Your McDonald’s Meal Might Be Nearly 3 Times More Expensive Than It Was In 2014

If your last visit to the Golden Arches included an exclamation about how much everything cost, you’re not alone — and it’s definitely not just your imagination.

While inflation has sent the price of just about everything soaring in recent years, many formerly affordable McDonald’s menu items have been outpacing the inflation rate by leaps and bounds. Comparing current prices to those from just 10 years ago puts the trend in sharp focus.

The most notable culprits

According to recent research from FinanceBuzz, McDonald’s saw the steepest price increases of any major fast food chain, with most items outpacing the average 31% inflation rate of the past decade. And a few menu items led the pack, including:

• The McDouble, which was $1.19 on average in 2014 and $3.19 now
• A medium order of fries increased by 138% from $1.59 to $3.79
• A quarter pounder with cheese meal more than doubled to $11.99

While McDonald’s has acknowledged that it is losing value-conscious customers, other fast food joints are hoping to capitalize on the situation. Burger King issued a statement affirming that it will “continue to be very thoughtful about making sure our guests receive great value for the money they spend with us.”

Subway and Starbucks increased prices by a relatively low 39% on average since 2014.

Taking issue with the report

While FinanceBuzz was clear about the statistics that it used to arrive at its findings, McDonald’s nonetheless thinks the report is an unfair reflection on the brand as a whole.

According to a spokesperson, the average prices listed were “not an accurate representation of pricing at McDonald’s restaurants,” though there was no specific information provided to refute the report.

The source did, however, stress that “pricing is set by individual franchisees and varies by restaurant.”

Chris Agee April 5th, 2024

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