Which fast-food chain was the first to sell a hamburger for five cents?

White Castle was the first fast-food chain to sell a hamburger for five cents.

When White Castle opened in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921, its small square hamburgers were sold for five cents. The low price supported the chain's goal of presenting hamburgers as clean, standardized, and affordable food.

White Castle's early restaurants used white porcelain interiors and highly visible preparation areas. The company also developed a consistent production system, helping establish ideas later associated with modern fast food.

The five-cent price refers to White Castle's early hamburger, not a price that remained unchanged throughout the chain's history. Inflation, ingredient costs, and changing market conditions eventually made the original price impossible. White Castle's small burgers later became known as sliders.