How Much Does a McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish Cost?

Updated on July 22, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 11 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

A McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish commonly costs about $5 to $7 as a standalone sandwich in the United States, while a medium Filet-O-Fish meal with fries and a drink often costs about $9 to $12 before tax. The exact price is set by the selected restaurant, and a delivery-platform listing may be higher than the pickup price. Current examples include a $5.49 user-reported restaurant price, a $6.99 DoorDash sandwich listing in New York, and an $11.29 Uber Eats meal listing in the Chicago area.

The sandwich price is only the first number on the order. Changing from the sandwich to a meal, ordering the Double Filet-O-Fish, increasing the fry or drink size, adding dessert, choosing delivery, and leaving a tip can more than double the checkout total. McDonald’s does not publish one national price because participating restaurants and franchise operators use local menu prices. The selected store in the McDonald’s app is the most useful source for the amount a customer will pay that day.

The Filet-O-Fish is a breaded Alaska Pollock sandwich served on a steamed bun with tartar sauce and American cheese. It is sold year-round in the United States, while local deals and demand can change around Lent.

Article Highlights

• A standalone Filet-O-Fish commonly costs about $5 to $7.
• A medium Filet-O-Fish meal often costs about $9 to $12 (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 18 to 24 minutes, before taxes) before tax.
• McDonald’s does not maintain one national restaurant price for the sandwich.
• Delivery menu prices may be higher, with service, delivery, tax, and tip added later.
• A current 2 for $6 deal can save nearly 45% against two sandwiches priced at $5.49 each.
• Buying one $11.29 meal every week costs $587.08 per year before tax.
• The Filet-O-Fish is not part of McDonald’s permanent under-$3 value selection.

How Much Does a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish Cost?

Current public listings show why the range needs to remain broad. A McDonald’s in Haverstraw, New York, recently listed the sandwich at $6.99 on DoorDash. An Uber Eats listing for a Chicago Heights restaurant showed a medium Filet-O-Fish meal at $11.29. These are delivery-platform examples from named markets, not national prices or promises that the in-store menu will match.

A March 2026 Chicago-area discussion reported standalone prices from $4 to $7 across about a dozen restaurants, with no Filet-O-Fish deal visible at those stores. Another April 2026 discussion included a $5.49 local price, a reported 2 for $6 Lent deal in some markets, and a location-specific $2.50 promotion elsewhere. Those user-reported 2026 prices are anecdotal, but they show why one national figure cannot describe every restaurant.

What the Sandwich Includes

The standard sandwich contains one breaded fish patty, tartar sauce, American cheese, and a steamed bun. McDonald’s lists the U.S. Filet-O-Fish at 380 calories per sandwich. The company’s official meal page defines the Filet-O-Fish meal as the sandwich with medium World Famous Fries and a medium soft drink, which is why the meal price should not be compared with the sandwich-only price.

The fish used in U.S. restaurants is wild-caught Alaska Pollock. McDonald’s says each U.S. Filet-O-Fish comes from one of the world’s largest Marine Stewardship Council-certified fisheries through its fish sourcing program. That sourcing statement identifies the product but does not disclose the ingredient cost, restaurant margin, or formula used to set a local retail price.

The Double Filet-O-Fish should not be treated as a discounted two-sandwich bundle. It places two fish patties in one sandwich and may include a different cheese configuration, while two complete Filet-O-Fish sandwiches include two buns and two portions of sauce. Compare the exact app descriptions rather than assuming that the word “double” provides the same amount of food as two sandwiches.

Why Restaurant Prices Differ

McDonald’s restaurants use local pricing, which means two stores within the same metro area can display different amounts. Rent, wages, local demand, nearby competition, operating costs, taxes, franchise ownership, and the sales channel can all influence what appears in the app. A tourist-area restaurant, airport unit, highway location, downtown store, and suburban drive-through should not be expected to share one menu.

The Filet-O-Fish also sits outside the lowest permanent value tier. McDonald’s current McValue menu directs customers to locally available deals and value items, but the Filet-O-Fish is not listed as one of the permanent under-$3 selections launched in 2026. A customer seeking the sandwich at a value price normally needs a temporary app offer, a local restaurant promotion, a buy-one arrangement, or a seasonal Lent deal.

Do not compare a delivery listing with a restaurant counter price and call the difference regional inflation. The delivery amount may contain a higher food price before any service charge appears. A fair comparison uses the same restaurant, same item, same size, same time, and different fulfillment channels. Current McDonald’s menu prices can help place the sandwich beside burgers, chicken, fries, drinks, and other meals, but the selected restaurant remains the source of the final cart price.

Sandwich, Meal, or Delivery

The meal bundle may cost less than buying the sandwich, medium fries, and medium drink separately, but it is not automatically the least expensive way to eat. A customer who wants only the fish sandwich can spend several dollars less by ordering it alone and drinking water. Another customer may find a free-fries app offer that makes an à la carte sandwich cheaper than the listed meal. The comparison must be made inside the cart after the selected deal is applied.

Delivery introduces a separate price structure. McDonald’s states that delivery prices may be higher than restaurant prices and that fees vary by platform. The completed checkout can include the higher menu amount, delivery charge, service fee, small-order fee, sales tax, and driver tip. A headline offer such as free delivery may remove only one of those lines.

A single-item delivery order produces the weakest value because the fixed charges are spread across one sandwich. Adding food can reduce the fee per item, but it also raises total spending. Customers ordering a full household meal should compare McDelivery in the McDonald’s app with pickup from the same restaurant before assuming that a third-party promotion produces the lower total.

Three Filet-O-Fish Totals

Sandwich-only buyer: Use the current user-reported restaurant price of $5.49. One sandwich each week costs $285.48 (about 1.2 full-time workdays at $30 per hour) over 52 visits before tax. This buyer avoids fries, soft drinks, delivery fees, and order upgrades. The number is a habit calculation rather than a national McDonald’s price.

Weekly meal buyer: Use the current Chicago Heights delivery-platform meal listing of $11.29. One meal every week costs $587.08 over 52 purchases before tax or delivery charges. Choosing the $5.49 sandwich instead would save $301.60 over the year, a 51.4% reduction, though the customer would no longer receive fries and a drink.

Family meal stop: Four meals at the published $11.29 price cost $45.16 before tax and fees. Buying that order twice each month for one year costs $1,083.84. This is a transparent quantity calculation based on a real listed meal price, not a claim that a particular family placed the order.

Lent Deal Math

A local 2 for $6 Filet-O-Fish promotion changes the value sharply. At the reported regular price of $5.49 each, two sandwiches cost $10.98. The promotion reduces that to $6, saving $4.98, or 45.4%. Buying the offer once a week for six weeks would cost $36, compared with $65.88 at the reported regular price. The six-week saving is $29.88.

The same deal can lead to overspending when a customer buys two sandwiches only because the promotion exists. Someone who wanted one $5.49 sandwich spends another $0.51 to obtain a second. That is an inexpensive extra sandwich, but the checkout is still higher than the original purchase plan. The value judgment depends on whether the second sandwich replaces another meal, is shared, or goes uneaten.

Promotions are account-specific and restaurant-specific. Reports from March and April 2026 show some users seeing $2.50, $2.99, free-fries, or 2 for $6 offers while nearby customers saw no fish promotion at all. McDonald’s limits app offer use under its published deal rules, so the offer details, expiration time, participating store, order minimum, and redemption limit should be read before checkout.

App Rewards and Offers

The McDonald’s app can show restaurant prices, pickup options, McDelivery, rewards, and account-specific deals in one place. A customer should select the restaurant before comparing items because changing stores can change both the menu and the offer list. A discount visible at one address may disappear when the order is moved to another restaurant.

McDonald’s says customers can earn points on eligible purchases and redeem rewards through MyMcDonald’s Rewards. The Filet-O-Fish may not always be a direct reward choice, but points earned on fish-sandwich purchases can be used for eligible menu items. Rewards do not remove tax or delivery-related charges, and redemption options can change.

Build the cart around the deal before adding upgrades. A larger fry, specialty drink, extra sandwich, pie, or delivery switch can erase the apparent saving. This is the same checkout issue seen with current McDonald’s breakfast costs, where a low advertised bundle can become a larger order after swaps and additions.

When the Meal Is Poor Value

The Filet-O-Fish meal makes sense if:

• You want the sandwich, fries, and drink rather than buying unwanted sides for a deal.
• The app meal price is lower than the same three items ordered separately.
• A Filet-O-Fish deal applies at the selected restaurant.
• You choose pickup and avoid delivery charges that outweigh the convenience.

The meal makes less sense if:

• You mainly want the sandwich and would otherwise drink water.
• The order is being delivered as one low-value meal.
• An under-$3 McValue sandwich would meet the same need.
• You add large sides, dessert, and extras only after seeing checkout prompts.

A premium or novelty McDonald’s bundle can cost much more than one ordinary meal. Current Adult Happy Meal costs show how packaging, collectibles, delivery, and limited availability can move a fast-food order into a different budget category. Compare edible food value separately from promotional packaging or collectibles.

What We Verified

• Checked: McDonald’s lists the official Filet-O-Fish within its current U.S. menu but does not publish one national restaurant price.
• Confirmed: McDonald’s identifies the fish as wild-caught Alaska Pollock sourced from sustainable fisheries.
• Cross-referenced: The official meal description confirms that a Filet-O-Fish meal includes the sandwich, medium fries, and a medium soft drink.
• Verified: McDonald’s states that customers may use only one app deal per visit, subject to the terms of that offer.

Answers to Common Questions

How much does a Filet-O-Fish cost by itself?

A standalone Filet-O-Fish commonly costs about $5 to $7, but the exact amount depends on the selected McDonald’s restaurant and ordering channel.

How much is a Filet-O-Fish meal?

A medium meal commonly costs about $9 to $12 before tax. Delivery listings and higher-cost markets may exceed that range.

Does Filet-O-Fish get cheaper during Lent?

Some restaurants offer Lent promotions such as 2 for $6 or discounted app pricing. The deals are not available at every restaurant.

Is delivery more expensive than pickup?

It often is. Delivery menu prices may be higher, and the checkout can add service fees, delivery charges, tax, and tip.

Is the Filet-O-Fish on the under-$3 McValue menu?

It is not one of the permanent under-$3 selections. A temporary local or app promotion may still lower its price.