how the chains match up in a variety of categories as well as my pick for which sandwich spot is the best overall. Here are the results of this sandwich showdown.

From Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's I ordered two sandwiches each, one of which looked great and one of which looked just okay. Contributing to this was the fact that each restaurant cut just one of two sandwiches in half. Unsurprisingly, the un-halved sandwiches looked less appealing than the halved sandwiches, given how a sandwich's contents are more visible in a cross-section.

That said, I ended up halving both unseparated sandwiches myself, one of which was a Spicy East Coast Italian from Jimmy John's. Its cross-section looked good but still less appetizing than a roughly equivalent Jersey Shore's Favorite from Jersey Mike's, its ingredients practically overflowing. The contents of my second Jimmy John's sandwich, on square wheat bread, looked more bountiful, especially compared to the contained appearance of my second Jersey Mike's sandwich. Bread, deli meats, veggies, and cheese all look pretty similar on the outside — two key differentiators being the texture of the Jimmy John's meat and its lettuce's thinness, neither of which qualitatively impacted visual appeal. 

So, an apparent surplus of ingredients or a lack thereof effectively served as the sole differentiating factor in the looks department. While I ended up with one above-average and one average entrant from each chain, resulting in a close competition, I decided to give the edge to Jersey Mike's. The Jersey Shore's Favorite, overloaded with meat to the point it was almost overflowing, was the best looking of the batch.

Sliced bread is all that's necessary to make whatever's within it into a sandwich, so it's no surprise both sandwich chains do bread pretty well. From Jimmy John's, I ordered one sandwich on French and one on wheat. That wheat bread, notably, is square, like what's sold at a grocery store. At Jersey Mike's I got one sandwich on white and one on rosemary Parmesan. I opted for the latter over wheat because I wanted what I felt were likely the chain's two strongest representatives. At Jimmy John's, the only alternative to French bread — other than transforming a sandwich into a wrap or an "Unwich" — is wheat.

For the most part, the Jimmy John's French bread and the Jersey Mike's white bread are equivalent to one another. Both are a little crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, providing a satisfying textural contrast and relatively blank canvas for the ingredients they contain. I decided that I just barely preferred the Jimmy John's French bread for its nominally higher resiliency. For better or for worse, the Jimmy John's wheat bread is hearty in flavor, tasting more strongly of wheat than usual for the style. My favorite bread was the Jersey Mike's rosemary Parmesan, which was softer than the chain's white bread, as well as very perceptibly garlicky, cheesy, and herby. For providing both the single best bread and a solid neutral option, Jersey Mike's wins this bread head-to-head.

The assortments of veggies that come standard on sandwiches from both Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's are more similar than they are different, each including lettuce, tomato, and onions. Most immediately apparent after putting sandwiches from each chain side-by-side is that Jimmy John's cuts its lettuce a lot thinner than Jersey Mike's. Both lettuces are basically flavorless, and I preferred the thinner cut — but quality-wise, they're effectively the same thing.

There were big differences, however, between the onions and tomatoes from each chain. In fact, I had a hard time finding onions on my Jimmy John's Spicy East Coast Italian, whereas they were easy to spot on my Jersey Shore's Favorite. Both the onions and tomato on the Jersey Mike's sandwiches tasted better and fresher than the veggies on my Jimmy John's sandwiches. I'm typically averse to plain tomato, and despite that, I enjoyed an isolated bite I took of a Jersey Mike's tomato slice. A plain Jimmy John's tomato bite was not my favorite. Overall, then, I found that Jersey Mike's serves higher quality veggies than Jimmy John's.

Trying them side-by-side, I found that meats and cheeses played different roles on my sandwiches from each chain. The signature Mike's Way preparation at Jersey Mike's means loading up a sandwich with olive oil and vinegar, as opposed to the more standard deli mayo on a typical Jimmy John's sandwich — which, notably, does also include oil and vinegar, but they're hardly perceptible. Fittingly, I found that the Italian cold cuts and cheese at Jersey Mike's were somewhat neutral in flavor, anticipating that their toppings would do plenty of heavy lifting. Comparatively, the meats on my Jimmy John's Spicy East Coast Italian were a little saltier and spicier. The Jimmy John's provolone was also thicker and richer.

Complicating matters is the fact that I felt like the Jersey Mike's meat was a little cleaner and fresher. Plus, my second Jersey Mike's sandwich was a Bacon Ranch Chicken Cheese Steak, and both its chicken and bacon were super flavorful. My second Jimmy John's sandwich, meanwhile, included both turkey and bacon, neither of which rose above a baseline level of quality. That said, its perhaps lower quality but more immediately delicious meats earn Jimmy John's a win in this category, simply because I'd rather have those on a sandwich than cold cuts from Jersey Mike's. Nevertheless, the Cheese Steak chicken and bacon from Jersey Mike's are genuinely great, so the Jimmy John's meats and cheeses come out ahead in this category by the thinnest of margins.

By default, sandwiches like the Spicy East Coast Italian, which is one of the best popular menu items at Jimmy John's, come with the chain's trademarked Jimmy Peppers. And while it's something customers must go out of their way to add rather than a default ingredient, Jersey Mike's offers a hot chopped pepper relish, effectively its own signature spicy pepper topping. In fact, that hot pepper relish is a key ingredient in a viral TikTok Jersey Mike's sandwich that Mashed reviewed.

First off, the Jimmy Peppers are very good. I'm a spicy food connoisseur and found them satisfyingly hot in addition to thoroughly pickle-y and rich in pepper flavor. Unfortunately, I counted just two pepper slices per sandwich half. Maybe my Jimmy John's location preemptively holds back its Jimmy Peppers in anticipation of the average customer shying away from spicy food — whatever the case, that was disappointing, but not a detractor from their deliciousness. The hot chopped pepper relish is also solidly spicy, but matched with a sweet, pimento-esque flavor. That tracks, of course, given that it's a relish, but it also felt like one flavor too many. All in all, then, I preferred the signature hot peppers at Jimmy John's to the proprietary pepper relish from Jersey Mike's.

Sometimes — and especially at quick service chains — size can be more important than quality. After a workout, for instance, priority number one may well be the biggest serving of carbs and protein possible. With that said, it's difficult to compare the sizes of Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's sandwiches because of how each chain excels in different categories.

First, I measured the lengths of each of my submarine sandwiches, and whereas my Jimmy John's sub was about 8.5 inches long, both Jersey Mike's subs were closer to 7.5 inches long. For what it's worth, I ordered both in standard sizes, rather than the giant sizes available at both chains. Complicating matters was the fact that, while my Jersey Mike's Chicken Cheese Steak was about the same height and width as my Jimmy John's sub, the Jersey Shore's Favorite was half an inch or so taller and wider. That sandwich also contained higher quantities of ingredients than its Jimmy John's counterpart. Meanwhile, my square wheat Jimmy John's sandwich was a little smaller in area at about 5 inches by 4 inches. All of that said, I think it's fair to consider Jersey Mike's the chain with the bigger sandwiches due to a standard Jersey Shore's Favorite ending up the largest — even if it's not quite the longest — of all my sandwiches.

Sandwiches are functionally the raison d'être for both Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's, but neither serves sandwiches exclusively. At Jimmy John's, customers can order certain items as either a wrap — available within a standard flatbread or a garlic and herb flatbread — or as a lettuce-wrapped Unwich, unique to the Jimmy John's menu. Sides include potato salad, pasta salad, and the chain's own brand of potato chips. Also offered are three desserts and a standard selection of drinks. Meanwhile, Jersey Mike's allows customers to order wraps as well as carb-less bowls. Sides merely include chips from outside manufacturers and four desserts. Jersey Mike's does, at least, offer a wider range of drinks, from brands like Stubborn, Bubly, and Celsius, in addition to the usual suspects.

Add-ons to sandwiches themselves, meanwhile, are also more robust at Jimmy John's, including a handful meats as opposed to just a couple at Jersey Mike's. Both chains provide roughly equivalent sauces and veggie options. That said, Jersey Mike's offers a mini sandwich size unavailable at Jimmy John's other than as a few select Little Johns sandwiches. Ultimately, while the menu at Jersey Mike's does allow for some worthwhile choices unavailable at Jimmy John's, it's Jimmy John's, rather, that provides its customers with the more robust range of ways to customize their order.

Comparing the two roughly equivalent sandwiches I ordered from each chain, an 8 inch Spicy East Coast Italian from Jimmy John's totals 850 calories, 49 grams of fat, 17 grams of which are saturated fat, 155 milligrams of cholesterol, 3020 milligrams of sodium, 53 grams of carbs, 5 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 46 grams of protein. A regular Jersey Shore's Favorite from Jersey Mike's totals 790 calories, 44 grams of fat, 11 grams of which are saturated fat, 1 gram of which is trans fat (rounded up), 66 milligrams of cholesterol, 2494 milligrams of sodium, 61 grams of carbs, 5 grabs of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 38 grams of protein.

For the sake of throwing in items on the more healthful end of the spectrum, a Totally Tuna Unwich from Jimmy John's contains a fraction of the calories but effectively an equivalent amount of sodium compared to a tuna bowl from Jersey Mike's. In both cases, then, Jimmy John's ingredients are considerably saltier. And while an Unwich is perhaps the most healthful option from either chain, that's also a factor of a low calorie count — a Jersey Mike's bowl may be somewhat saltier and fattier but it's also quite a bit more filling. Altogether, while the Unwich is a uniquely healthful option at Jimmy John's, even its nutritional data in context supports Jersey Mike's as the somewhat healthier choice.

Returning to the Jimmy John's Spicy East Coast Italian and the Jersey Mike's Jersey Shore's Favorite as a baseline, the former in its standard size with no modifications costs $9.79 at my local Jimmy John's in Las Vegas. The latter totals $8.29. Increasing the size of either sandwich ups their prices to $19.39 and $15.29 respectively. Meanwhile, added meats are a mere 4 cents costlier at Jimmy John's, whereas both places offer plenty of free veggie and sauce add-ons. Combos at Jimmy John's — including a side and a drink — are $13.19 with a regular sandwich and $22.69 with a giant sandwich. That said, some sides incur a slight upcharge, in all cases of less than a dollar. While there's no set combo option at Jersey Mike's, drinks range from $2.50 to $3.50 and chips are all $1.79. With the most expensive drink and a bag of chips, equivalent combos from Jersey Mike's total $13.58 and $20.58.

All of that said, both chains are franchised, so prices can vary depending on location. I did look up prices at a Jimmy John's in Akron, Ohio, and while they're lower, they still don't dip below Jersey Mike's prices. Purely cost-wise, then, Jersey Mike's offers its customers better values on single sandwiches, sandwich upgrades, and combo meals alike.

Since the vast majority of the menus at both Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's consist of sandwiches — even wraps, bowls, and Unwiches are all just modified sandwiches — that's what I focused on comparing for the majority of this head-to-head. One of the few non-sandwich items proprietary to both chains is a chocolate chip cookie, so I decided to analyze each chain's cookies too.

The Jimmy John's cookie is branded as a Triple Chip Cookie on its packaging, and that's pretty clearly reflected by its inclusion of white chocolate chips — presumably there are two distinct varieties of non-white chocolate chips in there as well. Whatever the case may be, that Jimmy John's cookie is so overloaded with chocolate chips, one bite I had from its center contained more chocolate than cookie. The Jersey Mike's chocolate chip cookie, meanwhile, isn't as chocolatey, but it tastes more homemade. Its chocolate chips are richer, and its cookie component offers a more complex flavor than just plain white sugar. My favorite, however, was the Jimmy John's Triple Chip Cookie. Even if Jersey Mike's uses components that taste a bit better, the kind of absurdly high chocolate-to-cookie ratio at Jimmy John's was what I ended up enjoying the most.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that I found Jersey Mike's the superior sandwich chain to Jimmy John's, given that the former won six categories compared to the latter's four. Plus, the categories Jimmy John's did win include customization, which depreciates in value if its sandwiches don't taste as good, and hot peppers, which were doled out to me pretty meagerly. When the Mashed Bros tried Jimmy John's and Jersey Mike's for a YouTube short, they too found Jersey Mike's to be the superior chain. Jersey Mike's also beat Subway in a Mashed head-to-head.

I ended up deciding that the most important X factor at Jersey Mike's is how it sauces its sandwiches. Similar to the results of my Popeyes Vs Raising Cane's chicken tender contest, Jersey Mike's winning sandwiches start with what I would describe as a less flavorful but higher quality baseline. Its quality meats and veggies are then drenched in flavorful sauces — Mike's Way means olive oil and vinegar, but the chain offers ample alternatives like its hot chopped pepper relish, of which I was served plenty. So, even if I enjoyed the meats from Jimmy John's more in isolation, the slightly blander but better-made Jersey Mike's meats are in service of a better sandwich. Jimmy John's put up a fight and still offers its own distinct advantages like a tastier cookie, but I'd almost always opt for a sandwich from Jersey Mike's over the competition.

To set up my sandwich chain head-to-head, I ordered a regular Spicy East Coast Italian — which comes with provolone, salami, and capicola — on French bread with a chocolate chip cookie, plus a regular Smoked Cheddar Bourbon Club — mades with turkey and bacon — on wheat bread, all from Jimmy John's. From Jersey Mike's I ordered a regular Jersey Shore's Favorite — provolone, ham, and capicola — on white bread with hot chopped pepper relish and a chocolate chip cookie, plus a regular Bacon Ranch Chicken Cheese Steak on rosemary Parmesan bread.

I placed both orders simultaneously at the locations closest to me in Las Vegas, Nevada. My girlfriend helped me out and picked up my Jimmy John's order while I grabbed my Jersey Mike's items. Everything, then, arrived home at just about the same time. In one sitting, I tried standalone ingredients from every sandwich for the sake of some of my specialized categories before finishing at least one half of each sandwich unaltered to help determine the better chain overall. After my sandwiches, I had my cookies from each spot also in that same sitting.