Calories in pizza vs a burger: which is better when you're dieting?

It's Friday night, everyone is hungry, and the choice is pizza or burgers. If you're trying to lose fat, you've probably wondered which one is the "better" option. The answer is a bit surprising: gram for gram they're almost the same. What really decides the calories is how much you eat and what comes with it.

Here are real numbers so you can choose without guessing.

The quick answer

Per 100 g, pizza and burgers are nearly identical: both land at roughly 250 to 330 calories. A typical chain pizza with cheese and a regular crust is about 266 calories per 100 g. A fast-food cheeseburger is about 270. French fries are higher, at about 312 calories per 100 g, because they soak up frying oil.

So the real question isn't "pizza or burger?". It's "how many slices?" and "fries and a drink, or not?".

Calories in pizza, per slice

These numbers are for a 14-inch (about 35 cm) chain pizza cut into 8 slices, from USDA FoodData Central:

Notice the thin crust. Per 100 g it's actually a little higher in calories, because there's more cheese and oil for the amount of dough. But each slice is much lighter, so you end up eating less. A whole regular pizza is close to a full day of food for many people.

Calories in a burger

Burgers vary a lot by size and by what goes inside. Typical fast-food numbers from USDA:

The sides change everything. Fries are about 220 calories for a small portion (71 g), 365 for a medium (117 g) and 480 for a large (154 g). A 330 ml can of regular cola adds about 140.

Side by side: real meals

Here's what common orders look like when you add them up:

• 2 slices of cheese pizza (regular crust): about 570 calories
• 2 slices of pizza and a cola: about 710 calories
• Single cheeseburger and medium fries: about 710 calories
• Large burger with mayo, medium fries and a cola: about 1,060 calories
• Half a regular pizza (4 slices): about 1,140 calories

Two slices of pizza with a cola come out almost exactly the same as a cheeseburger with fries. Half a pizza and a full burger meal are also very close. Both choices can be a reasonable meal or a very big one, depending on the order.

Restaurant meals in general tend to be big. A study that measured meals from restaurants in three US cities found they averaged about 1,200 calories, and 92% had more than a typical person needs in one meal. A similar study in Brazil, China, Finland, Ghana and India found that 94% of sit-down meals and 72% of fast-food meals had at least 600 calories. So whichever you pick, portion size matters more than the food.

Which one has more protein?

If you're dieting, protein helps you stay full and keep your muscle. Here burgers have a small edge. A burger gives you about 5 to 6 g of protein per 100 calories, while pizza gives about 4 g. A double cheeseburger has around 25 g of protein for about 435 calories. To get the same protein from cheese pizza, you'd eat about two slices for around 570 calories.

Fries add almost no protein: about 1 g per 100 calories. That's why a burger without fries is a much leaner meal than a burger with them. (See how much protein you need a day for your own target.)

Is pizza or a burger better for weight loss?

Neither food is "bad". Fat loss comes down to your calories over the week, not one meal (we explain why in Can you eat junk food and still lose fat?). But some choices make it easier:

• Pick a burger if you want more protein for your calories and you can skip the fries or choose a small portion.
• Pick pizza if you can stop at two slices. Pizza is easy to keep eating straight from the box, so put your slices on a plate and close the lid.
• Choose thin crust to save about 55 calories per slice compared with regular crust, and around 90 compared with stuffed crust.
• Go easy on the extras: extra cheese, mayo, bacon, garlic dips and creamy sauces can add 100 to 300 calories without you noticing.
• Swap the drink: water or a diet drink instead of regular cola saves about 140 calories.
• Add a side salad or vegetables to fill up before the second or third slice.

One more thing: research on US kids and teens found that pizza eaten as a snack, or from fast-food places, added the most extra calories to the day. Pizza works best as a planned meal, not as something you grab between meals.

How to log it

You won't know the exact weight of your slice or burger, and that's fine. Use the numbers above, log a sensible range (for example 550 to 650 for two slices), and keep going. If you're eating out, our guide on counting calories at restaurants has more tricks.

The short version

• Per 100 g, pizza and burgers are almost the same: about 250 to 330 calories.
• One regular slice of cheese pizza is about 285 calories; a single cheeseburger is about 345.
• Two slices of pizza with a cola and a cheeseburger with medium fries are both about 710 calories.
• Burgers give a bit more protein per calorie. Fries and regular cola add the most calories with the least benefit.
• Thin crust, smaller portions and a diet drink are the easy wins.

Not sure what your slice or burger came to? Snap a photo, type "2 slices of pepperoni pizza", or just say your meal to AIMS, and it gives you a calorie and protein range you can adjust.