When waking up in the morning, getting into your car, ready to get your preferred cute
little drink to push you through the school day and boost your mood just that little bit, which
place do you end up choosing, Dunkin or Starbucks?
This debate of which one is better has always been around, since the emergence of the Unicorn frappuccino to the “The Charli,” both the franchises have often found themselves competing for consumers, as both tend to have very similar product lines. Because both franchises have such similar products, the comparison comes down to who genuinely has products that are generally worth the money that you end up spending on your morning excursion.
When observing the student body at Abington Friends School, I often see an even mix of
students carrying Starbucks and Dunkin’ in the mornings. After sending out a survey, I learned
that this observation is, in fact, true: an extremely even split of 50.8% choosing Starbucks and
49.2% choosing Dunkin at AFS. This got me wondering: if the proportions are so close, what
really makes someone prefer one over the other?
Responses to the survey varied from “more food choices,” “cheaper,” “closeness,” and
some just plain saying “better.” In terms of choices, Starbucks does, in fact, offer not only more
menu items but also more options to customize your drinks than at Dunkin.
When given a choice with more options, why not pick the simple one? It is more likely to make you happy if it offers more options to choose from. But what if the options offered at Starbucks are good, but simply way more expensive? For example, an article in the Tasting Table describes a 20-oz cold brew at Starbucks would “set you back around $5.75,” while “for the same drink and size at Dunkin’, you’ll typically pay around $3.59.”
This distinct difference in pricing is often discussed when comparing the two companies and is the most common deal-breaker when choosing between them. If you are one who goes out often to pick up your morning coffee, the rounded six-dollar price tag, multiplied over a few days in the week, may sway you away when you understand just how much money you are spending on coffee at Starbucks, when you could be spending significantly less at Dunkin.
Overall, when choosing between the two morning retreats, your choice just depends on
what you prioritize, and that could be how much money you spend, what product you actually
want to buy, or even simply what you believe tastes better.
When choosing your morning treat, what do you choose and why?
Elise C • May 30, 2026 at 3:01 pm
Although I do like Starbucks, I like the coffee better at Dunkin and it pairs better with the prices; also, recently with a rise in Dunkin’s refreshers, there’s some noticeable competition with Starbucks.