On social media this month, a potato went viral. Not a trendy new fry or artisanal latke, but the humble McDonald’s hash brown— once a symbol of cheap, easy breakfast.
The outrage started with posts on Threads and TikTok: “How’s McDonald’s charging $4.35 [AUD] for a hash brown?” Screenshots of drive-thru menus and delivery app listings circulated like scandalous celebrity gossip. Soon, memes crowned it the “great hashbrown moment of 2025.”
McDonald’s hash browns have always been part of the chain’s morning identity — greasy, golden, and perfect alongside an Egg McMuffin or Sausage McGriddle. But the average price has climbed to about $2.38 nationwide, with some locations charging more than $3, and third-party delivery prices hitting $4 or higher. That’s a far cry from the roughly $1.09 many paid in 2019, and part of a broader trend: fast-food breakfast prices have jumped more than 50% since then, outpacing overall inflation.
McDonald’s points to rising costs for labor, ingredients and operations, plus the reality that franchisees set local prices. But the hash brown sticker shock taps into something bigger. Perhaps, the Golden Arches aren’t quite the value they once were.
For decades, McDonald’s built its brand on the promise of affordability. The Big Mac Index became a playful economic measure. A dollar menu meant you could walk in with a few bucks and walk out full. But in recent years, menu prices have risen sharply, with even “value” items costing more in many markets. The chain has tried to revive its budget image with promotions like the $5 Meal Deal, but those offers aren’t always available. And they can’t compete with the nostalgia.
That nostalgia is part of the online reaction. People remember grabbing a coffee and hash brown on the way to school, or the comfort of a drive-thru breakfast on a road trip. Now, the conversation around McDonald’s feels less like a craving and more like a debate about what’s happened to “cheap eats” in America.
In the end, the crispy, hot, still addictive hash brown has become more than a breakfast side. It’s a flashpoint for the uneasy truth that even fast food isn’t immune to sticker shock. And in 2025, that’s worth talking about, over coffee and maybe — if you’re feeling spendy — a hash brown.
