FeganScott is investigating McDonald’s menu pricing. About 95 percent of McDonald’s U.S. restaurants are owned by independent franchisees, and these separate businesses are supposed to set their own prices and compete with one another for customers.
However, FeganScott has learned that, since at least 2019, McDonald’s has reportedly collected private sales data from its company-owned and franchised restaurants. It has reportedly fed that data into a central computer pricing system that estimates how much customers at each location are willing to pay and recommends menu prices item by item. Moreover, the system may have tied one restaurant’s price increases to whether nearby locations had already raised theirs. Franchisees were also reportedly pressured to follow its recommendations.
As a result of this illegal price-fixing, McDonald’s prices have gone up every year since 2019. By the company’s own count, the average menu item costs about 40 percent more in 2024 than in 2019. Some favorites rose even more: a medium order of fries went up 44 percent, and prices kept climbing in 2025 and 2026. Customers across the country paid higher prices than they would have in a truly competitive market.
If you have purchased food at a McDonald’s restaurant in the United States since 2019, and are interested in participating in a potential class action lawsuit, please complete the form available through the link below.