Restaurant food cost calculator
Work out the food cost % of one dish, or of your whole kitchen for a month — and the menu price that hits your target food cost.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent or saved.
Result
Enter the plate cost and the menu price.
How to use it
- For one dish: enter what the ingredients for one plate cost, and the menu price before tax.
- Add a target food cost % to see the menu price that hits it.
- For a month: switch to “Whole kitchen” and enter opening stock, purchases, closing stock and food sales.
The formula
- Food cost % (dish) = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100
- Menu price for a target = plate cost ÷ (target % ÷ 100)
- Food used (month) = opening stock + purchases − closing stock
- Food cost % (month) = food used ÷ food sales × 100
Questions
What is a good food cost percentage?
It depends on your menu, prices and portion sizes, so there is no one right number. Set your own target from your costs and the profit you need, and check that it stays steady month to month.
Should the menu price include tax?
No. Use the price before sales tax or VAT, otherwise your food cost looks lower than it really is.
Why is my monthly food cost higher than my dish food costs?
The monthly figure also counts waste, staff meals, over-portioning and stock that went missing. A big gap between the two is worth looking into.
Is my data saved?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent or stored.
Related guides
- Restaurants
Restaurant food cost: how to calculate it and bring it down
Food cost is the biggest cost you can control every day. Here is how to work it out for one dish and for the whole kitchen, what the numbers mean, and ten ways to bring it down.
12 min read · Read the guide - Stock
Stock counting: how to find and stop stock loss
Every shop loses some stock. The ones that make money find out where, quickly. Here is how to count, what to do with the differences, and the controls that stop the leaks.
7 min read · Read the guide
More free tools
Profit margin & markup calculator
Work out profit, margin % and markup % from cost and price — or the price for a target margin.
Open the toolSales tax & VAT calculator
Add sales tax or VAT to a price, or take it out of a price that already includes it.
Open the toolFree invoice generator
Fill in a simple invoice, then print it or save it as a PDF. Nothing is stored.
Open the toolBreak-even calculator
How many sales a month cover your rent, salaries and other fixed costs.
Open the tool
Most useful for: Restaurants, Cafés & bakeries, Cloud kitchens.
Let your POS do these sums for you
Tajir Point costs each recipe from your ingredient prices and shows the cost per portion and food cost % next to the menu price. Free for 3 months, no card needed.