McDonald's Algorithmic Pricing Class Action
Did McDonald's Use AI to Raise Your Prices?
Did you buy a meal (or meals) at McDonald's any time in 2025? If so, you might not have paid a fair price. Clarkson Law Firm is investigating on behalf of consumers. If you bought McDonald's or have information about the price-fixing alleged in Clarkson Law Firm's case, we'd like to hear from you.
A class action filed in federal court alleges McDonald's used an algorithmic pricing tool to push menu prices up about 40% between 2019 and 2024. If you have bought food or drinks at a McDonald's in the U.S., fill out our form here and our team will review your information.
What the lawsuit alleges
- McDonald's runs a machine learning "pricing engine" that collects data from millions of daily transactions at corporate and franchised restaurants.
- The tool prices menu items for individual restaurants based on what nearby customers are estimated to be willing to pay.
- Franchise owners, who run about 95% of McDonald's restaurants in the U.S., are supposed to set their own prices independently, but they are allegedly pressured to follow McDonald’s algorithm-generated prices, and McDonald's allegedly tracks and polices who deviates.
- McDonald's own fact sheets show average menu prices rose about 40% from 2019 to 2024. The lawsuit says McDonald's told customers that the increases were due to rising costs.
Why this matters to you
For many families, McDonald's is the meal that fits the budget when nothing else does. You should not have to wonder whether a pricing algorithm, and not your local restaurant, decided what you pay at the counter.
Clarkson antitrust attorney Derek Brandt put it this way: “American consumers are stretched. The last thing they need is another group of businesses sharing data through an algorithm to ‘optimize’ the prices they pay.”
Who may be affected
Anyone who bought menu items at a McDonald's restaurant in the U.S.
Why speaking up matters
When a company's pricing practices go unchallenged, they continue. Your answer helps our attorneys understand how these prices affected real customers.
Who we are
Clarkson Law Firm is a national public interest law firm that holds large companies accountable for how they treat everyday people. Our attorneys filed this case on behalf of customers.
Tell us about your McDonald's visits
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It is important to know that a lawsuit must be filed within a certain period of time called a "statute of limitations." Therefore, unless you enter into a written representation agreement with Clarkson Law Firm, you should immediately consult with another lawyer to protect your rights.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A customer filed a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. It alleges McDonald's used an AI pricing tool, fed by sales data from corporate and franchised restaurants, to coordinate menu prices in violation of federal and Illinois law. These are allegations, and no court has ruled on them.
A class action is a lawsuit where a group of people who were harmed in the same way by the same company join together to hold that company accountable. Instead of everyone filing separately, you move as one, which gives individuals real leverage against large corporations.
No. Taking part does not cost you anything out of pocket. Any attorneys' fees come from a settlement or court award, and a judge must approve them.
Submit your information and we will review it, keep you informed, and tell you about any steps as the case moves forward. If a class is certified, you will be notified of your options.
Our team reviews your information to confirm you may qualify, and a member of our team may contact you by phone, email, or text to learn more. If the case moves forward and a settlement is reached, you may receive instructions on how to claim your share, typically by completing a simple claim form.
Submit your information anyway. Our team will review your situation and may speak with you about your experience. There is no obligation, and it costs you nothing to find out.
A few extra cents per meal does not justify a lawsuit on its own, so large companies rarely have to face consequences if they break the rules. Together, those cents add up to real money, and a class action is the way ordinary customers get a seat at the table.