Published 2026-10-02
The same Big Mac costs $8.00 at one Newcastle McDonald's and $9.10 at another
As fast food pricing becomes more data-driven, Drive Thru Index compared the pickup prices of the same items at 40 restaurants of two chains in Newcastle. Within each chain, prices for the same item differ by up to 14% from one restaurant to the next.
Data as of .
Key facts
- McDonald's Big Mac: $8.00 to $9.10 (+14%)Cheapest in Hexham, NSW, dearest in Raymond Terrace, NSW; median $8.55, 1% above McDonald's Australian median.
- Hungry Jack's Whopper: $9.30 to $10.40 (+12%)Cheapest in Broadmeadow, NSW, dearest in Raymond Terrace, NSW; median $9.90, the same as Hungry Jack's Australian median.
Fast food chains are collecting more and more data about their customers through mobile apps and loyalty programmes: accounts with their details, and what they order and when. They are also experimenting with AI and data-driven pricing. Meanwhile the same item can cost very different amounts from one restaurant to the next, and customers cannot see why. Drive Thru Index publishes every restaurant's real price, every day, so anyone can check.
McDonald's: a Big Mac costs $8.00 at two McDonald's restaurants in Hexham and Mayfield, NSW and $9.10 at the McDonald's in Raymond Terrace, NSW, $1.10 (14%) more. Across its 31 restaurants in Newcastle, the median is $8.55, 1% above McDonald's Australian median of $8.45.
Hungry Jack's: a Whopper costs $9.30 at the Hungry Jack's in Broadmeadow, NSW and $10.40 at the Hungry Jack's in Raymond Terrace, NSW, $1.10 (12%) more. Across its 9 restaurants in Newcastle, the median is $9.90, the same as Hungry Jack's Australian median of $9.90.
Anthony Gherghetta, an Australian software developer who built Drive Thru Index, started it after reading some of the buzz about AI being used to set fast food prices: he wanted to see whether it was true, and how big the price differences between restaurants really were. Prices bear out the contrast he noticed. In Australia, 97% of McDonald's restaurants charge within 10% of the typical Big Mac price; in the US, 53% do. The gap between the cheapest and the dearest tenth of restaurants is 10% of the typical price in Australia and 33% in the US.
“I kept reading that fast food chains were starting to use AI and customer data to set prices, so I wanted to see if it was true and how big the differences really were. In Australia, where I’m from, a Big Mac costs much the same wherever you buy it. In the US the price changes from one restaurant to the next. Fast food apps now know what you order, when and where, but customers can’t see how prices are set. So I built Drive Thru Index to check every restaurant, every day,” said Gherghetta.
Quotable lines
The same McDonald's Big Mac costs $8.00 in Hexham, NSW but $9.10 in Raymond Terrace, NSW.
The same Hungry Jack's Whopper costs $9.30 in Broadmeadow, NSW but $10.40 in Raymond Terrace, NSW.
Images
The facts behind the release
Every figure is from our prices of 2026-10-01, with the page on this site that shows it.
| Figure | Value | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald's Big Mac: $8.00 to $9.10 (+14%) | Cheapest in Hexham, NSW, dearest in Raymond Terrace, NSW; median $8.55, 1% above McDonald's Australian median. | See the page |
| Hungry Jack's Whopper: $9.30 to $10.40 (+12%) | Cheapest in Broadmeadow, NSW, dearest in Raymond Terrace, NSW; median $9.90, the same as Hungry Jack's Australian median. | See the page |
| Cheapest McDonald's Big Mac (restaurants) | $8.00 (2) | Hexham, NSW, Mayfield, NSW |
| Most expensive McDonald's Big Mac (restaurants) | $9.10 (1) | Raymond Terrace, NSW |
| Cheapest Hungry Jack's Whopper (restaurants) | $9.30 (1) | Broadmeadow, NSW |
| Most expensive Hungry Jack's Whopper (restaurants) | $10.40 (1) | Raymond Terrace, NSW |
Methodology, about and contact
Drive Thru Index reads every restaurant's menu from each chain's own ordering app every day; these are the latest pickup prices collected on or before 1 October 2026, in Australian dollars. The area covers restaurants within 40 km of the city centre of Newcastle, each restaurant counted in its nearest city. Each chain is compared only with itself, on its own signature item, and only where it has at least 5 restaurants in the area; prices are never compared between chains or converted between currencies. The cheapest and dearest restaurants leave out airports and similar special sites, which are reported separately.
About Drive Thru Index: Drive Thru Index (drivethruindex.com) publishes the menu price of every item at every restaurant of the biggest fast food brands, collected each day from the chains' own ordering apps. As pricing becomes more data-driven, it exists so that customers can see what each restaurant really charges and how it compares with others nearby. It covers the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Mexico and the Netherlands. Brands are only compared with themselves, and prices are never converted between currencies. Its figures are free to quote with attribution: "Source: Drive Thru Index".
The images with this release are free to use with the credit "Image: Drive Thru Index (drivethruindex.com)".
Media contact: anthony@drivethruindex.com
Background sources
Not part of the release: reporting that backs up its one line of context, for questions from journalists.
- How restaurant loyalty programs can drive more traffic and improve experiences Restaurant Dive, 2024-08-15
Restaurant loyalty apps pull in customers' ordering history and preferences, to personalise offers and recommendations (the intro's apps and loyalty programmes). - Wendy's backtracks on dynamic pricing Restaurant Dive, 2024-02-28
Wendy's told investors it would test dynamic and AI-enabled pricing on digital menu boards from 2025, then said after a backlash that it would not raise prices at the busiest times (the intro's experiments with data-driven pricing). - Inside McDonald's push to have AI price your Big Mac CNBC, 2026-09-29
Reports a Reuters investigation into an AI tool that recommends menu prices to McDonald's restaurants; McDonald's says franchisees remain free to set their own prices. Not quoted in the release text; the page could not be fetched to check its wording, only its search listing.