---
title: "Burger chains in the United Kingdom: Which are searched most?"
description: "Compare the burger chains people in the UK eat at. Share of Search among McDonald's, Burger King, Five Guys, Shake Shack, Honest Burgers, GBK and Byron, the burger chains Brandwave compares in the United Kingdom, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/categories/uk-burger-chains"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Burger chains in the United Kingdom: Which are searched most?

Compare the burger chains people in the UK eat at. Share of Search among McDonald's, Burger King, Five Guys, Shake Shack, Honest Burgers, GBK and Byron, the burger chains Brandwave compares in the United Kingdom, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Burger chains
- **Market**: United Kingdom
- **Brands compared**: 7
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: McDonald's, 86.8%

## Which brand is most popular in search among burger chains in the United Kingdom?

- In September 2026, McDonald's was the most searched among burger chains in the United Kingdom, with an estimated 9.1M branded searches, 86.8% of all searches for the seven we track.
- Burger King is in 2nd place, 77.3 percentage points behind at 9.5%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, McDonald's’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom increased from 85.4% to 86.8%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Five Guys’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom decreased from 2.8% to 1.9%.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, McDonald's’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom peaked at 87% in June 2026 and was lowest at 82.8% in January 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Burger King’s share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom peaked at 11.3% in May 2026 and was lowest at 9.3% in December 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Five Guys’ share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom peaked at 3.4% in February 2026 and was lowest at 1.9% in April 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Shake Shack rose from 5th to 4th among burger chains in the United Kingdom.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Honest Burgers fell from 4th to 5th among burger chains in the United Kingdom.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Burger King, GBK and Byron held steady: their share of searches among burger chains in the United Kingdom each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Top burger chains in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions, Burger King, Five Guys, Shake Shack and Honest Burgers appeared every time. Five Guys was recommended most often, coming first in two out of three answers. Honest Burgers was second, and Shake Shack was third. GBK, which ranked sixth in searches, was not mentioned at all.

Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options.

| Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Five Guys | 1st | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 |
| Honest Burgers | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 |
| Shake Shack | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 |
| Burger King | 4th | 3 of 3 | 3 of 3 |
| McDonald's | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 3 |
| GBK | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 |
| Byron | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 3 |

## Every AI answer about burger chains

- Asked ChatGPT "Which burger chain has the best burgers in the UK?": 1. Five Guys, 2. Honest Burgers, 3. Shake Shack, 4. Burger King, 5. McDonald's
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best burger chains in the UK?": 1. Honest Burgers, 2. Five Guys, 3. Shake Shack, 4. Burger King, 5. McDonald's
- Asked ChatGPT "Where can I get the best burger from a chain restaurant in the UK?": 1. Five Guys, 2. Honest Burgers, 3. Shake Shack, 4. Burger King

Not named in any answer: GBK and Byron.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 22, 2026.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [McDonald's vs Burger King: compare search popularity](/demand/uk/compare/burger-king-vs-mcdonalds): 86.8% against 9.5% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom burger chains in September 2026?

- Estimated monthly branded searches for Byron in the United Kingdom fell 45.3% over 12 measured months, from 14.8K to 8.1K in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for GBK in the United Kingdom fell 45.3% over 12 measured months, from 49.5K to 27.1K in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Honest Burgers in the United Kingdom fell 45% over 12 measured months, from 110K to 60.5K in September 2026.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Five Guys in the United Kingdom fell 33.2% over 12 measured months, from 301K to 201K in September 2026.

## Share of Search ranking

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | McDonald's | 86.8% | 9.1M | -17.7% | McDonald's |
| 2 | Burger King | 9.5% | 1M | -18.0% | Burger King |
| 3 | Five Guys | 1.9% | 201K | -18.3% | Five Guys |
| 4 | Shake Shack | 0.86% | 90.5K | -17.7% | Shake Shack |
| 5 | Honest Burgers | 0.57% | 60.5K | -18.2% | Honest Burgers |
| 6 | GBK | 0.26% | 27.1K | -18.1% | GBK |
| 7 | Byron | 0.08% | 8.1K | -33.1% | Byron |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | McDonald's | 9.1M | 85.4% | 1 |
| Oct 2025 | Burger King | 1M | 9.3% | 2 |
| Oct 2025 | Five Guys | 301K | 2.8% | 3 |
| Oct 2025 | Honest Burgers | 110K | 1% | 4 |
| Oct 2025 | Shake Shack | 90.5K | 0.85% | 5 |
| Oct 2025 | GBK | 49.5K | 0.46% | 6 |
| Oct 2025 | Byron | 14.8K | 0.14% | 7 |
| Nov 2025 | McDonald's | 7.5M | 84.2% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Burger King | 823K | 9.3% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | Five Guys | 301K | 3.4% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | Honest Burgers | 110K | 1.2% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | Shake Shack | 110K | 1.2% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | GBK | 40.5K | 0.46% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | Byron | 14.8K | 0.17% | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | McDonald's | 9.1M | 84.6% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Burger King | 1M | 9.3% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | Five Guys | 368K | 3.4% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | Shake Shack | 135K | 1.2% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | Honest Burgers | 110K | 1% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | GBK | 40.5K | 0.37% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | Byron | 14.8K | 0.14% | 7 |
| Jan 2026 | McDonald's | 7.5M | 82.8% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Burger King | 1M | 11.1% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | Five Guys | 301K | 3.3% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | Shake Shack | 110K | 1.2% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | Honest Burgers | 90.5K | 1% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | GBK | 40.5K | 0.45% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | Byron | 14.8K | 0.16% | 7 |
| Feb 2026 | McDonald's | 7.5M | 84.7% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Burger King | 823K | 9.3% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | Five Guys | 301K | 3.4% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | Honest Burgers | 90.5K | 1% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | Shake Shack | 90.5K | 1% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | GBK | 33.1K | 0.37% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | Byron | 12.1K | 0.14% | 7 |
| Mar 2026 | McDonald's | 9.1M | 85.5% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Burger King | 1M | 9.4% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | Five Guys | 301K | 2.8% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | Shake Shack | 110K | 1% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | Honest Burgers | 90.5K | 0.85% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | GBK | 33.1K | 0.31% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | Byron | 12.1K | 0.11% | 7 |
| Apr 2026 | McDonald's | 9.1M | 86.6% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Burger King | 1M | 9.5% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | Five Guys | 201K | 1.9% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | Shake Shack | 90.5K | 0.86% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | Honest Burgers | 74K | 0.7% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | GBK | 33.1K | 0.31% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | Byron | 9.9K | 0.09% | 7 |
| May 2026 | McDonald's | 9.1M | 84.5% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Burger King | 1.2M | 11.3% | 2 |
| May 2026 | Five Guys | 246K | 2.3% | 3 |
| May 2026 | Shake Shack | 90.5K | 0.84% | 4 |
| May 2026 | Honest Burgers | 74K | 0.68% | 5 |
| May 2026 | GBK | 33.1K | 0.31% | 6 |
| May 2026 | Byron | 8.1K | 0.07% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | McDonald's | 9.1M | 87% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Burger King | 1M | 9.5% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | Five Guys | 201K | 1.9% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | Shake Shack | 74K | 0.7% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | Honest Burgers | 60.5K | 0.58% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | GBK | 27.1K | 0.26% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | Byron | 6.6K | 0.06% | 7 |
| Jul 2026 | McDonald's | 9.1M | 86.4% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Burger King | 1M | 9.5% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | Five Guys | 246K | 2.3% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | Shake Shack | 90.5K | 0.86% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | Honest Burgers | 60.5K | 0.57% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | GBK | 33.1K | 0.31% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | Byron | 8.1K | 0.08% | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | McDonald's | 11.1M | 86.8% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Burger King | 1.2M | 9.5% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | Five Guys | 246K | 1.9% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | Shake Shack | 110K | 0.86% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | Honest Burgers | 74K | 0.58% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | GBK | 33.1K | 0.26% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | Byron | 12.1K | 0.09% | 7 |
| Sep 2026 | McDonald's | 9.1M | 86.8% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | Burger King | 1M | 9.5% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | Five Guys | 201K | 1.9% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | Shake Shack | 90.5K | 0.86% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | Honest Burgers | 60.5K | 0.57% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | GBK | 27.1K | 0.26% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | Byron | 8.1K | 0.08% | 7 |

## What is being compared

- **Burger King**: Measured on the search term “burger king”.
- **Byron**: Measured on the search terms “byron burger” and “byron burgers”, summed into one figure.
- **Five Guys**: Measured on the search term “five guys”.
- **GBK**: Measured on the search terms “gbk” and “gourmet burger kitchen”, summed into one figure.
- **Honest Burgers**: Measured on the search term “honest burgers”.
- **McDonald's**: Measured on the search terms “mcdonald's” and “mcdonalds”, summed into one figure.
- **Shake Shack**: Measured on the search term “shake shack”.

- [Burger King](/demand/uk/brands/burger-king)
- [Byron](/demand/uk/brands/byron-burgers)
- [Five Guys](/demand/uk/brands/five-guys)
- [GBK](/demand/uk/brands/gbk)
- [Honest Burgers](/demand/uk/brands/honest-burgers)
- [McDonald's](/demand/uk/brands/mcdonalds)
- [Shake Shack](/demand/uk/brands/shake-shack)

## Methodology

- [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among burger chains in the United Kingdom?

In September 2026, McDonald's was the most searched among burger chains in the United Kingdom, with an estimated 9.1M branded searches, 86.8% of all searches for the seven we track.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Burger chains in the United Kingdom: Which are searched most?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/categories/uk-burger-chains

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/categories/uk-burger-chains. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.