McDonald's Vs Dunkin': Which Has The Better Bacon, Egg, And Cheese Sandwich?

Breakfast sandwiches are one of the great joys of a fast-food breakfast. With everything you need contained in a nice, handheld package, it's an efficient, delicious way to take in your first meal of the day. Many fast food chains offer egg-based sandwiches, and, based on my experience, some are certainly better than others.

I compared Dunkin' and McDonald's bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches to see which one is superior. I considered essential aspects like taste, texture, and how easy each sandwich is to eat, especially considering how mobile these sandwiches need to be. Most fast food breakfast sandwiches I've purchased when been on the go, headed to work or on roadtrips.

Though there may be more iconic and popular versions of egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches, the bagel varieties at each store seemed the closest in comparison, considering both chains have fairly similar bagels. One thing is for sure: The concept is similar, but the experience of eating these two sandwiches couldn't be more different.

McDonald's breakfast menu is a collection of sandwiches and other meals served only during breakfast hours. The chain's breakfast menu has included breakfast sandwiches of some variety since 1975. The basis of the menu uses biscuits, McMuffins, bagels, and McGriddles with egg, cheese, and a protein choice (sausage, ham, or bacon). The menu also includes hotcakes and meals with eggs, as well as oatmeal, hash browns, and sausage burrito offerings.

One of the more elusive sandwiches off the menu has been the bagel collection. Once upon a time, it was only available at certain locations, but as of February 25, 2025, bagel sandwiches went nationwide. Now, you can choose from a steak, sausage, or bacon sandwich, each encased in a fluffy bagel. Only time will tell if these bagels are sticking around or whether they'll leave the nationwide menus as quietly as they disappeared from even regional restaurants in 2020. The menu also offers coffees to complement your sandwich, like the caramel iced coffee, my go to McDonald's coffee drink when I'm looking for a coffee with my bagel.

While McDonald's breakfast menu is contingent on the time of day, Dunkin' serves breakfast throughout the whole day, never switching to a lunch or dinner menu like McDonald's does. That said, with Dunkin' only beginning to offer sandwiches in 1997, it's been serving these morning meals for substantially less time than McDonald's. Even still, there are several breakfast sandwiches on the menu, and it's more robust with options like turkey sausage, croissant, sourdough, and wraps. You can also find hash browns, stuffed bagels, and even an order of snackin' bacon. Of course, Dunkin' also carries a supply of donuts.

Like McDonald's, you can find lots of coffee options on the menu with many ways to customize your drink. The drink menu is more full and is something closer to Starbucks' coffee menu with lattes, macchiatos, cold brew, and a whole variety of other drinks.

The McDonald's bacon, egg, and cheese bagel includes folded scrambled eggs, American cheese, bacon, and breakfast sauce, all between two sides of a bagel. All together, the sandwich is 590 calories with 25 grams of protein, 56 grams of carbohydrates, and 30 grams of fat. The breakfast sauce is an emulsified eggs and oil-based mixture with cheesy, sweet, and tart elements.

Dunkin' has a similar offering with a bagel, bacon, cheese, and a fried egg. The biggest difference between the ingredients on the two sandwiches is that Dunkin' has less cheese, no sauce, and a fried egg rather than a folded one. Nutritionally, the Dunkin' sandwich has 520 calories, 18 grams of fat, 67 grams of carbohydrates, and 23 grams of protein. The difference in the nutrition largely has to do with less cheese and no sauce.

Now that McDonald's offers its bagel sandwiches nationwide (rather than just regionally), you can find these sandwiches across the country. While prices may vary slightly from different locations, the McDonald's bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich is roughly $5.69. Unfortunately, it's only available during McDonald's breakfast hours, from open to 10:30 a.m. or 11 a.m. The actual time McDonald's breakfast ends depends on whether the location is a co-op or a franchisee-owned spot.

At $4.99, Dunkin's sandwich costs less than McDonald's, likely because the sandwich has less cheese and no sauce. It is, however, available all day since Dunkin' slings breakfast sandwiches the whole time it's open. From what I've seen, that's normally until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.

While McDonald's offers the bacon, egg, and cheese bagel as part of a meal if you want it, Dunkin' does not. Instead, you would need to order each additional item a la carte to create a comparable meal.

I've had a fair amount of experience eating McDonald's bagel sandwiches. In fact, this steak, egg, and cheese bagel is one of my all-time favorite offerings from McDonald's. However, before trying it here, I have never had a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich. It is quite as tasty as a steak, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich, but it was still enjoyable.

The bagel was slightly toasted, just as I like. Since it uses folded egg rather than a fresh egg, the bagel sandwich has a super fluffy feel. With the two slices of cheese, everything stuck together very nicely and created a really cohesive feel. The flavors mesh together easily without one sticking out over the others, and in general, create a delightful and easy eating experience.

One important aspect of a breakfast sandwich is that it must be easy to eat on the run. After all, many McDonald's customers are going to pick up their breakfast on the way to work or while traveling on a road trip. This in mind, everything needs to be contained between the bagel slices without sliding around. The sauce helps a great deal here.

If there's one word to describe the Duncan, bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich, it's "tough." The bagel itself was very hard and darkly toasted. There's nearly no moisture left in the bread, and it felt a little bit on the stale side. I understand that the sandwich may have been cooked freshly, but it sure didn't taste that way.

The bacon was also very dry, and the egg wasn't very exciting either. With no sauce to speak of, and only one slice of cheese, the whole thing was also a little difficult to eat. Even sitting stationary at a table, I can imagine this one, putting up a fight, with ingredients falling out. It's definitely not an ideal sandwich to enjoy on the run.

I was most astonished by just how challenging it was to eat. Biting down into the sandwich and chewing it just proved challenging. The sandwich could use a rather significant makeover to be crave-worthy.

Without a doubt, McDonald's bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich is significantly better than Dunkin's offering. In nearly every way, McDonald's bagel sandwich was more enjoyable. The flavor was better, it stayed as a cohesive sandwich, and the texture was worlds apart. Quite simply: It was just easier to eat.

While I can imagine the convenience of picking up a sandwich at the same place you might grab your coffee, I encourage you to make the extra stop over at McDonald's to pick up your sandwich. Even though Dunkin' costs a little less than McDonald's, the extra cents will get you a better breakfast sandwich over at the Golden Arches. It's worth it.

That said, I will give credit where it is due: Dunkin' offers its breakfast sandwiches all day. Unfortunately, McDonald's no longer has all-day breakfast, so Dunkin' wins there, but it's a small win compared to how much better the sandwich is from McDonald's.

To pit these sandwiches against one another, I ordered both in the same morning and did a direct comparison. I compared the sandwiches' texture, flavor, and ease of eating.

I was looking for a sandwich with an enjoyable, cohesive flavor where no one part overly stood out. The texture of the sandwich also needed to be soft, without being too soft. Finally, for ease of eating, I looked to find a sandwich that was simple to eat, even when on the run or even while driving.