Drive-thru timers: how to measure speed of service

A drive-thru timer uses sensors in the lane, such as wire loops cut into the pavement or cameras, to stamp each car as it reaches the order point, the window and the exit. It shows how long each stage took and the total. In Intouch Insight's 2025 study of 13 chains, average service time was 4 minutes 15 seconds.

You do not need a timer to start. One person with a phone clock can time 20 to 30 cars at lunch and see where the wait builds up. The worksheet below shows how.

What does a drive-thru timer measure?

Makers and studies name the stages in different ways. These are the common ones, with what a slow number usually points to.

Measure	Clock starts	Clock stops	A slow number points to
Queue or wait time	Car joins the line	Car reaches the order point	Slow orders ahead, or cars backed up from the window
Order point (menu board) time	Car arrives at the speaker	Car leaves the speaker	A long greeting, repeats over a poor speaker, or an upsell at the wrong moment
Window time	Car arrives at a window	Car leaves that window	Payment steps, or food not ready when the car arrives
Pull-forward wait	Car moves to a waiting space	Food reaches the car	The kitchen falling behind the lane
Service time	Guest starts ordering	Car leaves with food	Slow order-taking, a slow window, or both
Total time	Car joins the line	Car leaves with food	The guest's full wait
Cars per hour	Count of cars served	Reset each hour	How much the lane can handle at the peak

Some systems split the lane further. i3 International says its Velocity timer measures eight phases: pre-order, speaker, line wait, window, order wait, curbside, ingress and egress. Before you compare your numbers with anyone else's, check which start and stop points your system uses.

Which companies make drive-thru timers?

The makers below describe their products on their own pages. None prints a price.

Product	How it detects cars	What the maker lists	Published price
HME ZOOM Nitro Timer	A mix of vehicle detectors, including video detection; the Nitro Vision AI add-on (US only) pairs cameras with existing loops	Up to 16 spaces on the dashboard, including pull-forward and mobile pickup; POS integration that varies by brand; alerts sent to NEXEO headsets; an hourly target for cars served	Not on hme.com
DTiQ Drive-Thru Timing System	Several sensor types, including a Vision Timer that uses AI	Single lanes and Y merges; color-coded displays; audible alerts; cloud reports	Not on dtiq.com
i3 International Velocity	Smart cameras combined with POS data	Eight phases; license plate recognition; drive-off detection; single and dual lanes	Not on i3international.com
Toast Drive-Thru	Part of Toast's drive-thru bundle with Delphi hardware	Speed of Service reporting to find lane bottlenecks; offered first to brands with 15 or more locations, per its April 2026 launch release	Not in Toast's release

Loop sensors sit in the pavement, so adding one means cutting it. Ask each maker what your site needs, whether your POS can pass order numbers to the timer, and who fixes a sensor that stops reading cars.

How should you read the numbers?

• Look at the peak. A day average mixes a quiet 3 p.m. with the lunch rush. Read your busiest hour in 15-minute blocks.
• Find the biggest stage. Split total time into queue, order point and window. Work on the longest stage first.
• Watch pull-forwards. When crew send a car to a waiting space, window time drops while the guest keeps waiting. Track the pull-forward wait, or at least count how many cars you pull.
• Read cars per hour with time. A shorter time on a day with fewer cars may only mean the lane was quiet.
• Compare your store with itself. Use the same daypart, week to week. A chain average comes from other menus and lane layouts.

The order point is often where small changes show up. Intouch Insight's 2025 study notes report that clear speakers cut 54 seconds off wait times, that not having to repeat an order saved 1 minute 25 seconds, and that upselling at the greeting instead of after the order changed timing by about 36 seconds.

How do you time your drive-thru without a timer?

A hand count works if you follow the same steps each time.

1. Pick two dayparts: your busiest hour and a steady one. Aim for 20 to 30 cars in each.
2. Stand where you can see the lane entry, the speaker and the window. If you cannot see all three, use two people with synced phones.
3. Write down the clock time to the second at each point. Clock times let you follow several cars at once, which one stopwatch cannot.
4. Record five moments per car: joins the line, starts ordering, finishes ordering, reaches the window, leaves with food. Mark any car you pull forward.
5. Do the subtraction afterward in a spreadsheet.
6. After any change to the menu, the speaker, staffing or the ordering method, repeat the same dayparts and compare.

Copy this worksheet. The first row is a made-up example.

Car	Joins line	Starts ordering	Finishes ordering	Reaches window	Leaves with food	Pulled forward?	Notes
1 (example)	12:04:10	12:05:02	12:06:20	12:07:05	12:08:40	No	Family order, one repeat
2
3

For the example car: queue time is 52 seconds (12:05:02 minus 12:04:10), order point time is 78 seconds, the drive to the window takes 45 seconds, window time is 95 seconds, and total time is 4 minutes 30 seconds. Service time, from the start of ordering to leaving, is 3 minutes 38 seconds.

What is the average drive-thru time?

The most recent study with published results is Intouch Insight's 25th annual Drive-Thru Study, run with QSR Magazine. Mystery shoppers placed 2,265 orders at 13 US chains, 165 per brand, in June and July 2025.

Figure from the 2025 study	Result (minutes:seconds)
Average service time, from placing the order to leaving with food	4:15
Average total time for the Classic segment (Burger King, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Arby's)	5:09
Fastest total time in each segment	Taco Bell 4:16, KFC 4:21, Tim Hortons 4:25
Speed when the service was rated friendly, and when it was not	5:23 when friendly, 6:57 when not
Service time at lanes where an AI voice assistant took the order (120 orders at three chains)	3:53

These figures come from the study's press release. Intouch planned to reveal its 2026 study at the QSR Evolution conference on September 10, 2026, per its July 2026 announcement, so check its study page for newer figures. The study measures large chains with mystery shoppers, so use it as a rough guide and your own worksheet as the real baseline.

If you trial voice ordering at the speaker, such as Maple's drive-thru unit (in early access with a small number of restaurants), time the order point for a week before the trial and again during it with the same worksheet. Our guide to phone versus drive-thru voice AI covers what else to check before a lane trial.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines timer makers' own product pages and Intouch Insight's published 2025 drive-thru results with an original hand-timing worksheet. The worksheet example is made up; the guide does not report a Maple timing study or verify any maker's product claims.