Popeyes Vs KFC: Which Has The Better Chicken Dinner Value?

Fried chicken is one of our favorite types of comfort food. It's salty, greasy, and filling; and in terms of fast food choices, we have a bounty of options to pick from. But how does it stack up in terms of value? We decided to pit two of the biggest fried chicken juggernauts, KFC and Popeyes, against each other in a competition. I went out and got an identical three-piece dinner combo from each place, and based off size, food quality, and a side-by-side taste comparison, I wanted to know which got you the most bang for your buck. Hey, you can't say I'm not a man of the people.

There's one key difference I noticed that may sway many people's purchasing decisions, and it all comes down to whether or not you want leftovers. After all, being able to stretch a single meal into two makes a huge difference, and if you're a quantity over quality person, you'll definitely want to read on to see which fast food chain really delivers on that front.

For both meals, I ordered the three-piece white meat combo. Personally, I almost exclusively order dark meat chicken, but since I know most Americans tend to prefer white meat, I wanted to get what more people would likely be ordering. KFC's meal ($9.99 at my nearest location) comes with two chicken breasts, one wing, a side of your choice, and a biscuit, along with a fountain drink. In order to make sure this was a fair comparison, I kept it simple and ordered a side of mashed potatoes for both meals.

And to ensure I had a proper comparison to Popeyes, I made sure to order the Extra Crispy chicken from KFC, as KFC's Original Recipe's coating tends to be soft and thin, which is not quite a proper analog to Popeyes' craggly, crunchy crust. The first thing I noticed about KFC's meal is that no matter how I tried, I couldn't close the box. There was just so much chicken in it that the container simply wouldn't stay shut.

Popeyes three-piece white chicken meal ($11.99 at my nearest location) is decidedly a bit different in what you get, because I received a single breast with two wings (as opposed to KFC's two breasts and one wing). Even though they're nice and rich in terms of fat and flavor, wings do technically classify as white meat, so it's not like Popeyes is skirting any rules. Again, I got a side of mashed potatoes, a biscuit, and a fountain drink with it, just like the KFC meal. If beverage loyalty is important to you, Popeyes is a Coke shop, while KFC exclusively serves Pepsi products. 

This box, like the other, wouldn't close. I know it's a psychological thing, but I secretly feel like I'm getting bonus food when the box doesn't close properly. My previous experience with Popeyes dark meat combos has shown that they can run small, so verifying that the bone-in chicken breast at Popeyes is fairly large is nice to know. But in terms of selection, Popeye's single breast to two-wing ratio isn't what I'd call generous. Winner: KFC.

You know things are getting serious when I whip out the kitchen scale. I weighed out both side portions of mashed potatoes from both KFC and Popeyes to see if they were noticeably different. I realize I would have gotten the most accurate reading by moving them into a new vessel for taring purposes, but then I would've needed to scrape every single bit from each cup, which would have been impossible to do cleanly.

KFC's mashed potatoes weighed 5.8 ounces, while Popeyes mashed potatoes weighed 5.7 ounces. While it's not an exact tie, it's real close, so we'll call it one in terms of quantity. But what's really important is the taste test. Both potatoes are uniformly smooth with a mildly buttery taste, but KFC's mashed potatoes have a softer consistency, which leads me to believe that there's a higher water content to them. 

Let's not kid ourselves, it's really all about the gravy. And though KFC's gravy has a big, nostalgic place in my heart since I grew up eating it, Popeye's gravy is simply superior. It has Cajun seasoning in it plus tiny bits of meat, which might be divisive for some, since that means each forkful isn't as smooth as baby food. But that meat translates into extra flavor. KFC's gravy is a lot more watery, and though I look at it through rose-tinted glasses, I can't kid myself into believing it's better than Popeyes'. Winner: Popeyes.

Biscuits have been adopted as a default side when it comes to most fast food chicken, and I'm going to come out and say that neither KFC's nor Popeyes' are all that exciting. KFC's biscuit weighed 1.95 ounces (halves pictured on the left), while Popeyes clocked in at 2.20 ounces (halves pictured on the right). In the end, both tasted about the same with a touch of vague butteriness, but with KFC's being noticeably saltier, which gave it a slight bit more flavor.

KFC's biscuit also defaulted more towards the fluffy side, while Popeyes was a little more dense. Since people tend to covet biscuits with flakier layers, I'd say Popeyes fit this bill a little better in terms of quality. But honestly, I'd be surprised if most people actively noticed. And besides, if you drizzled enough honey packets on either, I'm not entirely sure you'd care all that much. Winner: Popeyes (thanks to its slightly more layered texture).

Here's where things wildly diverge. I weighed out the chicken from each meal separately, and there's an enormous difference in quantity. Popeyes chicken (again, one breast, two wings) weighs in at 12.15 ounces. But KFC's chicken (two breasts, one wing), weighs in at a whopping 21.35 ounces. KFC offers you nearly a pound and a half of meat, while Popeyes gives you less than a pound. Quantity winner: KFC.

Keep in mind that individual piece sizes will vary, because not every chicken is built the same exact way. But the fact that KFC gives you two whole breasts is kind of incredible. They're large, too, and if you're a moderate eater, one might actually suffice for a meal. That being said, taste is also important, and unfortunately, both KFC and Popeyes serve some pretty dry white meat. KFC's (left in photo) and Popeyes' (right in photo) are both dry and tacky to the bite. Fortunately, the wings at both places were cooked just fine.

Then there's the matter of breading. KFC's crust is absurdly salty (almost unpalatably so). By comparison, Popeyes' seems under-salted. I think this was a one-off execution error, but my KFC order had an unusually hard fry to it because the crust felt like a very hard shell (this doesn't quite track with my past visits). That said, Popeyes' crust didn't adhere to the meat. In this case, it was sort of a comedy of errors. I'll have to hand the win to the one that didn't feel like trying to bite into a salty bike helmet. Taste test winner: Popeyes.

Since this whole comparison is to judge the best value between a KFC and Popeyes three-piece combo meal, there's no question about it: KFC wins. Not only do you receive much more chicken (again, 21.35 ounces to Popeyes 12.15), you're also paying significantly less. I paid $9.99 for my KFC meal before tax, while I paid $11.99 at Popeyes for the same meal before tax. Prices will vary depending on location, so that might be something to keep in mind.

I still liked Popeyes' food better overall, but the difference in quality simply doesn't win out in terms of value. While we can drill down to the finer points on all of it, at the end of the day, it's still just fast food. Any fast food chicken, while being fine, won't typically be exquisite unless the stars align, you get fresh fryer oil, and you receive an order that just came out of the fryer. But if you're looking to stretch your dollar, KFC wins; greasy fingers, napkins, and hands down.