Burger King coffee caffeine: BK Cafe hot and iced compared

A medium BK Cafe iced coffee, the 16 fl oz cup, carries about 141 mg of caffeine, per the compiled figure at Caffeine Advisor. That works out to roughly 9 mg per fluid ounce, so the size you order matters more than the flavor you pick.

Burger King does not print caffeine numbers on its official nutrition explorer the way it prints calories and sugar, so the reliable figures come from third parties that measure or compile the brew. The number worth anchoring to is the iced medium at 141 mg. Everything else scales from there.

Why the iced number is the one to trust

BK Cafe iced coffee is built on a stronger brewed base poured over ice, then cut with cream and syrup. Because the coffee itself is the only caffeine source, the flavor you choose, vanilla, mocha, or caramel, does not move the number. The syrup adds sugar and calories, not caffeine.

Hot brewed coffee is the messier case. Burger King publishes no official caffeine figure for its hot cup, and per-ounce brewed coffee at any chain swings with grind, water temperature, and how long the batch has been sitting. So if you see a precise hot BK number quoted anywhere, treat it as an estimate, not a spec. A standard drip cup at most chains lands somewhere in the range of 9 to 12 mg per ounce, which is close to the iced concentration but not something Burger King has confirmed. For a number you can actually rely on, the iced medium is it.

Burger King iced coffee vs the other drive-thrus

Here is how the BK Cafe medium stacks against comparable iced coffees. Sizes differ by chain, so the fluid ounces are listed alongside each figure. McDonald's, Dunkin, and Starbucks numbers come from Caffeine Informer and its iced coffee comparison.

Iced coffee	Size	Caffeine
Burger King BK Cafe	Medium, 16 fl oz	141 mg
McDonald's	Small, 11.5 fl oz	133 mg
Starbucks	Grande, 16 fl oz	165 mg
Dunkin	Small, 16 fl oz	198 mg

At the same 16 fl oz pour, Burger King sits below Starbucks and well below Dunkin, and it runs a touch ahead of a small McDonald's. It is a middle-of-the-pack cup, not a jolt. If you want more, the move is a larger size, not a different flavor.

BK Cafe iced coffee caffeine by size

Burger King does not publish a per-size caffeine breakdown, so the small and large below are estimated from the same roughly 9 mg per fluid ounce concentration that produces the verified 141 mg medium. Only the medium is a directly compiled figure.

Size	Volume	Caffeine
Small	12 fl oz	~110 mg (estimated)
Medium	16 fl oz	141 mg
Large	20 fl oz	~180 mg (estimated)

For context, the FDA cites 400mg of caffeine a day as an amount generally not associated with negative effects in healthy adults. How caffeine affects you depends on your own tolerance and health, so treat these numbers as information, not advice.

Even a large BK Cafe iced coffee at an estimated 180 mg leaves plenty of room under that 400 mg ceiling. Two of them in a day still lands you comfortably below it, though the sugar in a flavored cup is the thing worth watching more than the caffeine.

Related caffeine breakdowns

• Chick-fil-A coffee caffeine
• Krispy Kreme coffee caffeine
• The full caffeine database

FAQ

How much caffeine is in a Burger King iced coffee? A medium 16 fl oz BK Cafe iced coffee has about 141 mg of caffeine, roughly 9 mg per fluid ounce, so a small runs near 110 mg and a large near 180 mg.

Does a flavored BK Cafe iced coffee have more caffeine? No. Vanilla, mocha, and caramel all use the same coffee base, so the caffeine is the same. The syrup only adds sugar and calories.

Is Burger King iced coffee stronger than McDonald's? Slightly. A 16 fl oz BK medium at 141 mg edges out a small McDonald's iced coffee at 133 mg, though both sit below Starbucks and Dunkin at the same volume.