McDonald's New 'McValue' Menu Won't Be Much of a Deal — Here's Why

Long gone are the days of the true dollar menu, when there was a whole assortment of cheap fast food items you could choose from without hoops to jump through. McDonald’s had one of the best in the game, with McDoubles (with twoslices of cheese instead of one!), McChickens, and hash browns galore for only a buck.

But things have changed a lot since then, and fast food chains are exploring other ways to give customers value without dollar menus. 

McDonald’s just announced that it's rolling out a new value menu, which they’ve aptly named the McValue Menu. Will there be deals as good as dollar menus used to be? Doesn’t look like it. Here’s what we know.

The McValue Menu is a new menu from McDonald’s that the chain touts as a customizable “platform” that will “let our customers define value on their own terms," according to a press release. When you get past all that corporate marketing speak, that just means there are multiple deals that customers can choose from, so it’s not nearly as simple as the old dollar menus.

In a corporate earnings call in October, McDonald’s explained that its current $5 meal deal has succeeded in generating traffic among “low-income consumers” and helped franchisees make more money. The McValue Menu seems to be an extension of that: figuring out ways to profit off the people that can’t afford fast food anymore.

The McValue Menu has multiple parts, but really only one is new compared to what’s offered now. The current $5 meal deal and in-app exclusive deals are staying, and there will be some “local deals” that franchisees can choose to offer.

The new bit is the “buy one, add one for $1” menu, which already has us rolling our eyes just from the name. It has four items for breakfast, and four items for the rest of the day. If you purchase one of the four items at full price, you can get a second for $1. So really, you’re forced to buy two items in order to save a little bit of money, which isn’t great.

Here are the items on the breakfast buy one, add one for $1 menu:

• Sausage Biscuit
• Sausage McMuffin
• Sausage Burrito
• Hash Browns

Here are the items on the lunch/dinner buy one, add one for $1 menu:

• 6-piece McNuggets
• Double Cheeseburger
• McChicken
• Small Fries

The McValue Menu will go into effect Jan. 7, 2025. The $5 meal deal is already offered and will continue to be offered through summer of next year. In-app deals and local deals have been ongoing for years already.

We crunched some numbers using prices from our local McDonald’s on the buy one, add one for $1 menu, and depending on what you choose, it’s not going to be a great savings — and that’s assuming the chain doesn’t increase the regular price of the items when it debuts.

The cheapest combo you can get at breakfast (remember that each location’s prices may be different) is $3 for a Sausage Biscuit and hash browns, or two hash browns. In either case, you’re only saving $1. If you want the best deal, then you’ll have to order two Sausage Burritos for $3.59, a savings of $1.59.

For lunch/dinner, the cheapest combo you can get is a McChicken and small fries for $3.49, a savings of $1.39. If you got the best deal, it’d be two 6-piece McNuggets for $4.39, a savings of $2.39.

Considering you save around $3.50 buying the $5 meal deal, it’s probably best to stick with that if getting the best value is important to you.

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