Five Guys Vs Shake Shack: Who Makes The Best Cheeseburger?

If you're debating between Five Guys and Shake Shack, the good news is that you can't go wrong. They both use fresh ingredients to make delicious and fulfilling cheeseburgers. But is one slightly better than the other? I was hungry to find out, so I headed to my local Five Guys and Shake Shack for some comparison eating (find full details about my methodology at the end of this article). To award the trophy for the best cheeseburger, two of the biggest factors I chewed on were the beef and the cheese. The toppings, buns, and even less edible ingredients like ordering and pricing were all part of the equation.

Overall, this culinary contest was a close call. Some of the categories ended in hunger-inducing draws. But in the end, one cheeseburger barely edged out the other. So, if you like a melty cheese-covered protein-filled meal, read on to find out whether Five Guys or Shake Shack serves the better cheeseburger.

There's one thing you'll never see in a Five Guys kitchen — a freezer. Every patty is hand-formed from fresh ground beef that's never known the chill of a freezer. Each morning kicks off with a flurry of activity — patties are shaped, veggies are sliced, and the crew prepares for just that day's service. They're not prepping for tomorrow or next week. Just one day at a time. So, whatever day you walk into a Five Guys, you know you're getting a cheeseburger made of fresh ingredients.

The standard cheeseburger is a double whammy of deliciousness — two beef patties with two slices of American-style cheese melting in between. The two-patty approach grew from the early days, when the Murrell family was perfecting their soon-to-be-legendary burger. They realized that a big ol' burger dries out on the inside because it takes so long to cook. The mouthwatering solution: two thinner patties that balance a crisp outside with a juicy inside. This double-your-pleasure approach is served up on a toasted sesame seed bun with your choice of toppings and sauces. Want onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, relish, jalapeño peppers, green peppers, or mushrooms? You got it! How about mayo, mustard, ketchup, bar-b-que sauce, hot sauce, or A.1. Sauce? It's all yours.

Along with fresh, quality burgers topped to your heart's content, Five Guys also aims for personable service. Before devouring my cheeseburger, I received friendly greetings and thorough service. In recent visits to two different locations, this was my experience.

Meet the star of Shake Shack: the ShackBurger. It comes in a single with one beef patty or a double with two. Each patty comes from a proprietary blend of 100% all-natural Angus beef, raised free of added hormones and antibiotics. The company earns such high grades for its meat that Shake Shack might just become valedictorian. In a 2018 joint report from the Center for Food Safety, Consumer Reports, and other organizations, Shake Shack received an "A" grade for sourcing beef raised without antibiotics. Along with BurgerFi, it was one of only two burger chains to receive a passing grade.

To join Shake Shack's high-achieving beef, the default ShackBurger comes with melted American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce. And like so many of the best cheeseburgers, its creamy, zesty sauce is shrouded in secrecy. While the actual recipe remains a mystery, rumors murmured in culinary circles expose dill pickles as the secret ingredient in Shake Shack's sauce. The ShackSauce adorns a toasted potato bun, and for no extra charge, you can also add pickles, sliced onions, and a side of ShackSauce if you like extra. While the menu has plenty of options, polls show that the ShackBurger ranks as fans' favorite sandwich at Shake Shack.

When it comes to burger battles, Five Guys and Shake Shack both throw down with patties made from fresh, never-frozen ground beef. They've also both mastered the art of the smash burger technique — patties pressed firmly on a sizzling griddle, creating a caramelized crust that seals in the juicy goodness and flavor. But the flavor of one of these patties far outsizzles the other.

During my taste test, I had the delightful company of an adorable, burger-craving pup. After a bit of begging, I treated her to a nibble of a Five Guys patty, which she gobbled up with gusto. But when it came to the Shake Shack burger, I looked into her pleading puppy eyes and said, "Sorry, but I'm not wasting Shake Shack beef on you." While both restaurants cook delicious patties that are similar in size, color, and texture, Shake Shack's beef is just better. I've always liked Five Guys — and still do. But side-by-side, the beef in a Five Guys cheeseburger is a bit dull.

What gives Shake Shack patties the edge on flavor? It might be the custom 100% Angus beef blend. A favorite premium beef in the United States, Angus is celebrated for its marbled meat. This marbling, the fancy term for fat streaks that weave through the lean meat, tends to enhance the flavor of beef. It might be what makes Shake Shack's patties taste so beefy and delicious — way too good to share with even the cutest of dogs.

We can't talk about cheeseburgers without talking about cheese! Five Guys has been sticking with Kraft American Cheese slices since first opening for business in 1986. The restaurant likes this cheese for its creamy melt and mild flavor that doesn't overpower the two beef patties in a standard cheeseburger. This standard cheeseburger includes two pieces of cheese — but Five Guys does something unique in the cheeseburger's construction. Instead of a patty with cheese stacked on another patty with cheese, cooks put the two pieces of cheese between the two patties. This approach helps create a super melty situation. When I opened my foil-covered cheeseburger, I found a beautiful cheesy mess. The cheese was seeping in, around, and out of the burger.

Shake Shack also pledges allegiance to American cheese, appreciating its creamy meltability. But instead of relying on Kraft, Shake Shack sources its cheese from Wisconsin, the heartland of dairy goodness. You'll find one delicious piece of cheese on the classic Single ShackBurger and two on the Double Shackburger. Either way, the result is not nearly as cheesy as a Five Guys cheeseburger.

Whether it's thanks to the choice of cheese or because of the stacked cheese strategy, the Five Guys cheeseburger comes out as an ooey-gooey delight. So, in the cheese-off between these burger joints, Five Guys wins the cheese round quite simply because it's cheesier.

What goes on a cheeseburger besides cheese? Well, at Five Guys you have your choice of over 250,000 topping combinations. Bacon does cost extra. But all the other toppings are on the house, from classic ketchup and mustard to adventurous choices like fiery hot sauce and A.1. Steak Sauce. From lettuce and tomato to daring jalapeños and savory grilled mushrooms. "Plain" is also an option — a bold choice in its own right.

Over at Shake Shack, bacon also costs extra, along with a small charge for cherry peppers. The menu of freebies includes lettuce, tomato, pickles, sliced onions, and the signature ShackSauce. Though the list is shorter, I found the Shake Shack toppings to have more of that fresh-from-the-garden vibe. The Roma tomatoes were a vibrant red, perfectly sized, and full of flavor. And a lovely piece of green leaf lettuce draped elegantly inside the bun. Five Guys, on the other hand, went for hand-torn lettuce with a tendency to fall out. And the tomatoes on the Five Guys cheeseburger were not as bright red and ripe as those MVP Roma slices on the ShackBurger. Overall, the toppings tussle is a tough one — Five Guys wins on quantity and Shake Shack wins on quality. Therefore, toppings for the tie.

The Five Guys bun is the restaurant's only proprietary item. Baked fresh five days a week, the ingredients include water, salt, sugar, vegetable shortening, milk, eggs, flour, yeast, and sesame seeds. They're sweeter and eggier than most buns — some even say the Five Guys buns are more like cake than bread. The buns get a nice toast on the grill, but unlike some other places, Five Guys skips the butter or mayo coating. If you're not a fan of the bun, there's a lettuce wrap or a no-bun bowl option.

While Five Guys covets its proprietary bun, Shake Shack proudly uses the famous Martin's Potato Rolls. These rolls are so popular that you'll find them in thousands of food spots throughout the United States and beyond. They're soft, buttery, and just plain comforting. Plus, there's the ingenious "hinge" feature — a little connection between the top and bottom halves that helps keep your cheeseburger and its fixings all together. Before serving, Shake Shack gives the inside of the bun a toasty, buttery finish. Alternative options include a no-bun lettuce wrap or a gluten-free bun.

So, which bun is better? They both get the job done, but neither one's stealing the spotlight from the cheeseburger itself. The Five Guys bun might get a tad soggy if it lounges around too long in its foil wrap. Since the Shake Shack bun holds up a bit better and I like the hinge, it wins the bun battle — but just by a crumb.

Both Five Guys and Shake Shack make ordering a cheeseburger easy. They both have easy-to-use apps and online ordering, with options for delivery or pickup — including the option to order ahead for pickup at a specified time. Ordering through the app or online also makes it easy to customize a cheeseburger just how you want it.

If you're more of a spontaneous cheeseburger enthusiast, both Five Guys and Shake Shack welcome walk-ins. But fair warning: the ease of this experience can vary quite a bit depending on where and when you go. Both restaurants are known for long wait times. Food takes a while at Five Guys and Shake Shack because everything is being prepared and cooked to order. At a Shake Shack in New York City, it's not unusual to find a line out the door and hungry diners turning trash cans into makeshift tables. At Five Guys, you'll at least have the restaurant's signature free peanuts to snack on while you wait for your order.

If you're on the hunt for a drive-thru, things get a little tricky. Five Guys is still playing hard-to-get when it comes to drive-thrus, though a few locations have introduced mobile pickup windows for those who like to plan ahead. Shake Shack, on the other hand, has been expanding its drive-thru game, letting you order from the comfort of your driver's seat. Given how well that's been going, expect to see more Shake Shack drive-thrus rolling out.

The Five Guys Little Cheeseburger (one beef patty), contains 600 calories, 39.5 grams of carbs, 32 grams of total fat, and 690 milligrams of sodium. The standard Five Guys cheeseburger, (two patties) is 980 calories, 40 grams of carbs, 55 grams of total fat, and 1,050 milligrams of sodium. These numbers don't include any of the many toppings options, some of which will up the sodium count.

At Shake Shack, a Single ShackBurger (one beef patty) contains 500 calories, 26 grams of carbs, 30 grams of total fat, and 1,250 mg of sodium. A Double ShackBurger (two beef patties) contains 760 calories, 27 grams of carbs, 48 grams of total fat, and 2,280 milligrams of sodium.

While Five Guys tends to have more calories, carbs, and total fat, Shake Shack tends to have more sodium. With 2,280 milligrams, the Double ShackBurger contains more than the daily 2,000 milligram limit recommended by the World Health Organization. But let's not salt away our cheeseburger dreams just yet! Both Five Guys and Shake Shack cheeseburgers are packed with protein. Our bodies don't store protein, so we have to get it from foods we eat (or from supplements). Beef also offers many benefits beyond protein — it's an excellent source of iron, vitamin B12, and zinc. In moderation, beef can be part of a healthy diet. That's not to say cheeseburgers are a health food, but when we enjoy them, we might as well appreciate the nutritious stuff buried somewhere beneath all that melty cheese.

Five Guys and Shake Shack aren't known for value — they both landed on the Mashed list of burger chains that are completely overpriced. Fresh, quality ingredients are admittedly a big part of why Five Guys is so expensive. The restaurant also doesn't skimp on portions — the standard cheeseburger features two beef patties and two pieces of cheese. And if you get fries with that, you'll receive a bag overflowing as if they mistook the serving size for a family of four.

Like Five Guys, Shake Shack knows it's not the cheapest place to grab a burger. The restaurant embraces the idea of fine casual, which aims to offer the food quality of fine dining without the fuss of reservations or the fear of mispronouncing "sommelier." It's a balancing act that means you pay more than you would for a value meal, but less than the tip alone at some of Manhattan's finest restaurants.

In my experience, Shake Shack was slightly less expensive than Five Guys. Prices will vary by location, but you'll likely find similar differences between the two. At my local Five Guys near San Francisco, a Little Cheeseburger (one patty) costs $9.49 and a standard cheeseburger (two patties) goes for $11.99. The pricing at the closest Shake Shack is a tad friendlier, with the ShackBurger (one patty) for $7.99 and the Double ShackBurger (two patties) for $10.49. Based on the numbers, Shake Shack wins the pricing war, but not by much.

On any given day, I'd be delighted to eat at either Five Guys or Shake Shack. They both serve fresh, tasty cheeseburgers. But my tough job at hand calls for picking the best among the two. When it comes to judging cheeseburgers, two categories hold a lot of weight — the beef and the cheese. Shake Shack serves the tastier beef. But Five Guys steals the spotlight in the cheese department with ooey-gooey goodness that could make a grilled cheese blush. This means each restaurant wins in a major category — so far, it's a tie.

Looking at other categories, toppings are also important — and the toppings came out as a tie. Ease of ordering? Another tie. Nutrition? Let's be honest—there's no winner in that category. With everything neck and neck, the better burger is coming down to some small margins in the categories of buns and bucks. Shake Shack barely earned the top bun and offered a slightly better price.

Tallied all up, the trophy goes to Shake Shack for the better cheeseburger. The beefy flavor of its beef is exceptional, the toppings pop, the sauce zests just right, and the bun wraps it all up with buttery comfort. But don't worry Five Guys, I'll still see you again soon.

I used online ordering to schedule pick up of a cheeseburger from Five Guys and a ShackBurger from Shake Shack. Both locations were in the San Francisco Bay Area and neither restaurant knew that I was on a mission to choose a better cheeseburger. I took both cheeseburgers home, where I examined them side-by-side, and tasted each one thoroughly. With an appetite for research, I also consulted each restaurant's online resources, including menus, media kits, and nutritional information.

I crowned Shake Shack the better cheeseburger based on this firsthand experience. Of course, this is just one diner's subjective opinion. Trust your own taste buds. Whether you're Team Five Guys or Team Shake Shack, I hope you enjoy your next cheeseburger!