Opinion

Your favorite fast-food app is playing mind games and charging you for the privilege

Delivery apps have mastered friction pricing that keeps upfront costs low and adds the real charges later

By Ted Jenkin Fox News

Published April 15, 2026 7:00am EDT

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Fast-food junkies. You didn’t suddenly get hungrier. You just got charged more.

Somewhere between tapping your phone and hearing that familiar "order complete" chime, your $8 fast-food meal quietly ballooned into $20 or more. And no, it’s not just inflation, it’s something far more calculated by the fast-food giants.

Welcome to the age of fee stacking. Yes. Just like Ticketmaster.

Let’s start with the latest and most egregious offender: the "small order fee." Sounds harmless, right? Almost reasonable. A "small" fee. If you don’t spend enough, there’s a little extra charge. No big deal.

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Except it is a big deal. For all hard-working Americans.

Because that "small order fee" doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It sits on top of a growing pile of charges including delivery fees, service fees, higher menu prices, taxes and tips. Before you know it, you’re paying steakhouse prices for a burger and........

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