Food Cost Calculator
Price menu items from their ingredient cost, or work out food cost percentage for a dish or a period.
About the Food Cost Calculator
Price a dish from its plate cost and your target food-cost percentage, or work out a period's food cost from inventory, purchases and sales.
Food cost percentage is ingredient cost ÷ selling price. Many restaurants target 28–35%, leaving the rest for labour, rent and profit. To price a dish, divide the plate cost by your target percentage. For a whole period, the cost of food used is opening inventory + purchases − closing inventory.
The formula
Menu price = plate cost ÷ target %; food cost % = cost of food used ÷ food sales
Worked example
A plate costing 4.50 at a 30% target
- Menu price: 4.50 ÷ 0.30 = 15.00
- Gross profit 10.50 a plate
Questions people ask
What's a good food cost?
Around 28–35% for most restaurants; lower for pizza and drinks, higher for steak and seafood.
What about prime cost?
Food plus labour; often aimed at 60–65% of sales.