Quarter Pounder with Cheese Calories & Nutrition Facts

520 calories Quarter Pounder with Cheese

Protein: 30g
Carbs: 42g
Fat: 26g
Sodium: 1,140mg

The Quarter Pounder and its variants, with published figures for each. It also has the best story in fast food about how customers understand fractions.

McDonald's publishes 4 versions of this, running from 520 calories (Quarter Pounder with Cheese) up to 740 calories (Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese).

Every published Quarter Pounder with Cheese version

Version	Calories	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)	Sodium (mg)
Quarter Pounder with Cheese	520	26	42	30	1,140
Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese	630	35	43	36	1,470
Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe	630	37	44	30	1,210
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese	740	42	43	48	1,360

How it compares

Published figures from each chain's own nutrition data.

McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese 520 calories

McDonald's Big Mac 580 calories Burger King Whopper (w/ Cheese) 770 calories Wendy's Dave's Single Cheeseburger 570 calories

Where the Quarter Pounder with Cheese came from

Introduced 1971

Al Bernardin, a franchisee in Fremont, California, introduced the Quarter Pounder in 1971; it went nationwide in 1973. The patty weighs 4.25 oz before cooking, which shrinks to about a quarter pound on the griddle.

A&W tried to compete in the 1980s with a third-pound burger at the same price and it failed — because a significant share of customers believed one-third was smaller than one-quarter, on the basis that 3 is smaller than 4.
Since May 2018 McDonald's has cooked Quarter Pounders from fresh beef with no added preservatives at its restaurants in the continental United States.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many calories are in a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?

520 calories, with 30g of protein.

How many calories are in a Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal?

1,110 calories with medium fries and a medium Coca-Cola, which is McDonald's own figure for the meal.

How many calories are in a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese?

740 calories.

Is a Quarter Pounder with Cheese higher in calories than a Big Mac?

No. The Quarter Pounder with Cheese is 520 calories and the Big Mac is 580.

Build a full meal

Add a Quarter Pounder with Cheese to a whole order and see the running total on the McDonald's calculator, or see every McDonald's item.

Having it as a meal? The Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal page has McDonald's own figure for the meal, plus the total with every drink and as a large.

More from McDonald's

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CalorieLookup.com is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by McDonald's. Nutrition figures on this page are McDonald's own published data (McDonald's USA nutrition information, read from the nutrition data behind mcdonalds.com's own product pages and Nutrition Calculator), last verified 2026-09-11. Historical details are drawn from public reference sources. Menu items and recipes change over time and vary by location — confirm with the restaurant before making dietary decisions.