Comparing $10 Breakfasts: Dunkin', Starbucks and Tim Hortons Show Varied Value
A New York tester spent $10 at Dunkin', Starbucks and Tim Hortons, finding Tim Hortons delivered the most food and best taste overall.
The experiment began at a Manhattan Dunkin' where a $6 meal deal (two Wake-Up wraps and a medium coffee) plus a $2.99 coffee roll used up the $10 budget; the wraps were lukewarm and the coffee overly acidic, and an apple fritter arrived by mistake. A later visit to an Upper East Side Starbucks required buying a small blonde-roast coffee for $3.25 and a bacon, egg and cheese croissant sandwich for $6.75, totaling $10 but offering no sweet item and a sandwich with bland egg and soggy bacon.
The final stop was a Tim Hortons in Jamaica, Queens, where a $6 breakfast combo (iced coffee, sausage-egg-cheese biscuit, and a doughnut) plus a $3.49 everything bagel fit within the budget, delivering the most flavorful biscuit, the preferred iced coffee, and a decent doughnut. Overall, Tim Hortons provided the best value and taste among the three chains.
Why it matters
It shows how price promotions and menu choices affect everyday breakfast value for city consumers.
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