Published 2026-10-02
Same Big Mac, different price: $7.30 in Maylands, WA, $10.70 in Karratha, WA
As fast food pricing becomes more data-driven, Drive Thru Index published the pickup price of a Big Mac at 1,079 McDonald's restaurants across Australia on 1 October 2026. Away from airports and similar sites the dearest restaurant charges $3.40 (47%) more than the cheapest for the same burger; the typical restaurant charges $8.45.
Data as of .
Key facts
- A Big Mac costs anywhere from $7.30 to $10.70The median is $8.45, across 1,079 McDonald's restaurants in Australia.
- The same McDonald's order is cheapest in Victoria and dearest in the Northern TerritoryMedian for the same four items: $30.75 vs $34.95.
- Delivery costs 37% more than pickupAverage markup on the same items at the same McDonald's restaurants.
- The dearest McDonald's charges 47% more for a Big Mac$10.70 in Karratha, WA vs $7.30 in Maylands, WA, outside airports and similar sites.
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 said in August 2026 that across 70 markets it had nearly 220 million loyalty users active in the previous 90 days, and $40 billion in systemwide sales to loyalty members over the previous twelve months.
A Big Mac costs $7.30 at the McDonald's in Maylands, WA, but $10.70 at the McDonald's in Karratha, WA. That is a gap of $3.40, or 47%, for the same burger ordered for pickup on the same day.
Across all 1,079 restaurants, the median Big Mac costs $8.45.
By state and territory, a Big Mac is cheapest in Victoria, where the median restaurant charges $8.20, and dearest in the Northern Territory, at $9.65.
Among the eight biggest cities, the cheapest place for a Big Mac is Greater Melbourne, at a median $8.20 across 175 restaurants, and the dearest is Greater Brisbane, at a median $8.65 across 108 restaurants.
The whole order tells the same story. For the same four items at every restaurant (Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets - 10pc, McChicken and Medium Fries), the median McDonald's charges $31.50. The cheapest order is $28.60, at the McDonald's in Baxter, VIC; away from airports and similar sites the dearest is $40.95, at the McDonald's in Karratha, WA: $12.35 (43%) more.
By state and territory, the order is cheapest in Victoria (median $30.75) and dearest in the Northern Territory ($34.95).
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
A Big Mac costs $7.30 at the McDonald's in Maylands, WA, but $10.70 at the McDonald's in Karratha, WA.
The typical McDonald's in Australia charges $8.45 for a Big Mac.
Victoria is the cheapest state or territory in Australia for a McDonald's Big Mac (median $8.20); the Northern Territory is the dearest ($9.65).
The same four-item McDonald's order costs $28.60 in Baxter, VIC but $40.95 in Karratha, WA.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A Big Mac costs anywhere from $7.30 to $10.70 | The median is $8.45, across 1,079 McDonald's restaurants in Australia. | See the page |
| The same McDonald's order is cheapest in Victoria and dearest in the Northern Territory | Median for the same four items: $30.75 vs $34.95. | See the page |
| Delivery costs 37% more than pickup | Average markup on the same items at the same McDonald's restaurants. | See the page |
| The dearest McDonald's charges 47% more for a Big Mac | $10.70 in Karratha, WA vs $7.30 in Maylands, WA, outside airports and similar sites. | See the page |
| Cheapest Big Mac (restaurants) | $7.30 (1) | Maylands, WA |
| Most expensive Big Mac (restaurants) | $10.70 (1) | Karratha, WA |
| Cheapest order (restaurants) | $28.60 (1) | Baxter, VIC |
| Most expensive order (restaurants) | $40.95 (1) | Karratha, WA |
Median by state
| Area | Median | Restaurants |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | $8.20 | 275 |
| Australian Capital Territory | $8.40 | 19 |
| New South Wales | $8.45 | 338 |
| South Australia | $8.45 | 68 |
| Tasmania | $8.50 | 18 |
| Western Australia | $8.50 | 104 |
| Queensland | $8.70 | 247 |
| Northern Territory | $9.65 | 10 |
Biggest city areas
| Area | Median | Restaurants |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Melbourne | $8.20 | 175 |
| Canberra | $8.35 | 24 |
| Greater Adelaide | $8.45 | 56 |
| Greater Sydney | $8.45 | 160 |
| Gold Coast | $8.47 | 42 |
| Greater Perth | $8.50 | 76 |
| Newcastle | $8.55 | 31 |
| Greater Brisbane | $8.65 | 108 |
Methodology, about and contact
Drive Thru Index reads the menu of every McDonald's restaurant in Australia from the chain's own ordering app every day. These figures are the pickup price of a Big Mac (the burger alone, not a meal) on 1 October 2026, at 1,079 restaurants, in Australian dollars. Prices are not converted or compared with any other country. The cheapest and dearest restaurants leave out the 24 at airports and similar special sites, which are reported separately. State or territory medians need at least 5 restaurants; cities cover restaurants within 40 km of the city centre, where at least 10 restaurants were priced.
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. - McDonald's Q2 2026 earnings release (SEC Form 8-K, exhibit 99.1) McDonald's Q2 2026 earnings release (SEC Form 8-K, exhibit 99.1), 2026-08-04
McDonald's own figures for its loyalty programme, quoted in the McDonald's releases.