Food cost calculator

Work out what a dish costs to plate, its food cost percentage, and the menu price that hits your target. Free, no sign-up.

Prices are per pack, the way they show on your invoice. Mix units freely: pounds and ounces, gallons and fluid ounces, cases and each.

How it works
Plate cost = sum of (pack price ÷ pack size × amount used ÷ usable %)
Food cost % = plate cost ÷ menu price
Price at target = plate cost ÷ target food cost %

Cost a dish

Ingredients (sample dish; change anything)
Plate cost
–
Ingredients per serving
Food cost
–
Of the menu price
Profit per plate
–
Before labor and overhead
Price at target
–
For your target food cost

Sample prices are for illustration only. The math runs in your browser; nothing is saved or sent.

How to calculate food cost percentage

For one dish

Add up what each ingredient in one serving costs, then divide by the menu price.

Food cost % = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100

To cost an ingredient, divide the pack price by the pack size to get a price per unit, multiply by the amount the recipe uses, then divide by the usable yield. Ground beef at $44.40 for 10 lb is $0.2775 an ounce, so a 6 oz double patty costs $1.67.

For the whole restaurant

Over a week or a month, the cost of what you used is what you started with, plus what you bought, minus what's left.

Food cost % = (opening inventory + purchases − closing inventory) ÷ food sales × 100

That needs a count at the start and end of the period, and every invoice in between. It's the number that tells you whether the menu prices are working in real life, after waste, comps and over-portioning.

Setting a menu price

Divide the plate cost by your target food cost. A $4.20 plate at a 30 percent target is $14.00. Round to a price that reads well on the menu, and check the dollar margin too: a dish with a higher percentage can still earn more per plate.

Keep it current

Plate costs drift every time a supplier changes a price. RestaurantBuddy watches every price on every invoice and keeps the plate cost and margin of each dish up to date, so you see the drift before it shows up in the month-end numbers. To see which dishes to feature, reprice or drop, try the menu engineering calculator.

Questions

What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant?

Many full-service restaurants aim for roughly 28 to 35 percent, with 30 percent a common target. Concepts built on premium proteins, like steakhouses and seafood, usually run higher; pizza and quick service often run lower. What matters most is your own trend and the margin in dollars each dish brings in.

What's the difference between plate cost and food cost percentage?

Plate cost is what the ingredients in one serving cost you, in dollars. Food cost percentage is that cost divided by the menu price. A $4.20 plate sold at $14 is a 30 percent food cost.

Why does usable yield matter?

You pay for the whole product, but trim, bones, peel and cooking loss don't reach the plate. If only 72 percent of a ribeye roll ends up as steaks, every usable pound costs the case price divided by 0.72.

Does this calculator save my recipes?

No. Everything stays in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. RestaurantBuddy keeps plate costs for your whole menu and updates them from every invoice.

More from RestaurantBuddy

Menu engineering calculatorSort every dish into stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs.Invoice readingForward or photograph invoices. No typing.Supplier price trackingEvery price watched, every supplier compared.Inventory counts by voiceTalk through the walk-in, get a count and an order list.

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