Pizza Versus McDonald’s

Pizza Versus McDonald’s – Introduction

Many fast-food consumers often want to know where they can find the healthiest, best-tasting options.

Both pizza and items on the McDonald’s menu take the list of the best options for low prices. But which one is the best meal option all-around?

Today, we’re diving in deep and comparing pizza, Neapolitan Pizza being the most popular, with the iconic McDonald’s food.

To see the minute differences, we need to examine the difference in everything from calories to saturated fat content, allergens, establishment traffic, and affordability.

Then, we’ll consider their comparative prices, convenience, nutritional information, and taste.

You may be surprised by the differences between these two delicious fast-food options and find out which one is healthier.

Pizza vs. McDonald’s Health Comparison

We can nutritionally compare pizza with McDonald’s menu items by examining the calories and ingredients in each.

We’ll compare popular pizza brands/options with the most popular McDonald’s menu items for a more comprehensive comparison.

First, let’s look at Domino’s pepperoni pizza (one of the leading options in the US) and McDonald’s Big Mac.

A McDonald’s Big Mac has 550 calories in terms of caloric content.

It includes Big Mac sauce, processed American cheese, pickles, lettuce, beef patty, onions, and a bun.

It also has 30g fat, 45g carbohydrates, and 25g protein.

And when we look at the big areas that contribute to poor heart health, the Big Mac has a whopping 11g saturated fat, 80mg cholesterol, and 1010mg sodium.

Conversely, a single service (1 slice) of a medium Domino’s hand-tossed pepperoni pizza is only 200 calories.

Further, it has only 9g fat (3.5g saturated), 22g carbs, 20mg cholesterol, and 8g protein.

Additionally, it has some nutritional value that a Big Mac does not – 8% of your DV of calcium and 6% of your DV of iron.

Pizza vs. McDonald’s Taste Comparison

Additionally, we compared overall customer taste preferences between Domino’s pizza and a McDonald’s Big Mac.

It’s difficult to gauge which establishment is the overall favorite among consumers since they’re both so different.

However, we did some research to see, and the comparison is close, as would be expected.

As it turns out, although McDonald’s is an American classic, Domino’s has been growing in popularity for the past several years.

Moreover, according to a data collection by Gravy Analytics, Domino’s has been beating out McDonald’s in terms of popularity, at least within 2020.

In terms of foot traffic, people more often prefer pizza over items like Big Macs and french fries.

Indeed, burgers, in general, seem to pale compared to consumers’ desire for pizza.

The 2018 USA Today article results from a California Pizza Kitchen survey show that pizza is the favorite, beating out burgers, pasta, and more.

In fact, studies going back several years show that pizza often beats out other popular foods sold in America.

Pizza vs. McDonald’s Price Comparison

We can also compare pizza and McDonald’s by looking at those previously mentioned menu items’ prices.

For example, a McDonald’s Big Mac meal costs close to $5.99, depending on taxes and the state where you’re buying. On the other hand, a Domino’s small, hand-tossed pepperoni pizza costs $7.99.

We compared these two menu items because they’re each roughly enough food to serve a complete meal for one person.

A small (10-inch) pepperoni pizza at Domino’s is about two dollars more than a Big Mac meal at McDonald’s.

However, an entire small pizza will likely give you more bang for your buck than a Big Mac meal, which includes a burger, fries, and a soft drink.

We can make the same comparison for another popular meal at McDonald’s – the 10-piece Chicken McNuggets meal.

This menu item rings in at about $6.49, depending on your location and tax rate. And when compared to the small, hand-tossed pepperoni pizza at Domino’s, you’re looking at roughly the same price.

Pizza vs. McDonald’s Convenience Comparison

We also want to look at the relative convenience of eating at these two establishments.

Fast food options are alluring primarily because of how easy and fast it is (or should be) to get your food from them.

And many of them now even offer convenient home delivery and curbside pickup options when you order ahead.

So let’s compare the convenience of ordering at Domino’s vs. ordering at McDonald’s.

McDonald’s features a drive-thru menu where you can order, pay, and pick up your food all at once. On the other hand, Domino’s has a drive-thru at most locations, but you need to have ordered ahead online before picking up.

Both establishments also offer curbside/app pickup, carryout, and delivery options. McDonald’s offers delivery through partner delivery services, like GrubHub, Uber Eats, etc.

On the other hand, Domino’s offers delivery via those services and Domino’s delivery drivers themselves.

Pizza vs. McDonald’s Allergen Comparison

Another area of comparison that matters a lot to consumers is the allergen info for different foods.

Pizza, in particular, is a notoriously gluten-filled food item that a lot of people are intolerant to these days.

And if you’re on a vegan, vegetarian, soy-free, or dairy-free diet, you need to have the option to customize your pizza.

Luckily, when you order a pizza at Domino’s, you can specifically request allergen information and ask for substitutions to meet your needs.

This is why pizza is preferable to McDonald’s – because you’re able to order gluten-free crusts at popular establishments like Domino’s.

You can also order pizzas without cheese and those that feature no meat.

And when it comes to the popular McDonald’s menu items – Big Macs and McNuggets, you’re unfortunately dealing with both meat and gluten.

So while you can request no cheese if you’re vegan or dairy-intolerant, many items on the menu still have meat.

It’s also less common and less convenient to substitute toppings on McDonald’s items than it is to customize a pizza.

Conclusion

When we consider the big and small differences between pizza and popular McDonald’s menu items, we see that pizza takes the win.

After looking at the relative cost, nutritional value, convenience, taste, and other factors, pizza at popular chains like Domino’s beats out even the most beloved Big Mac.

McDonald’s Big Macs tend to have highly saturated amounts of fat, carbs, sodium, cholesterol, and other harmful ingredients that pizza doesn’t have as much of.

Furthermore, we even did some research to find that Americans tend to prefer pizza to burgers, fries, and other foods found on McDonald’s menus.

At the end of the day, you can get a healthier meal, more bang for your buck, and easier food customization when you get pizza.

Even those on gluten-free, vegan, keto, soy-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian diets can find something worthwhile when buying pizza.

Unfortunately, the same can’t always be said of ordering at McDonald’s, where meat, gluten, and dairy are featured in many menu items.

Overall, these are the top reasons we think that pizza is the winner when we stand it up next to McDonald’s chain establishments.