economie

I tried McDonald’s $5 value meal and understand why it’s staying on the menu through 2024

September 13, 20240
My $5 Meal Deal from McDonald’s.

Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider

If I ordered these items separately at my local McDonald’s in New York, it would cost $3.39 for the McDouble, $2.59 for the McNuggets, $2.79 for the fries, and $1.49 for the Diet Coke, which would come out to $10.26 before tax.

The McDouble wasn’t the best burger I’ve ever had, but it was certainly passable.
McNuggets are my favorite item at McDonald’s.

Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider

The $5 Meal Deal comes with four Chicken McNuggets.

My typical McDonald’s order is a medium 10-piece McNugget meal, so I was happy to snack on a few. Even though these ended up not being my favorite nuggets when I compared $5 meal deals from McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger King — Wendy’s has the best nuggets in my opinion — McNuggets are a safe bet.

They have a good texture, the breaded coating isn’t too salty or thick, and the nuggets aren’t dense at all. These are classic for a reason.

McDonald’s fries cannot be beat.
The soda from Burger King was visibly smaller.

Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider

As you can see, the McDonald’s and Wendy’s sodas — 21 ounces and 20 ounces, respectively — are significantly larger than the 16-ounce drink offered by Burger King, and all three meals are the same price.

I can see why the $5 Meal Deal is driving customers to the Golden Arches.
The foot traffic at McDonald’s has increased since the value meal was introduced.

Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images

In the memo, McDonald’s executives wrote that the meal is “meeting the objective of driving guests back to our restaurants.”

As Business Insider reported using Placer.ai data, which keeps track of foot traffic at restaurants, there were 8% more visitors to McDonald’s on the day the meal deal was introduced back in June — and it was the busiest Tuesday of the year to that point.

That record was broken the following week.

After getting a good amount of food at a considerably lower price, I can see why people are loving the deal. I correctly predicted back in July that the Meal Deal would be extended — now I think the meal will eventually be permanently added to the menu.