Dairy Queen vs. Culver’s: Who Actually Wins on Price? (Real Math)
FROZEN TREAT SHOWDOWN · REAL PRICING RESEARCH
I compare Dairy Queen against McDonald’s on this site fairly often, but McDonald’s isn’t actually the closest competitor when it comes to frozen treats specifically. Culver’s runs on fresh frozen custard rather than soft serve, and its Concrete Mixer is built the same way DQ builds a Blizzard: a base treat blended with mix-ins, served thick enough to hold upside down. I priced out both lineups size for size to see which one actually wins.
Quick note before the numbers: both Dairy Queen and Culver’s are largely franchisee or independently operated, so these are national averages. Local prices for either chain may run higher or lower than what I found.
Size for size, by cost per 100 calories
| Dairy Queen Blizzard | Price | Calories | Cost per 100 cal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini | $3.49 | 375 | $0.93 |
| Small | $4.49 | 480 | $0.94 |
| Medium | $5.29 | 660 | $0.80 |
| Large | $5.99 | 875 | $0.69 |
| Culver’s Concrete Mixer | Price | Calories | Cost per 100 cal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | $5.19 | 660 | $0.79 |
| Medium | $5.79 | 830 | $0.70 |
| Large | $6.79 | 965 | $0.70 |
I noticed the two menus don’t line up size for size in any clean way, so I looked for the closest calorie match instead of just comparing labels. A DQ Medium Blizzard (660 cal) and a Culver’s Small Concrete Mixer (660 cal) turned out to be almost exactly the same amount of frozen treat. At that match, Culver’s comes out ten cents cheaper — $5.19 against $5.29 for the identical calorie count.
But the largest sizes tell a different story
Once I got to the top of each lineup, the result flipped. DQ’s Large Blizzard, at $0.69 per 100 calories, actually beats every single Culver’s size, including Culver’s own Large at $0.70. It’s a small gap, but it’s consistent with what I found at the largest tier on both menus — DQ pulls ahead specifically once you’re buying the biggest size either chain offers, even though Culver’s had the edge at the smaller, more directly matched comparison.
I don’t think there’s a single winner here, and I’d rather say that plainly than force one. If you’re ordering something in the 650-700 calorie range, Culver’s is the better rate. If you’re going as large as either menu allows, Dairy Queen is.
Protein per dollar backs up the same pattern
I wanted to check this against a second metric before calling it a real pattern rather than a fluke of the calorie numbers specifically. Protein per dollar spent tells the same story:
| Size | DQ Blizzard | Culver’s Concrete Mixer |
|---|---|---|
| Small/equivalent | 2.23g/$ | 2.31g/$ |
| Medium | 2.46g/$ | 2.59g/$ |
| Large | 3.01g/$ | 2.65g/$ |
Culver’s leads at Small and Medium, the same as it does on calories. At Large, DQ jumps ahead — 3.01g of protein per dollar against Culver’s 2.65g — which matches the calorie result too. That’s two independent measures agreeing on the same size-dependent pattern, which is a stronger basis for the “it depends on size” conclusion than either number would be alone.
A quick note on sugar
I looked at sugar content too, though I’ll flag this one as a rougher estimate on both sides than the calorie and protein figures above. At roughly matched calorie counts (around 660-680), Culver’s runs about 50g of sugar against my estimate of around 54g for a DQ Medium Blizzard — close enough that I wouldn’t call either one meaningfully lower in sugar than the other at that size. Neither chain is the “lighter” choice here; both land in a similar range for a treat this size.
Why the calorie counts don’t match the portion sizes
One more thing I ran into while researching this: a Culver’s Medium Concrete Mixer is 13.4 ounces and 830 calories, which works out to roughly 62 calories per ounce. A DQ Medium Blizzard is 16 ounces and 660 calories, or about 41 calories per ounce. Culver’s custard is meaningfully denser calorically than DQ’s soft serve, ounce for ounce — which tracks with the actual difference between the two products. Frozen custard is made with egg yolks and churned with less air, giving it a denser, richer texture than soft serve, which is airier and doesn’t use egg yolks at all. That’s not a value judgment on which tastes better, just a real reason the calorie-per-dollar numbers above don’t map directly onto how much you’re physically getting in the cup.
What I’d actually order based on this
- Best rate around 660 calories: Culver’s Small Concrete Mixer, ahead on both cost per calorie and protein per dollar at this size.
- Best rate at the largest size either chain offers: DQ’s Large Blizzard, also ahead on both measures at this size.
- Sugar content: roughly a wash at matched calorie counts — not a deciding factor either way.
- Richer, denser texture: Culver’s, since frozen custard packs more calories per ounce than DQ’s soft serve.
Frequently asked questions
Is Dairy Queen or Culver's cheaper?
It depends on the size. At roughly matched calorie counts (around 660), Culver’s Small Concrete Mixer is about 10 cents cheaper than a DQ Medium Blizzard. At the largest size either chain offers, Dairy Queen’s Large Blizzard has the better rate instead.
Is a Concrete Mixer the same as a Blizzard?
They’re built the same way — a frozen base blended with mix-ins, served thick enough to turn upside down — but the base itself differs. Culver’s uses fresh frozen custard, which is denser and richer since it’s made with egg yolks. DQ’s Blizzard uses soft serve, which is airier and doesn’t use egg yolks.
Which has more calories per ounce, a Blizzard or a Concrete Mixer?
Concrete Mixers, notably more. A Culver’s Medium runs about 62 calories per ounce versus roughly 41 for a DQ Medium Blizzard, a direct result of frozen custard’s denser, egg-yolk-based recipe compared to soft serve.
See current Blizzard prices and sizes on my full Blizzard price-per-ounce breakdown.