McDonald’s is branching out, people. For the first time, there’s a spin-off restaurant to the Golden Arches, and it’s called CosMc’s. But don’t expect to get a Big Mac or even fries at this new fast food joint — CosMc’s is all about fun, unique beverages as well as snacks and desserts that rival Starbucks and Sonic menus.
At a time when Starbucks prices are going up, Mickey D’s is coming for their customers with an expanded McCafe-type menu that's cheaper than Starbucks. CosMc’s estimated prices start at $1.49 for a drink (versus Starbucks, which starts at $2.95).
The first one of these new concepts just opened in the Chicagoland city of Bolingbrook, Ill. So what is happening at CosMc’s? What does CosMc’s menu look like, and what costs can we expect? Is this better than McDonald's breakfast? How many more of these restaurants are coming? We’ll tell you what we know.
CosMc’s is a McDonald’s spin-off with a menu that’s mostly drinks.
CosMc’s is big on drinks with fun flavors like Sour Cherry Slush and Churro Coffee. They've got bright colors and you can add stuff like boba, vitamin shots, or flavored syrups to just about anything. They’re looking to compete with Starbucks coffees and refreshers, plus Sonic’s sodas and slushes. Here are the categories of what CosMc’s has on the menu, according to the CosMc’s website:
Galactic Boosts: Four different specialty drinks that are fruity, energy-infused, and have additives like fruit syrups, boba, or vitamin C shots.
Iced Teas: Come in various flavors like black, green, herbal, or fruit-infused.
Lemonades: Range from simple lemonade to remixes like Tropical Spiceade.
Slushes: 3 different frozen, sweetened beverages made with crushed ice and flavored syrup.
Frappes: 3 different blended ice drinks, usually coffee-based, mixed with other ingredients like milk, sugar, and flavored syrups, often topped with whipped cream.
Hot & Iced Coffees: From simple brewed coffee to an Iced Turmeric Spiced Latte, there are 13 different varieties of coffee drinks.
Sandwiches
Bites: Small, sweet or savory snack-sized portions of food, often easy to eat with your hands.
Baked Goodies: Cookies and brownies.
Soft Serve: McFlurries, Sundaes, Cones, and Shakes made with the infamous ice cream machine.
Sodas: Carbonated soft drinks — which can get additives like flavor shots.
But CosMc’s also has snacks like a Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich and Pretzel Bites.
But it's not just drinks. CosMc’s has snacks too, including some McDonald’s favorites such as the Egg McMuffin, the Sausage McMuffin with Egg, the Bacon McMuffin with Egg, and McFlurries (Oreo and M&Ms).
In addition, they’ve introduced a number of brand-new snacks and desserts. Based on what we've seen on X, here are some of them, with price points:
Spicy Queso Sandwich: $4.99
Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich: $4.99
McPops (stuffed donut holes that come in Hazelnut, Cookie Butter, or Apple Cinnamon flavors): $3.79 each
Savory Hash Brown Bites: $2.39
Here are some other snack items listed on the CosMc's menu:
Blueberry Lemon Cookie Sundae
Caramel Fudge Brownie
Caramel Fudge Brownie Sundae
Lemon Blueberry Cookie
Pretzel Bites
Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookie
Snack Box (pepperoni, cheese, nuts, dried cranberries & crackers)
You’ll see some familiar low-priced McCafe menu items at CosMc’s.
Some of McDonald’s McCafe menu items are also available at CosMc’s. Although prices are hard to nail down at CosMc’s, you can pretty much expect these items to cost the same as McDonald’s: We reached out to McDonald’s to confirm these prices, and are waiting to hear back. We will confirm prices as soon as we know.
Cappuccino: $3.39 (Medium, 12 oz)
Latte: $3.39 (Medium, 16 oz)
Mocha: $3.39 (Medium, 16 oz)
Brewed Coffee: $1.49 (Medium, 16 oz)
Hot Chocolate: $3.39 (Medium, 16 oz)
Ice Cream Cone: $1.90
Shakes (vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry): $3.59
Sundaes (caramel or hot fudge): $3.59
Expect to spend 20-54% less than similar items at Starbucks.
When you compare similar drinks between McDonald’s McCafe and Starbucks, Mickey D’s is always cheaper. And not by a tiny amount, either — on average, McCafe drinks are about 37.6% cheaper than Starbucks drinks, ranging between 20% and 54% cheaper.
(Of course, if you don't have CosMc's nearby, there are other ways to save at Starbucks.)
Here are some of the CosMc’s drinks that compete directly with Starbucks:
Regular Coffee
McDonald's: $1.49 (Medium, 16 oz)
Starbucks: $2.95 (Grande, 16 oz)
49.5% savings
Hot Tea
McDonald's: $1.59 (Medium, 16 oz)
Starbucks: $3.45 (Grande, 16 oz)
53.9% savings
Iced Coffee
McDonald's: $2.00 (Medium, 16 oz)
Starbucks: $3.95 (Grande, 16 oz)
49.4% savings
Hot Chocolate
McDonald's: $3.39 (Medium, 16 oz)
Starbucks: $4.25 (Grande, 16 oz)
20.2% savings
Frappuccinos
McDonald's: $4.39 (Medium, 16 oz) for Caramel/Mocha Frappe
Starbucks: $5.65 (Grande, 16 oz) for Caramel/Mocha Frappuccino
22.3% savings
Caramel Macchiato
McDonald's: $3.19 (Hot) / $3.49 (Iced) (Medium, 16 oz)
Starbucks: $5.45 (Grande, 16 oz, hot or iced)
38.7% savings
Mocha
McDonald's: $3.39 (Medium, 16 oz) for Mocha/Caramel/Iced/Iced Caramel Mocha
Starbucks: $5.45 (Hot) / $5.65 (Iced) (Grande, 16 oz)
38.9% savings
Latte
McDonald's: $3.39 (Medium, 16 oz) for Latte/Caramel/Hazelnut/French Vanilla/SF Vanilla/Iced Latte
Starbucks: $4.95 (Grande, 16 oz) for Cafe Latte / $5.75 for Caramel Cafe Latte
36.6% savings
Cappuccino
McDonald's: $3.39 (Medium, 12 oz)
Starbucks: $4.95 (Grande, 16 oz)
36.6% savings
Americano
McDonald's: $2.79 (Medium, 16 oz)
Starbucks: $3.95 (Grande, 16 oz)
29.4% savings
Also: CosMc's sandwiches also cost about 28% less than Starbucks. For example, the Creamy Avocado Tomatillo Sandwich at CosMc's costs $4.99, while the comparable quality Turkey, Provolone & Pesto costs $6.95 at Starbucks.
McDonald’s is planning to have 10 CosMc’s open by the end of 2024.
Not anywhere near Chicago? Hopefully Texas is a little closer, because McDonald’s is planning to add 10 more CosMc’s restaurants in the Lone Star State in 2024 — in the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio areas.
These first CosMc’s will serve as pilot tests. That means — if they do as well as McDonald’s hopes, expect to see more of these restaurants announced.
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