McDonald’s customers ‘outraged’ over unexpected soft serve price hike: ‘Shocked me to my core’

McDonald’s Australia customers are up in arms after discovering an unexpected price hike on the popular Soft Serve Cone.

The dessert has always been proudly touted as a budget-friendly offering on the Macca’s menu, and for many years was famously priced as low as 30 cents a cone.

Most recently, the price of a soft serve cone has been 50 cents and featured on the Macca’s Loose Change Menu, where every menu item is priced under $4. Significantly, the Loose Change Menu operates nationwide from 10.30am to midnight.

However, one observant Aussie customer noticed how the price of Macca’s Soft Serve Cones increased outside the Loose Change Menu operating hours.

’95 cents [for a] Macca’s Soft Serve???’ the stunned customer posted in an online discussion forum, sharing a screenshot of the dessert listing on the MyMacca’s app.

‘I could have sworn these were 50 cents yesterday, what happened?’

The person explained that they’d looked up the price on the mobile ordering app in the early hours of the morning.

‘This was breakfast menu pricing, but what justifies this discrepancy?’ they questioned.

Daily Mail found that the price of Soft Serve Cones not only rose but also varied widely between different restaurants on the MyMaccas app before 10.30am.

Upon a closer look, the price at several Sydney locations varied, with $1.25 at the Wynyard station store, $1.35 at the Haberfield location and even as high as $1.55 at the Thornleigh store, which is adjacent to McDonald’s Australia Corporate Headquarters.

A McDonald’s Australia spokeswoman spoke to Daily Mail about the pricing of Soft Serve Cones. She explained that McDonald’s remains committed to offering ‘exceptional everyday value’ to its customers, and that their Loose Change Menu falls within this.

‘For more than a decade, customers have been able to access great value through our Loose Change Menu, which features fan favourite menu items priced at $4 and under – making it easy for customers to enjoy the items they love for less,’ she said.

‘As part of the Loose Change Menu, customers can enjoy a soft serve cone for just 50c, available from 10:30am to midnight every day across all restaurants nationwide.’

However, the vast price increase of Soft Serve Cones outside of the Loose Change Menu hours has caused bafflement in recent online discussion, with hundreds of comments flooding in.

Several store workers chimed in to try to explain the differing prices between stores.

‘Loose Change Menu pricing only applies between 10:30am and midnight,’ confirmed one store worker. ‘Outside those times it reverts to whatever that franchise owner wants to set.’

One Macca’s store employee said the price at his store was now at $1.50 outside of the Loose Change Menu operating hours, while another employee similarly explained: ‘They are technically $1.35 now at the store I work at’.

Even customers had noticed this price jump at certain times of the day, with one saying: ‘I’ve seen them after midnight in Brisbane for almost $2. Shocked me to my core.’

Another mused: ‘No idea why they’d charge so much more in the AM. If they don’t want people buying them for whatever reason, just say it’s not available until whatever time.’

Several replies to the discussion invariably lamented the good old days when a Macca’s Soft Serve was capped at the bargain price of 30 cents.

‘I remember when they were 30 cents,’ read one nostalgic reply.

‘I still call them the 30 cent cone,’ another agreed.

Another person wryly remarked that ’95 cents is a lot for a 30 cent cone’.

Others felt the price change was, sadly, a sign of the times and signified rising inflation pressures across Australian society as a whole.

One financially-minded person replied: ‘Well the median house price was $100k when cones were 30 cents… Compared to houses they should now be $2.50.’

‘The soft serve cone at Maccas is my definitive indicator for how the economy is going,’ another observed.

One person added: ‘In case you missed the memo, prices for everything have been increasing for years. Why would the humble soft serve escape that fate?’

‘It will be close to $2 by the end of the year the way everything else is going,’ another forlornly added.

The price dilemma comes hot on the heels of another recent customer disappointment involving the Macca’s Soft Serve Cone.

Just over a month ago, McDonald’s Australia quietly discontinued the option of a Chocolate Soft Serve Cone, which had been on the menu since 2021.

‘Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I think chocolate soft serve is basically gone from Macca’s in Australia. It’s disappeared from the menu everywhere I’ve looked – no announcement, no warning, just quietly vanished,’ a customer said on Reddit.

McDonald’s employees confirmed this to be true, with one sharing: ‘We were alerted that it was being discontinued, and once a store runs out, it’s gone for good.’

A McDonald’s Australia spokeswoman also confirmed to Daily Mail last month that the chocolate version was no longer available.

‘At Macca’s, we’re committed to serving great tasting, great value food that Aussies know and love. We regularly review and evolve our menu to keep it exciting and focused on what matters most to our customers,’ she told Daily Mail.

‘As part of this review, we’ve said goodbye to the Chocolate Soft Serve across restaurants nationwide from March 31, 2026.

‘But here’s the good news: there’s still plenty of delicious desserts to enjoy. From our iconic Soft Serve, McFlurry and Sundae flavours, we’ve got you covered.

‘We’ll keep listening to feedback and exploring new ways to bring more of what our customers love to menus across Australia.’