The McDonald's Coffee Hack That Gives You Starbucks Flavor For Less Than Half The Price

When you want a little coffee treat to start off the day on the right foot or enjoy as an afternoon pick-me-up, you might consider swinging by a Starbucks. But these days, it's hard to call a Starbucks drink a small treat when the prices aren't small. The common alternative is to just make your coffee at home, but that doesn't work if you're on the go — and doesn't provide the same dopamine rush. The good news is, you can actually swing by McDonald's to get a coffee that tastes like Starbucks' caramel macchiato for half the price.

To make the copycat coffee, as Facebook user @domesticsuperhero revealed, you need to start by ordering an iced sugar-free vanilla coffee (though you can certainly order the regular vanilla coffee if you prefer a sweeter drink). Then, customize the drink by adding one pump of caramel syrup, one caramel drizzle, and a topping of cold foam to get the Starbucks taste. If you need an extra boost, she recommended adding an extra shot of espresso.

You can snag this order for cheap through the McDonald's app. If you have an account, one of the rotating deals offered is a 99-cent hot or iced coffee in any size (small, medium, or large). With the deal, the Facebook user reported that her large coffee only cost $2.44, which is several dollars cheaper than an unmodified venti caramel macchiato, which generally costs between $6 to $7.

The Starbucks copycat coffee recipe was praised by many social media users, some of whom tried the hack for themselves. "It's so freaking good," one wrote in the comments, while another added, "Been trying it, yesssss 10 out of 10." One also suggested that adding an extra shot of espresso makes the drink more latte-like.

The reaction isn't surprising, considering McDonald's has quality chain coffee, and many people, unrelated to the hack, admit to preferring it to Starbucks. "If I'm getting drive thru coffee, I get mcDs every time," a fan stated on Reddit. Another went further, writing, "McDonald's is not only better than Starbucks, it's the best coffee you can get in fast food." And the McDonald's value was consistently praised. Many, including those who don't think McDonald's has the best fast food coffee, argued the 99-cent deal is pretty unbeatable.

That said, McDonald's-goers pointed out that the 99-cent coffee deal isn't always available, so you may not be able to get it for as cheap. But if you're not near a Starbucks — or prefer McDonald's base coffee flavor — the copycat caramel macchiato will still likely hit the spot. Plus, depending on where you live, the caramel macchiato copycat sans the 99-cent deal may still be cheaper than your local Starbucks.