Mom of 4 goes to McDonald’s to buy hotcakes for her children. Then she looks at the price and realizes they need to share:’Cost of living these days’

An Australian mother of four shared a TikTok video after she picked up hotcakes at McDonald’s for her kids and said the price made her decide the children would have to share. On-screen text in the clip stated, “What is the cost of living these days,” and noted that two hotcakes had cost her $15, so she had the kids share them because she was certainly not buying four for $30.

The video, posted by Maddy, showed a close-up of a brown McDonald’s paper bag sitting on a gray table before a hand opened a white and yellow hotcake box that held three hotcakes. Additional on-screen text said she remembered when hotcakes used to be around $3.50 each.

In the caption, she wrote, “Maccas why so $$, love getting the kids hot cakes every once in a while but had it been that long that it’s now $7.50.”

McDonald’s Australia describes the hotcakes item and notes that prices can vary by location

McDonald’s Australia lists Hotcakes with Butter & Syrup on its website as a breakfast classic made up of three soft, fluffy hotcakes, a melting pat of whipped butter, and a generous pour of sweet hotcake syrup. The company states that pricing and availability may change by location. The official page does not publish one fixed national price for the product.

Nutrition information on the site lists approximately 595 calories for the standard portion, along with listed amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrates, sugars, and sodium. The ingredients section notes that the hotcakes contain wheat flour, whey powder, and egg powder, among other items, and that the product contains wheat, gluten, milk, and egg. The company adds that actual sizes and assembly can vary and that items may be prepared in shared kitchen areas.

The TikTok poster said in the on-screen text that she recalled a past price around $3.50 each while describing her recent purchase as $7.50. McDonald’s Australia has not published a single nationwide price that directly matches or contradicts the figure shown in the video. The company has stated that pricing may change by location, which leaves the final amount to individual restaurants.

Some viewers related to the cost complaint by sharing their own experiences with McDonald’s prices. One person who said they work at the chain wrote, “I work at McDonald’s and get embarrassed having to tell customers their small drink is 5 bucks.” Her frustration mirrors other shoppers comparing name-brand cereal prices with Aldi.

Others pushed back on the idea of buying hotcakes out. One commenter wrote that the hotcakes “are pree made and just microwaved. cheaper to make your own. and taste better too.” Another noted that people were “complaining about the price of going out when the homemade alternative is an extremely small fraction of the cost.” One shopper took a similar route after noticing Krispy Kreme prices had doubled and chose an alternative.

One viewer suggested the higher price might depend on the specific restaurant, writing, “Maybe try a different mcdonalds the private ones make their own prices and are more expensive usually than corporate ones !”