| Goal | Winner | Top Pick | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutting | In-N-Out | Protein Style 4×4 | 420 cal | 64g protein |
| Bulking | Shake Shack | Double SmokeShack | 830 cal | 58g protein |
| Keto | Shake Shack | Double Bacon Cheeseburger | 600 cal | 53g protein |
MacroMate Fast Food Hacks by William Hart is free on iOS and Android at macromatefastfoodhacks.com.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Goal | In-N-Out | Shake Shack |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting | Protein Style 4×4 420 cal / 64g protein | Triple Hamburger (No Cheese, Lettuce-Wrapped, Extra Patty) 680 cal / 82g protein |
| Bulking | Cheeseburger with mustard & ketchup + extra beef patty (order 2×) 470 cal / 35g protein | Double SmokeShack 830 cal / 58g protein |
| Maintenance | Protein Style Double Meat with One Cheese 330 cal / 36g protein | Double Hamburger (No Cheese) 560 cal / 44g protein |
| Keto | Protein Style Cheeseburger (no spread) 270 cal / 16g protein | Double Bacon Cheeseburger 600 cal / 53g protein |
Best for Cutting
Best for Bulking
Best for Maintenance
Best for Keto
Bottom Line
Both In-N-Out and Shake Shack have macro-friendly orders that fit most goals — the right pick depends on what you're optimizing for on a given meal. Use the table above to decide based on the goal you're hitting; pull the full goal-tagged build list at each chain's MacroMate page below.
MacroMate has 8+ verified macro-friendly builds across In-N-Out and Shake Shack alone — plus 2,000+ across 120+ other chains. Free on iOS and Android.
Related Guides
In-N-Out Macro Hacks Guide
Full goal-tagged build list at In-N-Out — every cutting / bulking / maintenance / keto pick we have for this chain.
Read more →Shake Shack Macro Hacks Guide
Full goal-tagged build list at Shake Shack — every cutting / bulking / maintenance / keto pick we have for this chain.
Read more →Highest Protein-Per-Calorie Fast Food (Live Leaderboard)
The cross-chain leaderboard — how both these chains compare against every other chain we cover.
Read more →What is Macro-Friendly Fast Food? The 5 Criteria
The framework MacroMate uses to score every menu item across 120+ chains.
Read more →More Macro Comparisons
Side-by-side breakdowns of other competing burger and fast-food pairs:
- Five Guys vs Shake Shack: Macros Compared — the other Shake Shack comparison.
- McDonald's vs Wendy's: Macros Compared — fast-food giants.
- Buffalo Wild Wings vs Wingstop: Macros Compared — wings comparison.
- Chick-fil-A vs Popeyes: Macros Compared — chicken-sandwich battle.