McDonald's vs Subway: units, growth & AI adoption
McDonald's leads on AI adoption (87/100 vs 58/100), while McDonald's is the larger system by unit count (40,275+ vs 36,000+). McDonald's is growing faster year-over-year (+3.2%). Data verified Q3 2026.
| Metric | McDonald's | Subway |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | QSR / Fast Food | QSR / Fast Food |
| Headquarters | USA | USA |
| Units (approx.) | 40,275+ ◂ | 36,000+ |
| Unit growth YoY | +3.2% ◂ | +1.1% |
| AI Adoption Score | 87/100 ◂ | 58/100 |
| Operations AI | 92 ◂ | 55 |
| Marketing AI | 85 ◂ | 66 |
| Training AI | 82 ◂ | 52 |
| Data infrastructure | 89 ◂ | 59 |
| APAC presence | Yes | Yes |
| Index rank | #1 ◂ | #31 |
McDonald's
The largest restaurant franchise by revenue runs one of the most instrumented AI stacks in franchising: dynamic drive-thru ordering, predictive kitchen systems, and the Founder's platform for unit-level analytics.
FULL MCDONALD'S PROFILE →Subway
One of the most-franchised brands globally, mid-pack on AI adoption: digital ordering and loyalty personalization are live, unit-level AI operations tooling is still limited.
FULL SUBWAY PROFILE →Franchise Intelligence Index
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SOURCE: FRANCHISEPULSE FRANCHISE INTELLIGENCE INDEX, Q3 2026 · FREE TO CITE WITH ATTRIBUTION + LINK