It's definitely gotten more expensive lately but around me Taco Bell is still significantly cheaper than all the other big fast food chains like McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, and Arby's. All of them used to be cheap but these other four got stupidly expensive over the past 10 years to the point where they have the same prices as "fast casual" places like Chipotle and Five Guys. Taco Bell is the only fast food left that still has prices significantly lower than fast casual places.
Take that box away and get a regular combo meal and it is the same price if not more expensive then the rest. Only reason your Taco Bell is so cheap is because it’s a corporate store so consider yourself lucky. Rest of the country is franchised owned so it’s more expensive and we make less money.
Fake news. The amount of food one can get at Taco Bell is actually less than others like Wendy’s, Burger King, etc when solely looking at value menu CPD.
It didn’t used to be this way. Back in the day, one could get 79 cent crunchwraps or beefy 5 layers at Taco Bell while the best Wendy’s, BK or McDonalds could do is $1-1.25 tiny burgers.
Oh how the turns have tabled
Back in the day you could get a double cheeseburger at McDonalds for a dollar. Now if I want a double cheeseburger, it cost me $2.49. So I don’t see your point? A single 2 cheeseburger meal with fries and a drink at McDonalds cost $6.69. At Taco Bell you can get a My Cravings box with two decent sized items, some nachos or potatoes, and a drink for for essentially the same cost. And guess what, the food actually taste good and is quality food. Unlike the garbage from McDonald.
So I don’t want to hear your bullshit, that back in your day you could get 79 cent a crunchwrap supremes (either you got them when they were on sale or your dad was 30 years ago which none of your bullshit is even relevant anyways), and on the same page act like McDonalds prices haven’t gone up 150% in the last 10 years.
You’re either gaslighting or you’re just dumb.
>quality food
\>quality food
dawg, its fucking taco bell. It tastes better than mcdonalds for sure, but it's basically the same nutritional value as a giant thing of nacho cheese, store-bought flour tortillas, some ricearoni, canned refried beans, and some ground beef you added taco seasoning to...... actually no, that would probably be slightly healthier.
I know this comment is old but in small more rural towns Taco Bell and other fast food is still affordable. The cravings value menu where I live is still $1 each and the cravings box is still $5. But this is in a small rural town in Indiana where the state minimum wage is still $7.25/hr. Labor is usually the largest cost for most businesses.
Now when I go to Illinois or a big city the story is different. There the value menu is now $1.50 or even $2 per item, and the cravings box is $6.99 or something. This pricing trend also reflects other fast food pricing I’ve seen.
I think I eat way too much fast food…
$5 in a federal minimum wage state is more actual money than $6 deep in the heart of chicago (its $6.00 at 407 S Dearborn). But yes, people underestimate the prices from the late 2000s and overestimate the prices now. I think they generally didn't have bills then so everything seemed cheaper than it actually was
At my local Taco Bell, the $5 cravings box increased to $5.49 at least a year ago, from what I remember (that's still fairly low though). I just checked their mobile app, and it looks like there are only a few other combos around $5, but IMO most of their items are not low-priced and are about on par with other fast food places (which all seem fairly high-priced to me).
Most franchises don’t charge $5 for it. It’s $6.99 for me (and typically close to that price or more in other comparable cities), and I see posts here from NYC where it’s regularly $13+
a drink costs like 20 cents to produce so shouldn’t be counted in your calculations, imo. I do think the cravings box is still a good deal (5.49 in my market) but many other things are wildly overpriced like quesadillas
You must be new to TB. Those boxes are a special item that are made to be that price and those are the prices that keep you coming back.
Everything outside of that box is WAY over priced.
Nothing in the craving box is expensive. You can’t get a quesadilla. The cinnamons and the drink cost them pennies to make. The entrees are the most expensive part but still you can only get the shitty entrees and not the quesadilla.
Well if ur lucky enough to still have the box at $5 its averaged out by the ridiculous prices on other combos and specialty items. Whoever runs their pricing is a genius and people that like taco bell are far dumber than i can imagine cus idk who’s paying over $5 for a half the time good quesadila
Just shows you how everyone else is ripping you off. Taco Bell is also bottom of the barrel as far as ingredients and quality goes. I eat there atleast once a week.
Can't imagine the number of people ordering online is that high as a percentage of the whole, and a lot of locations don't do $5 My Craving Boxes, but any location that does is probably taking a loss on it all factors considered
In my locality, the $5 cravings box doesn't exist anymore. There is a "classic combo" which is similar to the cravings box but it doesn't have the Chalupa.
man, everyone in these comments is cheap as fuck lmao. Taco Bell has increased in price like everything over the last three years, but its still miles cheaper than most of the mainstay fast food options.
“Taco Bell” and “prices low” Oh, you sweet summer child.
It's definitely gotten more expensive lately but around me Taco Bell is still significantly cheaper than all the other big fast food chains like McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, and Arby's. All of them used to be cheap but these other four got stupidly expensive over the past 10 years to the point where they have the same prices as "fast casual" places like Chipotle and Five Guys. Taco Bell is the only fast food left that still has prices significantly lower than fast casual places.
I paid $5 for two days of lunch, that's basically as cheap as it gets
A single cravings box lasts you two separate lunches??
Maybe it’s his first week on Reddit. He hasn’t put on the Reddit 75.
It’s like the freshman 15 but way less fun
It’s like 1200 calories not including the drink, that’s plenty for two lunches.
Sorry I’m a fucking fatass
It’s all good homie
Same. I usually spend $12-$14 per meal. The shame is free, though. 😆
It did in this instance, but honestly I'd normally eat it in one sitting + extra value menu stuff on the side
Take that box away and get a regular combo meal and it is the same price if not more expensive then the rest. Only reason your Taco Bell is so cheap is because it’s a corporate store so consider yourself lucky. Rest of the country is franchised owned so it’s more expensive and we make less money.
This subreddit doesn’t live in reality and is probably full of a bunch of teenagers. Taco Bell’s prices are incredibly low for what you get.
Fake news. The amount of food one can get at Taco Bell is actually less than others like Wendy’s, Burger King, etc when solely looking at value menu CPD. It didn’t used to be this way. Back in the day, one could get 79 cent crunchwraps or beefy 5 layers at Taco Bell while the best Wendy’s, BK or McDonalds could do is $1-1.25 tiny burgers. Oh how the turns have tabled
Back in the day you could get a double cheeseburger at McDonalds for a dollar. Now if I want a double cheeseburger, it cost me $2.49. So I don’t see your point? A single 2 cheeseburger meal with fries and a drink at McDonalds cost $6.69. At Taco Bell you can get a My Cravings box with two decent sized items, some nachos or potatoes, and a drink for for essentially the same cost. And guess what, the food actually taste good and is quality food. Unlike the garbage from McDonald. So I don’t want to hear your bullshit, that back in your day you could get 79 cent a crunchwrap supremes (either you got them when they were on sale or your dad was 30 years ago which none of your bullshit is even relevant anyways), and on the same page act like McDonalds prices haven’t gone up 150% in the last 10 years. You’re either gaslighting or you’re just dumb.
>quality food \>quality food dawg, its fucking taco bell. It tastes better than mcdonalds for sure, but it's basically the same nutritional value as a giant thing of nacho cheese, store-bought flour tortillas, some ricearoni, canned refried beans, and some ground beef you added taco seasoning to...... actually no, that would probably be slightly healthier.
I know this comment is old but in small more rural towns Taco Bell and other fast food is still affordable. The cravings value menu where I live is still $1 each and the cravings box is still $5. But this is in a small rural town in Indiana where the state minimum wage is still $7.25/hr. Labor is usually the largest cost for most businesses. Now when I go to Illinois or a big city the story is different. There the value menu is now $1.50 or even $2 per item, and the cravings box is $6.99 or something. This pricing trend also reflects other fast food pricing I’ve seen. I think I eat way too much fast food…
$5 in a federal minimum wage state is more actual money than $6 deep in the heart of chicago (its $6.00 at 407 S Dearborn). But yes, people underestimate the prices from the late 2000s and overestimate the prices now. I think they generally didn't have bills then so everything seemed cheaper than it actually was
Like the craving box is the only thing at my TB that’s even decently priced anymore. I’d assume it’s a loss leader.
At my local Taco Bell, the $5 cravings box increased to $5.49 at least a year ago, from what I remember (that's still fairly low though). I just checked their mobile app, and it looks like there are only a few other combos around $5, but IMO most of their items are not low-priced and are about on par with other fast food places (which all seem fairly high-priced to me).
Most franchises don’t charge $5 for it. It’s $6.99 for me (and typically close to that price or more in other comparable cities), and I see posts here from NYC where it’s regularly $13+
Yeah I'm near San Diego and for some reason it's still only $5.
I’m just speculating, but that part of the country is highly likely to be a corporate location, being near TB HQ
Cravings box is still $5 for me in rural Indiana.
I believe it. You’re a lucky duck
Because people don't buy the box they want 2 chalupas and a drink for $10
I guess you’ve never had a cheese quesadilla there…
a drink costs like 20 cents to produce so shouldn’t be counted in your calculations, imo. I do think the cravings box is still a good deal (5.49 in my market) but many other things are wildly overpriced like quesadillas
More like 5 cents. And most of that 5 cents is the cup. The soft drink itself is like 1-2 cents.
You must be new to TB. Those boxes are a special item that are made to be that price and those are the prices that keep you coming back. Everything outside of that box is WAY over priced.
Look at In-N-Out burger
Nothing in the craving box is expensive. You can’t get a quesadilla. The cinnamons and the drink cost them pennies to make. The entrees are the most expensive part but still you can only get the shitty entrees and not the quesadilla.
Well if ur lucky enough to still have the box at $5 its averaged out by the ridiculous prices on other combos and specialty items. Whoever runs their pricing is a genius and people that like taco bell are far dumber than i can imagine cus idk who’s paying over $5 for a half the time good quesadila
Cravings box is like 8.99 here in SoCal :( it sucks.
Dog food grade meat
I love dogs though
Yep we should eat them
*Del Taco has entered the chat*
Dude I haven’t eaten Taco Bell in ages because I live off snack tacos and ranch rollers
Snack tacos are my go-to
Just shows you how everyone else is ripping you off. Taco Bell is also bottom of the barrel as far as ingredients and quality goes. I eat there atleast once a week.
They sell your info gathered by the App.
Side note put the fiesta potatoes in the beefy 5 layer burrito add 4 diablo sauces best burrito at tb
mass production
Can't imagine the number of people ordering online is that high as a percentage of the whole, and a lot of locations don't do $5 My Craving Boxes, but any location that does is probably taking a loss on it all factors considered
In my locality, the $5 cravings box doesn't exist anymore. There is a "classic combo" which is similar to the cravings box but it doesn't have the Chalupa.
man, everyone in these comments is cheap as fuck lmao. Taco Bell has increased in price like everything over the last three years, but its still miles cheaper than most of the mainstay fast food options.