The cost of food at McDonald’s has been a national conversation for years now, but a change is coming. The controversy leading to these changes has stemmed from nationwide anger over food inflation, with the ubiquitous and highly symbolic McDonald’s being the biggest lightning rod. Photos and charts showing McDonald’s prices pre- and post-pandemic regularly get posted to social media, often with claims that the average price has increased over 100%. It’s gotten to be such a trend that McDonald’s has had to respond to the wild price hike claims with fact sheets.

While many of these numbers are, admittedly, overly inflated, McDonald’s prices have increased by around 40% on average since 2019, which is still a big jump. This has led to a slowdown in sales in the past few years. Evidently, the fast food giant has gotten spooked, because starting this year, McDonald’s is cracking down on pricing by franchisees to put more of an emphasis on value.

It may be hard to notice because all of this is happening behind the scenes, and McDonald’s is not promising specific price drops, but it could mean some more affordable meals. The corporation has announced its plans to update its franchising standards to allow those establishments the ability to adjust prices based on local factors. Essentially, this pushes (but doesn’t force) the franchisees that own 95% of McDonald’s locations to reconsider pricing decisions.

This move is quite unusual. An important aspect of the McDonald’s franchise owner relationship is that they have the freedom to set their own prices. In return, franchisees agree to standards of behavior around the restaurant. McDonald’s has long provided advisors to its franchisees to help them set prices based on the market but hasn’t passed judgement on their individual decisions. That’s what is changing.

While franchisees will still have final pricing power, McDonald’s will now assess these pricing decisions in relation to the value it wants to project to consumers, with a push towards more consistent pricing overall. While the company won’t directly control pricing, violating its new franchising standards can result in penalties, including the revoking of the franchise license itself.

This is a continuation of McDonald’s move back towards better value. The company saw same-store sales slow and even drop a bit over 2024 and the first half of 2025, with lower income consumers cutting back on spending. In response, McDonald’s debuted a $5 Meal Deal and brought back the Extra Value meals. This appears to have paid off, as same-store sales jumped back into positive territory in the second half of 2025. That success seems to have sent a message, and McDonald’s price changes in 2026 reflect that continued focus on repairing its value to customers.

While all this may seem like minor wrangling, the reaction of franchisees shows just how big a deal it is. The National Owners Association, an independent group of McDonald’s franchisees, has put together a list of 15 items that it’s calling a “Franchisees Bill of Rights,” to fight back against McDonald’s moves. One of these rights is quite explicitly a right to set prices without being punished, which says franchisees must be free to make pricing decisions without intimidation from McDonald’s.

While some other industry groups have also set standards like this, a group of fast food owners explicitly and openly pushing back against their corporate partners is not exactly common. Even though McDonald’s new pricing system is obviously a major sticking point, tensions have been growing before this. The company made recent moves like tightening standards for renewing franchisee agreements, increasing royalty fees for new McDonald’s operations, and forcing franchisees to renovate stores. The level of control McDonald’s expects over its brand is beginning to clash with long-running aspects of the franchise business model.

You may or may not see better deals on your favorite McDonald’s items this year, and prices will still vary by locations, but the chain has clearly heard customers’ concerns over price increases. And it’s set up a showdown over managing prices that could have big implications for the future of the brand.