McDonald’s plans $3 menu items as fast food loses its price edge

McDonald’s wants to win back budget-conscious diners with yet another value push, as the fast-food business loses more ground to sit-down restaurants.

McValue 2.0

According to The Wall Street Journal, the burger chain is aiming to roll out menu items priced at $3 or less alongside new $4 breakfast meal deals nationwide in April. The move follows a series of promotions in recent years, including the $5 meal deal it launched in 2024 and a relaunch of its discount menu category last September.

After years of fast-food price inflation, customers have been turning away from what’s supposed to be the cheap option. A 2024 LendingTree survey found that 78% of US consumers viewed fast food as a “luxury” — and that sentiment has been showing up in how they’re actually spending their dining-out dollars.

For decades, Americans spent a larger share of their dining-out budgets at full-service establishments — from casual chains to fine dining — than at limited-service restaurants like fast-food or quick-service chains. That dominance flipped in earnest during the pandemic, when indoor dining closed and drive-thrus became pretty much the only way to eat out a lot of the time. In 2020, limited-service restaurants captured about 38% of all spending on food away from home, their highest share ever, USDA data shows.

But as dining rooms reopened and fast-food prices surged, full-service restaurants regained their edge. In 2024, they accounted for 36.3% of total dining-out spending, slightly ahead of the 36.2% share for limited-service restaurants.

And that trend seems to have continued since. For much of last year, fast-food chains drew less foot traffic than full-service restaurants, per data from Placer.ai. Part of the shift reflects how sit-down chains have been actively targeting fast food’s core customers, with brands like Chili’s and Applebee’s doubling down on combo meals and bundled deals. In October, for instance, Chili’s CEO said its “Better than Fast Food” campaign helped it gain market share among low-income households.