After paying €6.40 ($7.18) for a Big Mac in France, a traveler posted a photo on Reddit's r/mildlyinfuriating and admitted the purchase felt like a ripoff because the burger looked so small they considered it smaller than a McChicken.
The original poster summed up the frustration in the post title: "'Big' Mac is now Little Mac."
Here's what to know
The photo showed the sandwich in the traveler's hand — and turned a single meal into a broader complaint about whether McDonald's best-known burger still lives up to its name.
In the comments, the conversation quickly turned into a debate over fast food value.
For many people in the thread, the €6.40 price tag in France made the post feel like another example of shrinkflation arriving alongside higher menu prices.
One French commenter acknowledged the chain was "way more expensive than eating at a real restaurant."
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"I stopped eating there when my usual order jumped from €12 [$13.50] to €17 [$19]." After complaining about "cold burgers and fries, plus missing items in your order," that same commenter called McDonald's "the ultimate scam."
"Baffles me that anyone either bothers with McDonald's anymore," the top comment read.
There was some pushback on the size complaint, and one commenter pointed to an older Snopes fact check as supposed proof to the contrary.
"Granted it's a couple of years old, but Snopes suggests that the Big Mac has not become smaller over time," they asserted.
The Snopes fact-check article does exist, but appears to primarily address the American Big Mac.
More background
The complaint centered on paying more and feeling like customers were getting less.
The original poster's comparison to a McChicken turned a single photo into a broader complaint about portion size and consistency.
That same sense that McDonald's had lost some of its old appeal appeared in comments from both France and the Netherlands.
One person in France said the chain had become "practically a religion" and added that shoppers skipped KFC, Burger King, and Quick in favor of it.
In the Netherlands, another commenter found it "baffling" that so many McDonald's locations still existed despite what they described as a bad "price/quality/quantity ratio."
Many comments suggested that a global fast food chain can keep drawing customers even as more diners concede they would rather spend their money elsewhere.
What can be done?
Several commenters said they had stopped going to McDonald's because it no longer felt cheap, fast, or dependable.
The commenter who watched a regular order rise from €12 to €17 said they had already stopped eating there.
The commenter who cited Snopes argued that not every complaint about size reflects an official change in the burger itself.
Commenters suggested comparing a burger's price with meals at nearby restaurants, considering other chains such as Burger King or Quick, or skipping the purchase when the portion didn't seem to be worth the current price.
Where can I learn more?
A pricey Big Mac in France sparked a bigger debate about McDonald's, shrinkflation, and what fast food really offers customers.
• In France, McDonald's rolled out reusable Happy Meal packaging as rules pushed chains away from disposables.
• Cadbury's CEO said UK chocolate bars got smaller after shoppers resisted higher sticker prices.
• New consumer research found shrinkflation beats lower quality when companies test how far buyers bend.
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