Have you ever wondered how much of a rip-off your local McDonald’s is? Wondering if you’re getting the going rate for a burger at the Golden Arches or if you’re getting swindled?
Well, friend, feast your eyes on the McCheapest map, which shows in colorful detail how much prices of Big Macs vary between McDonald’s locations across the United States. Read on to see how your local McDonald’s fares.
1. The McCheapest Map
The McCheapest Map is an appropriately named tool that tracks the price of Big Macs at every McDonald’s location across the U.S. using a conveniently color-coded map. Colored dots identify locations serving up cheaper (shades of green) and more expensive (shades of red) burgers. The interactive map allows you to move around the map and the cheapest and most expensive Big Mac in the selected area will display in the upper left corner.
So, now you can hop in your private jet and fly to whichever Mickey D’s is touting the lowest price, right? Yeah, no. This is really just a tool for people with curious minds who want to see how their local McDonald’s stacks up against the rest of the country.
The McCheapest Map was created by U.K.-based commercial analyst Sacha Fournier and now lives on the food advice and research site Pantry and Larder.
2. Which McDonald’s Has the Most Expensive Big Mac?
So where’s the most expensive Mac served? According to McCheapest (which was last updated in February, keep in mind), that honor goes to a Golden Arches in Lee, Massachusetts, along the I-90 Turnpike.
The restaurant faced some scrutiny for its through-the-roof prices, which allegedly landed the Big Mac meal at nearly $19. According to the McCheapest map, Big Macs at this location cost a hefty $8.09. If there was ever an appropriate place to try the cheaper Big Mac hack, it’s here.
3. Which McDonald’s Has the Cheapest McDonald’s?
Good ole Oklahoma offers up the cheapest Big Macs in the nation, according to McCheapest. The Stigler restaurant slings Macs for $3.49 a piece which is practically unheard of. For reference, at my local Michigan-based Mickey D’s, a regular old double cheeseburger costs $4.59.
4. Why Do Prices Vary So Much?
Because most McDonald’s locations are franchises, the prices vary by location. It’s even common to have multiple McDonald’s restaurants in the same city with different prices at each one. It’s all up to the franchise owner’s discretion, and maps like McCheapest shed light on how much the prices vary between locations.
Since McDonald’s doesn’t list prices on its website, Fournier developed a program to scrape the location-specific prices from the McDonald’s app, according to The Takeout.
5. What Other Fast-Food Menu Price Maps Are There?
There are more price-tracking, fast-food-forward interactive maps and tools on the internet than you might think. Fournier, the creator of McCheapest also had his hands on a Walmart egg prices map during the height of egg-flation, and he was apparently inspired by the McBroken app, according to The Takeout. There are also these nifty online resources:
- Waffle House Index (tracks when Waffle House is open or closed due to natural disasters)
- McBroken (tracks whether McDonald’s ice cream machines are working)
- Fast Food Index (tracks prices of popular menu items at four fast-food chains)
- Taconomical (tracks prices on different menu items at Taco Bells across the country)
