McDonald’s Fries Calories: 320 for a Medium, 480 for a Large

A medium order of McDonald’s World Famous Fries is 320 calories in McDonald’s USA nutrition data: 108.6 g of fries, 15 g of fat, 43 g of carbohydrate and 260 mg of sodium. A large is 480 and a small 230. The step that matters is medium to large: 160 extra calories for about half again as many fries.

Medium
320 kcal · 108.6 g
Large
480 kcal
Small
230 kcal
A plain red carton of thin golden french fries on a tray, with a few fries spilled beside it.
Every size is about three calories a gram, so the carton size is the whole decision.

Every size McDonald’s USA publishes

McDonald’s USA nutrition data, retrieved 23 September 2026 from mcdonalds.com. Weights are the sum of McDonald’s own ingredient weights.
SizeWeightCaloriesFatCarbohydrateFibreProteinSodium
Kids36.9 g1105 g14 g1 g2 g90 mg
Small78.0 g23011 g31 g3 g3 g190 mg
Medium108.6 g32015 g43 g4 g5 g260 mg
Large166.4 g48023 g65 g6 g7 g400 mg

Source: World Famous Fries (Medium), mcdonalds.com. A medium also carries 650 mg of potassium, 15% of the Daily Value, and no added sugar.

Size is the only variable

Every size works out at 2.9 to 3.0 calories per gram, so the calorie ladder is purely a weight ladder. A large is 57.8 g more fries than a medium, 1.53 times the weight, for 160 more calories. Two medium orders are 640 calories and 520 mg of sodium, more than a large on both counts.

Fries inside a meal

McDonald’s own meal pages count a medium fries at 320 in every total: the 10-piece McNuggets Meal is listed at 1,000 calories, which is 410 for the McNuggets, 320 for the fries and 270 for a medium Coca-Cola. A McChicken with medium fries and a medium Coke is 980, and the McChicken page breaks that down. Ketchup is listed as a default add-on and is not included in any of these figures.

Logging fries you did not order

Fries get eaten in fractions: half a large, a few from the table, the bottom of a child’s carton. None of those has a menu number. PlateLens logs what is actually on the tray from a photo or a sentence such as “half a large fries”, and the Dietary Assessment Initiative measured its calorie estimates at ±1.1% error across 180 weighed meals, a result the open-source Foodvision Bench replicated on 231 more.

The short version

Frequently Asked Questions

How many calories are in McDonald's medium fries?

A medium order of McDonald's World Famous Fries is 320 calories in McDonald's USA data, at 108.6 g, with 15 g of fat, 43 g of carbohydrate and 260 mg of sodium.

How many calories are in McDonald's large fries?

A large is 480 calories at 166.4 g, with 23 g of fat and 400 mg of sodium. A small is 230 calories and a Kids order 110.

How many calories are in two medium fries at McDonald's?

640 calories and 520 mg of sodium, which is more than one large order on both counts.

Can I eat McDonald's fries on a diet?

The sizes span 110 to 480 calories, so the size is the decision: a Kids order is 110 and a small 230. Every size is about 3 calories per gram.

Do McDonald's fries calories include ketchup?

No. McDonald's lists ketchup as a default add-on and excludes it from the fries figures and from its meal totals.

What is the easiest way to track fast-food fries and burgers?

Log what is on the tray, not what was on the menu: PlateLens works from a photo or a sentence such as "McChicken and half a large fries", which covers the fries eaten from a shared carton that no menu size describes. The Dietary Assessment Initiative measured its calorie estimates at ±1.1% error across 180 weighed meals, a result the open-source Foodvision Bench replicated on 231 more.

Where these numbers come from