Food Cost Calculator
Work out cost per serving, food cost percentage and a menu price.
Please note: A planning estimate, not a forecast. It projects the figures you entered forward unchanged; real businesses see their rates, costs and volumes move, so revisit it as your actuals come in.
What the Food Cost Calculator does
Recipe costing divides the total ingredient cost by the number of servings, then works up to a menu price using a target food cost percentage. That percentage is the lever: dividing by 0.30 rather than multiplying by three is what makes the target hold.
Formula
Total cost = Sum of ingredients × (1 + Waste %)Cost per serving = Total cost ÷ ServingsMenu price = Cost per serving ÷ Target food cost %Gross margin = (Price − Cost) ÷ Price
Inputs explained
| Input | Unit | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingredient names | text | Yes | Separate values with commas, spaces or new lines. |
| Cost of each | text | Yes | The cost of the amount actually used, not the pack price. |
| Servings the recipe makes | number | Yes | Accepts 1 or more. |
| Target food cost percentage | % | Yes | Restaurants typically aim for 25–35%. |
| Waste and trim allowance | % | Optional | — |
| Currency | one of 10 options | Optional | — |
How to use it
- Choose Currency.
- Enter Ingredient names, Cost of each, Servings the recipe makes and Target food cost percentage.
- Optionally add Waste and trim allowance.
- Select Calculate.
Worked example
A recipe costing 9.90 in ingredients that serves four, at a 30% food cost target.
- Ingredients
- 5.00, 1.20, 2.50, 0.80, 0.40
- Servings
- 4
- Target
- 30%
Total 9.90, so 2.48 per serving. Divided by 0.30 that gives a menu price of 8.25, with 5.78 of gross profit per plate.
Frequently asked questions
What food cost percentage should I target?
25–35% for most restaurants. Fine dining runs higher on ingredients but charges more for service; high-volume operations push lower.
Why divide by the percentage instead of multiplying?
Because the target describes ingredients as a share of the final price. Dividing by 0.30 gives a price where the cost really is 30% — multiplying by 3 would give 33.3%.