A value menu is a group of menu items at a

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

that are designed to be the least expensive items available. In the US, the items are usually priced between $0.99 and $2.99. The portion size, and number of items included with the food, are typically related to the price.

Examples

Arby's

Arby's Arby's is an American fast-food restaurant, fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants. The flagship property of Inspire Brands, it ranked third in systemwide sales in the United States in the quick-service and fast-ca ...

announced the launch of their value menu on April 9, 2010. Items on the value menu vary based on location, but typically include small or value size roast beef sandwiches, curly fries,

milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...

s, chicken sandwiches, ham and cheddar sandwiches, and turnovers.

Burger King

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

added a value menu in 1998 with items priced at 99¢ (

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

), . In 2002 and 2006, BK revamped its value menu, adding and removing products at 99¢, and later increasing some prices to $1.39. Many of these items have since been discontinued, modified or relegated to a regional menu option. The Burger King Whopper was the very first 99 cent burger and it revolutionized the 99 cent menu in the fast food industry.

McDonald's

After numerous attempts beginning in 1991, experimenting with a variety of menus and pricing strategies,

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

launched its first national value menu, the ''Dollar Menu'', in late 2002 in the United States. A new value menu was rolled out at McDonald's on January 4, 2018 in the United States. It featured a dozen items at various price points: $1, $2 and $3, with four items per price point. Originally, this menu no longer featured fries, which was criticized by '' Good Mythical Morning'' along with only a few items at the $1 price point. In Canada, fries are available for CA$2.49 on the McPicks menu. On May 13, 2024, news outlets have reported that McDonald's plans to launch a $5 value meal in the United States. The meal will reportedly include a sandwich (

McDouble The McDouble is a hamburger sold by the fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's. It is a variation on the double cheeseburger, consisting of two beef patties with one slice of cheese. The "McDouble" name was introduced in 1964, but the modern McDou ...

or McChicken), four

Chicken McNuggets Chicken McNuggets are a type of chicken nuggets sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. They consist of small pieces of reconstituted boneless chicken meat that have been battered and deep fried. Chicken McNuggets w ...

, a small fries and a small soft drink. In Canada, a similar meal is available for CA$5.79, without the four McNuggets. The $1 vanilla cone requires the McDonald's Canada app for Android or iOS. Medium and large soft drinks and iced coffee are also available for $1 with the app.
The snack size

Grimace Shake The Grimace Shake is a berry-flavored milkshake that was first sold at McDonald's restaurants in the United States, from June 12, 2023, to July 9, 2023, to celebrate the 52nd birthday of Grimace, the purple monster mascot from McDonaldland. ...

is also available for $2.

Subway

Subway offered a $4.99 footlong menu in the United States. The promotion began in 2004 as a $5 footlong menu ().

Taco Bell

In 1988,

Taco Bell Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired ...

lowered the prices of all new items and launched the first three-tiered pricing strategy and free drink refills. In 2010, Taco Bell introduced the $2 Meal Deals menu, featuring a menu item (i.e., a chicken burrito, a beefy 5-layer burrito, a

double decker taco The Double Decker Taco is an offering of Taco Bell restaurants. It is a regular hard-shell taco wrapped in a flour tortilla filled with refried beans. History The Double Decker Taco was introduced as a limited-run promotional item in 1995, and wa ...

, or a Gordita supreme), a bag of

Doritos Doritos () is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. The concept for Doritos originated at Disneyland at a restaurant managed by Frito-Lay. In 1966, Doritos became the first ...

, and a medium drink. On August 18, 2014, Taco Bell launched a new value menu called

Dollar Cravings Dollar Cravings (or $1 Dollar Cravings) is the value menu of American fast-food restaurant Taco Bell. Dollar Cravings was launched August 18, 2014 in reaction to the new McDonald's and Wendy's value/dollar menus. The current menu contains 13 food ...

that included eleven food items each priced a $1. On December 15, 2017, Taco Bell launched an advertising campaign called "The Belluminati" to advertise its Dollar Cravings menu.

Wendy's

Wendy's Wendy's International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of D ...

is generally credited with being the first fast food chain to offer a value menu in October 1989, with every item priced at $0.99 (). However, the general price for value menu items is now around $1.55.

References

External links

Fast Food Steps Up Value Menus
Bruce Horovitz, January 11, 2006.

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

, ''Money''. {{Meals_navbox Restaurant menus Fast food