Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
In-N-Out leads the pack.
- The question of which chain has the best burger in fast food is hotly contested.
- We asked 3,000 readers of our fast-food coverage about their favorite burger.
- In-N-Out led the pack, but Five Guys wasn't far behind.
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The humble hamburger is an icon of American fast food.
The question of which chain makes the best burger is a subject of endless debate. Every time Business Insider publishes a list attempting to rank fast-food burgers, we are met with endless backlash and bickering.
Read more: I tried the signature burgers from 5 major fast-food chains, and the winner was obvious
So, we decided to ask readers of our fast-food coverage which chain has the best burger in fast food, with more than 3,000 people participating.
To avoid giving larger chains an unfair advantage - 1,833 had visited McDonald's in the last six months, while only 300 had visited Whataburger - we crunched the numbers to create a "deliciousness ratio." The ratio was calculated by dividing the number of people who said the chain had the best burger by the number who had visited a chain in the last six months.
Most burger chains' "deliciousness ratio" was pretty low. For example, 116 people said McDonald's had the best burger - but with 1,833 people visiting in the last six months, that puts the ratio at just 6%.
On the other hand, the dominant burger chains easily stood out from the pack. In-N-Out nabbed the No. 1 spot, with more people saying the chain has the best burger in fast food than have actually visited the chain in the last six months, putting the deliciousness ratio at 101%.
Here are the best fast-food burgers in America, according to customers.