Is the McValue Menu actually providing customers with good value?
On April 21, McDonald’s McValue Menu hit stores nationwide. It is offering sandwiches and sides for under $3 and reducing prices for a limited time on certain items, such as the McDouble, which currently costs $2.50, and the Sausage McMuffin, priced at $1.50.
In the morning, the $4 Breakfast Meal Deal offers customers the choice between a Sausage McMuffin or Sausage Biscuit, both served with Hash Browns and a small coffee.
Later in the day, customers can get a McChicken Meal Deal for $5 or a McDouble Meal Deal for $6. Both come with 4-piece McNuggets, small fries and a small drink.
Now that McValue has been in play for a couple of weeks, people have thoughts.
“Anyone remember when McDoubles used to be 99 cents? It was only 10 years ago…,” wrote one Redditor in a post calling the chain’s new pricing structure “scammy.”
“In what world is $7.00 for a McDouble ‘mcvalue meal’ with SMALL DRINK AND FRIES any value at all,” wrote one X user. “That is 89 cents worth of food.”
“Price gouging pushed me to Burger King,” wrote another Redditor who thinks “No breakfast sandwich should be more than $3.”
There are some, however, who say that complaining about the McValue Menu is, well, a nothing burger.
“The word scammed is entirely overused,” wrote one user. “Remember when scam meant someone lost their house or life savings? Now people say it when a cheeseburger is $1 more.”
“A pound of ground beef costs $3.99 here in California,” one Redditor wrote in defense of making a burger yourself. “Just some food for thought.”
But getting fast-food is “about time savings and convenience,” another argued in response.
McDonald’s responds to the backlash
For its part, McDonald’s says its focus has always been on listening to its customers and meeting their needs, and that’s why “McValue was built as a flexible platform designed to evolve with them.”
“The Under $3 Menu delivers on what they’ve told us matters most: consistently great prices on their favorite items and the freedom to order what they want, when they want — no bundling required,” a McDonald’s representative tells TODAY.com, “Alongside other everyday value offerings like Meal Deals, customers now have more options to choose from — whether they’re looking for a quick snack or a complete meal.”
Back in November 2024, the chain introduced its Buy One, Add One for $1 offer, where customers could buy one full-priced menu item from the McValue Menu and add another item of their choice for $1. This included breakfast items like the Sausage McMuffin and Sausage Biscuit, and later-in-the-day items like the six-piece Chicken McNuggets and Double Cheeseburger, but McDonald’s has since phased out that part of the menu.
On May 7, McDonald’s President, CEO and controversial burger-biter, Chris Kempczinski, spoke on McValue during the chain’s Q1 earnings call, saying, “As with any new program, we know it may take time to build awareness, but early indicators on McValue’s performance since the changes were introduced a couple of weeks ago are in line with our expectations.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
