The Difference Between The McDonald's McDouble & Double Cheeseburger

McDonald's is one of the most recognizable American brands in the world, with locations in over 100 countries. While it first got its start in 1948 in San Bernardino, California, it wouldn't become the McDonald's you may know today until nearly a decade later, when Ray Kroc opened the chain's first franchise location in Illinois. He later bought the company in 1961, and shortly before the brand went global, the Golden Arches introduced the Double Cheeseburger — one of Food Republic's top-ranking McDonald's burgers — in 1965. Over three decades later, in 1997, the McDouble was launched. You may wonder what the differences are between these two similar-sounding burgers, and the answer is quite simple: It's all in the cheese.

The original McDouble was very different from its current iteration and featured two burger patties with lettuce and tomato, a far cry from what it is today. In 2008, the sandwich as we know it made its official debut as a modification of the existing Double Cheeseburger. It was part of an effort to create more affordable menu options for customers and was featured on the Dollar Menu. The chain was able to decrease the price by removing one slice of cheese from the Double Cheeseburger. They both offer otherwise identical eating experiences: two burger patties, ketchup, mustard, onions, and pickles inside a bun. However, the extra slice of cheese has an effect on other aspects of this menu item, too.

The Dollar Menu is sadly no longer a fixture at McDonald's, and it went through several iterations starting in 2013 before landing in its current form. Despite the changes, the restaurant chain stands as one of several fast food chains that still has a value menu, and the McDouble has remained on it as one of the more affordable fixtures at the Golden Arches. Its price has gone up to about $2.59 — though prices may vary — exceeding adjustments for inflation. The Double Cheeseburger is on the regular menu and costs about $3.79, or over 45% more, meaning that the single slice of American cheese runs you about $1.20. But considering how the Double Cheeseburger outranks the McDouble in our taste test, that may very well be worth the price.

The other area where you can see the difference between the two burgers is in their nutritional value, and it can be amazing to see how much a single slice of cheese can affect certain areas. The Double Cheeseburger has 50 more calories than the McDouble, and the extra cheese adds more to almost every other nutritional factor other than sugar and fiber, which remain the same. Perhaps the biggest increase is in the amount of sodium you'd ingest in the former versus the latter — 200 extra milligrams — though that difference alone is less than 10% of the recommended daily limit. But you also get an extra 80 milligrams of calcium. When it comes to protein, however, the cheese only adds 3 extra grams, so it might be a better option to order an additional patty to give your McDonald's burger a protein boost.