'The McValue Tag Makes This Even Funnier': This McDonald's Breakfast Item Is Totally Overpriced

We live in an age when sit-down restaurants like Chili's offer comparable prices to fast food, as drive-thru costs have begun to skyrocket, pricing out many lower-income Americans. McDonald's is one of the most commonly cited fast food giants whose prices have steadily risen, but one Redditor on an r/fastfood thread pointed out what seems to be a massively cost-inflated order of hash browns. "What the actual f**k?!" their post is titled, along with a picture of the menu in the app, which reveals McDonald's is charging a whopping $4.49 for a single hash brown.

"The McValue tag makes this even funnier," one person wrote, noting the irony of calling something a "value" when a single slab of potato that sells for less than 30 cents each at Aldi costs nearly $5 at a fast food restaurant. Another commenter joked that this McValue item is specifically for billionaires, while the OP opined that once upon a time, these hash browns were sold 2 for $1.

The McValue platform was introduced in early 2025 as a way of bringing down menu prices on many of McDonald's' most popular items, both for breakfast and lunch or dinner. While it does include some flat-fee $5 meal deals, the hash browns fall under the "buy one, add one for $1" designation. The reason for the hyper-inflated cost is very likely the location of the restaurant; OP revealed this was in San Francisco, California. But even still, getting two hash browns for almost $7 is fairly absurd.

The hash browns (which can be a crunchy, if expensive, addition to your McMuffin sandwich) aren't the only McDonald's breakfast menu items that have the Internet appalled at the pricing. One Redditor on r/Vent described how they purchased two sausage and egg McMuffin meals, plus an orange juice, and the total came to over $30, tax included, which is a lot, even for sandwiches that come with freshly cracked eggs. "Who can actually afford [McDonald's]?!" they raged. Another commenter mirrored this experience, saying that the exorbitant price for two people to get breakfast from the fast food chain has soured them toward ever going back. "I stopped getting their breakfast when a regular sausage [M]c[G]riddle went from $1.49 to $3.00," someone else wrote, adding that it has gone up even more since.

Still, there are ways to pay less for your next McDonald's breakfast order. One method is to use the app and take advantage of special promos that may appear under the App Exclusive Deals section of the Rewards & Deals category. There you might find things such as $1 coffees or buy one, get one free breakfast sandwiches. This is in addition to the aforementioned McValue deals, where you can get not only hash browns, but a Sausage McMuffin, Biscuit, or Burrito at a buy-one, get one for $1 price.