McDonald's is cutting prices again — this time to $3 and under

McDonald’s $MCD -0.94% plans to launch a new menu of items priced at $3 and under in April, along with $4 breakfast meal deals, as the chain pushes deeper into discount territory to attract budget-conscious diners, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The cheaper menu replaces a buy-one-add-one-for-a-dollar promotion that launched in 2025. Options will include a sausage biscuit and a four-piece Chicken McNuggets. The $4 breakfast deal will feature a McMuffin, hash brown, and coffee.

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McDonald’s described the update — internally called “McValue 2.0” — in a message to franchisees earlier this week, a copy of which was reviewed by The Journal. The company said the changes were approved by franchisee groups with “unanimous alignment.” Training for restaurants on the new deals is expected to begin in coming weeks.

The move extends nearly two years of value-focused efforts. McDonald’s launched $5 meal deals in 2024, added $1 options in January 2025, and last fall struck a deal with U.S. franchisees to cut combo-meal prices. The company and its franchisees put roughly $85 million toward advertising those discounted combos last year, and McDonald’s set aside about $35 million more for operators who took financial hits from the lower prices in early 2026, CFO Ian Borden told The Journal in February. That support ends in March.

McDonald’s has said the strategy is gaining traction, particularly with lower-income customers ordering combo meals more frequently.

The chain’s affordability perception has improved but not fully recovered, according to market-research firm Technomic. About one in five consumers surveyed called McDonald’s affordable last year, up from 18% in 2024 but still below 2019 levels. Roughly a third rated its prices as competitive with other fast-food chains.

Competitors are making their own discount plays. Panera Bread rolled out a $4.99 mix-and-match deal last month. Domino $DPZ -0.32%'s Pizza has said its $9.99 any-style, any-topping offer is helping pull customers from other chains.

McDonald’s has been trying to recapture a value image that eroded after pandemic-era price increases by franchisees, who set their own menu prices, left many customers questioning whether the chain was still affordable.

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