One post claimed the burger went from 50 cents in 1980 to $8 in 2024 and "lost 40% of its size."
(X user @conspiracyb0t)
Another meme projected that by 2030 the burger would be even smaller and more expensive. The claim was not new. At least since 2021, similar posts spread across social media, with many posts including a photo allegedly showing a smaller modern Big Mac next to a larger older one.
In short, the figures in the claim did not match available records. A 1980 menu listed a Big Mac at $1.20, not $0.50, while the average U.S. price in January 2024 was $5.69, not $8. We also found no evidence that the burger had lost 40% of its size.
We contacted McDonald's for comment and will update this story if we receive a response.
The price comparison is misleading
McDonald's introduced the Big Mac in 1967. It was first sold in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, for 45 cents before becoming available nationally in 1968.
Article from Apr 21, 1967 The Evening Standard (Uniontown, Pennsylvania)
The social media posts, however, compared an alleged 1980 price of $0.50 with a purported 2024 price of $8.
In January 2024, Statista — an online platform that specializes in data gathering — reported that Switzerland had one of the world's most expensive Big Macs, at $8.17. The average U.S. price was $5.69, while the eurozone average was $5.87. In other words, the "$8" figure resembled a price from one of the most expensive markets, not the average U.S. price.
We could not determine a single national average price for a U.S. Big Mac in 1980. But the evidence we found did not support the claim that it cost 50 cents that year. A GBH Archives video from a McDonald's in Brighton, Massachusetts, in October 1980 showed the Big Mac priced at $1.20. Six years later, when The Economist introduced its Big Mac Index, it listed a U.S. Big Mac at $1.60.
Prices also vary by location, taxes, delivery fees and restaurant ownership, so an $8 Big Mac could appear in some places. But that does not prove that the Big Mac generally went from 50 cents to $8 in the United States between 1980 and 2024.
No records show the Big Mac lost 40% of its size
The second part of the claim said the Big Mac lost 40% of its size. Debates over whether the Big Mac has shrunk have circulated online for years, but we did not find reliable documentation showing that its total size decreased by 40% between 1980 and 2024. No reliable sources, including McDonald's website and official statements or credible news outlets, have confirmed any significant reduction in the size of the Big Mac. Such rumors may have stemmed from anecdotal observations or individual perceptions, lacking factual evidence.
Archived McDonald's nutrition records showed only small changes in listed serving weight across the years we reviewed. In 2008 and 2011, a McDonald's nutrition document listed the Big Mac serving size as 7.5 ounces. In 2012 and 2013 it changed to 7.6 ounces, while in 2014 and 2015, it was 7.4 ounces. In 2016, the Big Mac's weight returned to 7.5 ounces.
Those figures show minor differences, not a 40% reduction. A 40% drop from a 7.5-ounce burger would imply a modern Big Mac weighing about 4.5 ounces, which is not reflected in the archived nutrition records we found.
McDonald's Australia denied similar claims when they spread in 2022. A spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia there had been "no changes to the size of its burgers," according to that outlet.
Where did the image come from?
A photo often shared with the claim came from a 2010 YouTube video described as a "study of McDonald's iconic burger Big Mac over a 24 year period." The video asked in its description, "Is the Big Mac as big as it used to be?"
In the video, the creator compared a 2010 Australian Big Mac with old footage from 1986. But the larger burger shown in the comparison was not an original Big Mac from the 1980s. It was a reconstructed burger the creator called the "Big Leo," which he made to represent what he believed the older Big Mac looked like based on old footage and his own measurements.
In other words, the image did not show a direct side-by-side comparison between two original Big Macs from different decades. Rather, it showed a modern Big Mac next to the creator's recreation of a supposed older one. For that reason, the image does not prove that the Big Mac lost 40% of its size.
The video also focused on Australian Big Macs, not U.S. ones. In the video, the creator said McDonald's Australia told him there had been no change in the size of the Big Mac or its components in the previous 10 years.
Bottom line
All in all, the Big Mac has become more expensive over time, as have many consumer goods. But the $8 figure did not represent the average U.S. price of a Big Mac in 2024, and available McDonald's nutrition records did not show evidence that the burger lost 40% of its size from 1980 to 2024.
A photo often used to support the claim also did not show two original Big Macs from different decades. It showed a modern Big Mac next to a larger burger recreated by a YouTube creator for a comparison video in 2010.
In March 2021, we investigated a similar claim about whether the price of a Big Mac in Denmark was substantially higher than the price of a Big Mac in the United States.