Top 20 Starbucks Competitors and Alternatives

With the help of a little good coffee you can win the day, right? Starbucks, the most said name in the world of coffee was founded in 1971 in Seattle. It already operates 33,833 stores around the world.

USA, China, and Japan are three main markets of Starbucks. Starbucks is now available in 3,089 US cities. California state alone has 3,002 Starbucks stores. New York City alone has 188 stores, followed by Chicago with 178 stores and Los Angeles with 164 stores.

The take-away coffee with your name is a treat for the day. Starbucks with its high-quality services and finest coffee servings has earned a name in the market.

But other coffee servers are also evolving. Here in this article, we listed the top 20 competitors and alternatives to Starbucks.

Starbucks Competitors and Alternatives

1. Dunkin Donuts

Founded in 1950 Dunkin Donuts has 11,500 stores across 35 countries. This Massachusetts-based coffee shop generates annual revenue of $1.5 billion.

It has 8,000 locations which is quite less compared to Starbucks. But they have been providing donuts and coffee to their customers.

2. Costa Coffee

An English Coffee Shop Costa Coffee was bought by Coca-Cola in January 2019. It is one of the fastest-growing coffee shops across the globe.

Now having stores across the world it is winning hearts. It has made up for the quick loss due to a few shutdowns at different locations.

Bent on giving their customers the best experience they have started cheap meals at $5 which would include not only a coffee delicacy but a dish as well.

3. McCafe

A McDonald’s division Mc Cafe is the strongest competitor for Starbucks’ market shares.

Mc Cafe has invested a lot of shares in China. They have been a strong competitor in both US and China markets with their expanding store numbers in different locations.

4. Tim Hortons

Based in Canada this coffee store has been running over 4,600 stores worldwide including in the United States. They have decided to celebrate their customer base by giving away coffee and goodies worth $8 million.

Their regulars are also quite affordable compared to Starbucks. So Tim Horton’s is definitely providing tough competition to Starbucks.

5. Mc Donalds

The brother company Mc Cafe already a coffee shop chain is a good alternative to Starbucks in terms of price and variations of items available.

It is the fastest-growing food joint. With 38,695 restaurants worldwide it is a steady competitor of Starbucks.

6. Yum China

Yum China, the joint with a Chinese license of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut expanded to 9,925 stores across the country.

We already are aware of Pizza Hut and KFC’s ever-increasing popularity and customer base. With their meal deals and exciting offers at very cheap prices, they are way ahead of Starbucks’ pricey coffee.

7. Peet’s Coffee

Peet the one who used to supply dark, roasted coffee to Starbucks once now has risen to 9.9% shares in the US market.

Originally a roastery Peet’s also has its own coffee shops serving a huge customer base for its quality coffee beans.

8. Lavazza

Lavazza the famous Mocha Pot Brewing coffee house in Italy is running since 1895. It has now stores in the US too.

From time to time it comes up with exciting offers. It is now giving free coffee machines for £1 with 200 coffee capsules.

9. Cafe Coffee Day

Located almost in every community space or in MNC sectors CCD is the largest coffee chain supplying unit all over the country.

It has the most affordable rates. With a scam running high on its head CCD is still commanding the coffee business in corporate sectors.

10. Folgers

Folgers is winning the market because of its cheaper rates. It provides pre-ground coffee. They have a lot of varieties. Along with their instant coffees, they also have packaged ground coffee which is also preferred by a lot of people.

11. Maxwell House

Famous for their dark roast beans Maxwell house charges $6.29 bucks for 11 ounces which are way cheaper than Starbucks. When quality is compared, Maxwell House is quite an elephant in the room. In late 1980’s it was the highest-selling coffee brand in the United States.

12. The Coffee Bean

Herbert Hyman founded ‘The Coffee Bean’ in September 1963. The Coffee Bean with its freshly brewed coffee was famous for its Latte. It still is. Though after the Jubilee food group bought them, several stores closed down. As of 2017 it has over 1,000 self-owned and franchised stores in the United States and 31 stores in other countries.

13. Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee was founded in Edina, Minnesota, in 1992 and is now headquartered in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Unlike other Coffee brewers, their signature blue cup makes them stand out among others. They initially designed it for 5-day office workers. Their blue cup also signifies a good service during the working period.

14. Dutch Bros

Dutch Bros are mainly focused on student customers. They have designed the coffees with syrup and ample amount of varieties so that workers and students both can easily like them.

They have 15 different categories of coffee. Their syrup makes their coffee tastier and they are famous for their summer menus.

15. Cafe Bustelo

Gregorio Menendez Bustelo founded the Café Bustelo coffee company in The Bronx, New York in 1928. Cafe Bustelo is mainly based on Cuban rules. It is a go-to store for Latin Americans in the US. Cafe Bustelo is also one of the best competitors to Starbucks.

16. Bewley’s Coffee and Tea

Bewley’s Coffee and tea is an Irish brand that is famous for its roasted coffee. The shop is on the famous Grafton Cafe Street in Europe.

Nearly two thousand beans are roasted every day to make the coffee packages. We also do wholesale and retail operations all over Europe and the US

17. Luckin Coffee

Luckin Coffee is a Chinese coffeehouse chain. Luckin Coffee has been in the industry for less than 5 years and is considerably increased in the last few years. It’s headquarters is in Xiamen. It has more than 1300 stores in the china.

And they have managed to expand their number of stores which makes them a good competitor for Starbucks with their ever-evolving number of stores and varieties of coffee. 

18. Community Coffee

Community coffee is meant for an amalgamation of a lot of coffee brands that come together and deliver the best coffee to you. Community coffee is one of the largest family-owned coffee brand in the United States.

Community coffee has many stores in Louisiana, Texas and Alabama. It imports coffee beans from Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico

19. Global tea Brands

A lot of global tea brands like Tetley and Lipton have their own Brewing companies and deliver these products across the world through both online and offline packages.

They are the upcoming popular Tea brands that even though do not deliver coffee but for the tea, they are quite famous.

20. Independent Coffee Houses

Independent Coffee houses are always a good choice and are always competitors to Starbucks. You can sit by the window and observe the busy crowd in these independent coffee houses.

Above mentioned are the top 20 best and most popular Starbucks competitors and alternatives. Let us know your favourite Starbucks alternative in the comment section.