HISTORICAL COMPARISON: BAIN, MCKINSEY, AND BCG

When McKinsey bowed out of the Vault Consulting 50, it set up a head-to-head matchup between BCG and Bain. This year, BCG outperformed Bain across every Quality of Work and Life Dimension except Formal and Informal Training and International Opportunities. However, the big question isn’t how BCG and Bain compare to each other. Rather, it is how their performance has changed over time.

This year, BCG notched its highest score – 9.907 – in Benefits. The firm also produced an average of 9.7 or above in eight categories: Firm Culture, Firm Leadership, Innovation, Internal Training, Selectivity, Business Outlook, Promotion Policy and Relationships with Supervisors. The firm’s lowest score came in Hours (8.883), along with scoring below a 9.2 average in two dimensions: Internal Mobility and Work-Life Balance.

A LOOK BACK FIVE YEARS

Rewind to 2020, where 17 of 19 BCG scores were below their 2025 averages. Numbers that stick out? The Overall Diversity has risen from 9.223 to 9.604 over the past five years. The same could be said for Innovation (9.466 to 9.766), Overall Satisfaction (9.218 to 9.559), and Work-Life Balance (8.793 to 9.126). In fact, BCG only posted lower scores in Business Outlook -(.065) and Selectivity (-.079) against five years ago.

In contrast, Bain & Company achieved its highest score in Informal Training (9.833). It also hit a 9.7 average or above in seven dimensions in 2025: Benefits, Interaction with Clients, Firm Culture, Formal Training, Promotion Policies, Relationships with Supervisors, and Selectivity. Bain’s lowest score is centered in Internal Mobility (8.644), with the firm averaging under 9.2 in Work-Life Balance, Health & Wellness, International Opportunities, and Innovation.

When you head back five years, however, Bain & Company scored lower in 11 of 19 dimensions in 2025. This includes Firm Leadership (9.438 vs. 9.705), Internal Mobility (8.644 vs. 8.985), International Opportunities (8.682 vs. 9.227), and Business Outlook (9.275 vs. 9.788).

MCKINSEY RETURNS…WITH A VENGEANCE

Alas, McKinsey & Company returns to the forefront when practice areas are factored into the equation. In this ranking, consultants rank competing firms in areas ranging from Energy to Retail. Overall, consultants can rank three firms (and none of the selections can be their employer). Make no mistake, the MBB is more M-BB considering McKinsey’s dominance.

Across 17 Practice Areas, McKinsey earned a higher percentage of votes than Bain and BGG in 16 areas. Notably, McKinsey earned its highest percentage (72.74%) in Strategy Consulting, while also scoring well in Management Consulting (71.85%) and Retail (50.78%). The only area where it ranked below any MBB rival was Environment Sustainability, where it was outpointed by BCG by a 36.89%-to-33.61% margin. However, BCG bullied Bain when McKinsey is removed from the equation. Here, BCG outperformed Bain in 14-of-16 practice areas, only scoring lower in Financial and IT Operations Consulting.

In terms of Diversity, you’ll find BCG holding an edge. BCG posted higher scores than Bain in the Disabilities, LGBTQ+, Military Veterans, and Race and Ethnicity dimensions. Among Women, however, Bain edged out BCG by a 9.675-to-9.579 margin. In Overall Diversity, BCG topped Bain by nearly .2 of a point.

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