About the Big Mac Index

What is the Big Mac Index?

The Big Mac Index was invented by The Economist in 1986 as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are at their "correct" level. It is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), the notion that in the long run exchange rates should move towards the rate that would equalize the prices of an identical basket of goods and services (in this case, a Big Mac) in any two countries.

The burger was chosen because it is available in about 120 countries around the world. The Big Mac is a standardized product made in each country with similar ingredients, making it an ideal candidate for comparing prices across borders.

How Does It Work?

The Big Mac Index compares the price of McDonald's flagship burger across different countries. By converting local prices to US dollars at current exchange rates, we can see which currencies are overvalued or undervalued against the dollar.

About This Website

BigMacIndex.app is an independent project that provides daily-updated Big Mac prices using the latest exchange rates. We source our data from The Economist's official Big Mac Index and update currency conversions daily using Tokyo FX Market rates.

Our goal is to make this data more accessible and interactive, allowing users to:

• Compare prices across multiple countries
• View historical price trends
• Change the base country for comparisons
• Download data for research purposes

About Robert. W

Robert. W — Independent Developer & Editor · Australia

Hi, I'm Robert — an indie developer based in Australia. BigMacIndex.app is a side project I started in early 2026 to make purchasing power parity feel less abstract. I track Big Mac prices across 50+ countries and write short, footnoted explainers about what the numbers actually mean.

I'm not an economist by training. My background is in software — I've been shipping small data-driven web products solo for several years, and most of what you read on this site comes from one habit: pulling raw numbers myself, then explaining the result in language that non-economist friends will actually read.

I update the dataset roughly monthly. I don't consult, don't take sponsored placements, and link every chart on the site to the underlying data. If you spot a mistake, please drop me a line — corrections are credited inline.

Limitations

While the Big Mac Index is a useful tool, it has several limitations:

• Big Macs may not be perfectly comparable across countries due to local tastes and ingredients
• The index doesn't account for differences in labor costs, taxes, or profit margins
• McDonald's pricing strategies may vary by market
• Some countries don't have McDonald's restaurants

The index should be seen as a fun and accessible way to understand exchange rate theory, not as a definitive measure of currency valuation.

Data Sources

• Big Mac Prices: The Economist
• Exchange Rates: Tokyo FX Market (daily)
• Historical Data: TheEconomist/big-mac-data on GitHub

Methodology

Our data pipeline works as follows:

1. Big Mac Prices (Economist tier): Sourced from The Economist's official Big Mac Index publication, typically updated twice per year (January and July)
2. Exchange Rates: Updated daily using Tokyo FX market midday rates
3. Calculation: USD prices recalculated using current exchange rates
4. Editorial Research (gradual rollout): For countries the Economist doesn't cover, I run my own monthly research using McDonald's official market pages, local news, and reader-verified data
5. Publication: Data processed and published to our platform automatically

Where each data point comes from

Not every country has the same source. To stay transparent, every price on this site is tagged with one of four source tiers, shown as a colored dot next to the figure:

• Economist · Verified — the original number from The Economist's published Big Mac Index. Highest confidence.
• Editorial · High confidence — researched by us; multiple independent sources agree within 15%.
• Editorial · Researched — researched by us; one or two sources, recent enough to publish.
• Editorial · Tentative — single source or older than 12 months. Use with caution.
• Community · Verified / Unverified — reader-submitted prices, with verification status shown.
• No data yet — the country shows on the map in grey. Help us fill it in.

How I score confidence

For editorial and community-sourced data, I attach a confidence score (0–1) based on:

• McDonald's official menu page: +0.4
• Multiple independent sources agreeing: +0.3
• Local news reporting with date and city: +0.15
• Reddit thread with multiple corroborating commenters: +0.2
• Source older than 12 months: −0.3
• Single source only: −0.2
• Ambiguous price range (e.g., "₹200–250"): −0.15

Score floor is 0.3, cap is 1.0. The confidence value drives the badge color above.

How to contribute

If you have a recent local Big Mac receipt — or noticed a price on the site that doesn't match reality — I'd love a correction. The fastest channel:

• Email: [email protected] with a photo of the receipt or a link to the McDonald's local menu
• Reddit: comment on the country-specific data-gathering threads I post in local subreddits

Verified contributions are credited inline on the country page and in the source list.

Calculation Method

For each country, we calculate:

Example (Japan):

• Local Price: ¥480
• Exchange Rate: ¥152.38/$
• USD Price: ¥480 ÷ 152.38 = $3.15
• US Price: $5.79
• Implied PPP: ¥480 ÷ $5.79 = ¥82.90/$
• Valuation: (82.90 - 152.38) ÷ 152.38 = -46% (undervalued)

Update Frequency

Support this project

BigMacIndex.app runs on weekends and curiosity. If the site has been useful — for travel planning, currency research, or just settling an argument — a coffee goes a long way.

Buy me a coffee

Or — equally valuable — send a correction, share the site with someone who'd find it interesting, or open an issue on GitHub.

Academic References

• Pakko, M. R., & Pollard, P. S. (2003). "Burgernomics: A Big Mac Guide to Purchasing Power Parity." Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review.
• Clements, K. W., Lan, Y., & Seah, S. P. (2012). "The Big Mac Index Two Decades On." Economics Letters.

"The Big Mac Index was never intended to be a precise gauge of currency misalignment, merely a tool to make exchange-rate theory more digestible." — The Economist