# Burger meal pricing, EU vs. US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351 "2008-10-03T18:10:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/1 "2008-10-03T18:10:25Z")
As a person trying to gain weight I’m searching for ways to feed myself on the move with low cost. Food prices are hiking up constantly here, with the smallest burger meal to have any effect (Big Mac Meal or the equivalent) costing around 7 euros (10 USD) now. American (bodybuilding) sources always recommend a frequent visit to a burger joint for easy, cheap calories, just not too often. But at 10 dollars a pop, cheap it ain’t. So, what does a Big Mac meal or a similar product cost locally, US Dopers? I always hear stories of one dollar burgers in America etc. Are they true? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/2 "2008-10-03T18:18:42Z")
The Burger King closest to me offers their basic Big Mac meal (w/med fries and drink) for under $3 on Wednesdays right now. I can’t recall what the usual price is, but I’m pretty sure it’s under $5. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/3 "2008-10-03T19:30:38Z")
They have Big Macs at Burger King now? [This](http://www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml) link is interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/4 "2008-10-03T19:49:58Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > I always hear stories of one dollar burgers in America etc. Are they true? “Since McDonald’s started advertising the Dollar Menu nationally, the double cheeseburger has become the chain’s most ordered item.” --from [this](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/business/19mcdonalds.html) April 2006 article. But '\*“The cost implications of having that value menu have changed when you see what’s going on in beef and chicken,” Alvarez said in a conference call with stock analysts. “The way the dollar menu looks today won’t be the way it looks next year,” he said, adding that “in this current environment, we’ve got to make sure we’re pricing smart, not just pricing low.” Alvarez didn’t elaborate on how the dollar menu might change, but said tests have been under way in some markets. Bill Whitman, a spokesman for the firm, said one test has been to raise the price of the double cheeseburger, the anchor of the dollar menu and McDonald’s best-selling U.S. sandwich.\*’ -from [July 2008](http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu-mcdonalds-earnings-jul24,0,3978574.story) ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/5 "2008-10-03T19:55:51Z")
A Big Mac meal is about $5.50 - $6.00 including sales tax here in Pennsylvania. The two sandwiches on the dollar menu (it also has small sized fries, apple pies, and a few other items) are the double cheeseburger and the McChicken sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/6 "2008-10-03T20:00:44Z")
Oops. Sorry, I meant Whopper. Basic hamburger thing. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/7 "2008-10-03T20:03:27Z")
McDonald’s prices vary greatly by location and tourist traffic. The “Rock and Roll McDonald’s” here in Chicago is considerably more expensive than one my my nondescript Chicago neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/8 "2008-10-03T20:06:53Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > Oops. Sorry, I meant Whopper. Basic hamburger thing. Burger King had a Big Mac style burger for a while a few years back, called the [_Big King_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_King). It was pretty good, but didn’t really become popular. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/9 "2008-10-03T20:18:33Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > The two sandwiches on the dollar menu (it also has small sized fries, apple pies, and a few other items) are the double cheeseburger and the McChicken sandwich. Here it is a single hamburger or cheeseburger for one euro ($1.38). ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/10 "2008-10-03T21:16:01Z")
I assume when you say that you want to gain weight, that you don’t want _all_ of it in a jiggling perimeter around your navel. You’d be better served ordering another, or simply a larger, sandwich/burger and omitting the fries entirely. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/11 "2008-10-03T21:35:24Z")
The UK has the McDonalds [Pound Saver](http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/pages/eatsmart/poundsaver.html) menu. Bacon cheeseburger: US$1.75 ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burger-meal-pricing-eu-vs-us/466351/12 "2008-10-03T22:34:05Z")
Sounds like you’re looking for the [Big Mac Index](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index). I just learned about it here on the Dope less than a month ago.