Food cost %
Is this recipe healthy?
Good for comparing dishes with each other, and for spotting a portion that has crept up. It also shows when a supplier price change has quietly eaten your profit.
Free food cost calculator
Type your menu price and your plate cost. You get the food cost percentage, the profit in money and the price you should charge. Build a recipe from pack prices, or check a whole period from your stock counts. Pick your currency and start.
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Dish list
Price and plate cost, one line per dish
30.3%
Close to target
€ 8.71 profit · 69.7% margin
Price at target
€ 12.63
24.4%
On target
€ 6.80 profit · 75.6% margin
Price at target
€ 7.33
41.0%
Over target
€ 12.40 profit · 59.0% margin
Price at target
€ 28.67
34.1%
Close to target
€ 5.60 profit · 65.9% margin
Price at target
€ 9.67
32.7%
Close to target
€ 3.70 profit · 67.3% margin
Price at target
€ 6.00
14.5%
On target
€ 3.25 profit · 85.5% margin
Price at target
€ 1.83
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Needs price and cost
Price at target
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Plate cost means the ingredients on that one plate. Use prices without tax. Keep drinks in their own list, because drinks run at a much lower percentage.
Recipe cost
Build the plate cost from your pack prices
Cost
€ 2.27
Cost
€ 0.35
Cost
€ 0.36
Cost
€ 0.33
Cost
€ 0.12
Cost
€ 0.36
Cost
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Pack size and the amount you use must be in the same unit. Grams with grams, millilitres with millilitres, pieces with pieces. Waste % covers peel, trim and bones, so 1 kg of carrots gives you less than 1 kg on the plate.
Target price
What should I charge for this dish?
The same plate at other targets
- 20% € 18.95
- 25% € 15.16
- 28% € 13.54
- 30% € 12.63
- 33% € 11.48
- 35% € 10.83
- 40% € 9.48
Round the price up, never down. A price that ends in .95 or .50 reads better on a menu, and the few cents stay with you.
Period food cost
Check the whole kitchen, not one dish
Use the same weeks for all four numbers, and count your stock at the same time of day. Leave drinks out if you want a food-only answer.
Your dish list
4 dishes are over your 30% target. The highest is Grilled Sea Bass at 41.0%.
29.5%
Average food cost
The dark line is your target. Green is on target, amber is close, red is over.
- Dishes counted
- 6
- Average food cost
- 29.5%
- Average gross profit
- € 6.74
- Over your target
- 4
- Lowest food cost
- 14.5%
- Highest food cost
- 41.0%
Your numbers stay in this browser. Nothing is sent to us.
The formula
How to calculate food cost in three steps
Food cost percentage is the plate cost divided by the menu price. That is the whole formula. The work is getting the plate cost right.
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01
Add up the plate cost
Count every ingredient on that one plate. Take the pack price, divide by the pack size, multiply by the amount you use. Add a few percent for waste and trim.
pack price ÷ pack size × amount used
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02
Divide by your price
Take the plate cost and divide it by the menu price without tax. Multiply by 100 and you have your food cost percentage.
plate cost ÷ menu price × 100
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03
Fix the price or the plate
Compare the answer with your target. Over target? Change the portion, the supplier or the price. To get a price from a target, divide the plate cost by the target.
plate cost ÷ 0.30 = price at 30%
Benchmarks
What is a good food cost percentage?
Most restaurants work between 28% and 35%. Drinks sit far lower. Your own target depends on your rent, your wages and how many covers you do. These are the ranges the trade works with, not a rule.
A 38% dish can still be your best dish. If guests order it every day, it earns more money than a 22% dish nobody wants.
- Pizzeria
- 20–30%
- Fast food & takeaway
- 25–33%
- Café & coffee shop
- 25–35%
- Casual restaurant
- 28–35%
- Fine dining
- 30–40%
- Bakery
- 25–35%
- Cloud kitchen
- 25–32%
- Bar, drinks only
- 18–24%
Coffee on its own often lands under 20%. Meat and fish dishes run high, so check them on their own.
Two numbers
Food cost % or gross profit?
You need both. The percentage tells you if the recipe is healthy. The money tells you if the dish pays your bills. Read them together, every time.
Gross profit
How much money stays with you?
Menu price minus plate cost. This is what pays rent, wages and power. You pay those bills with money, never with a percentage.
The short example
A soup at €4.00 with 25% food cost keeps €3.00. A steak at €22.00 with 40% food cost keeps €13.20. The steak has the worse percentage and earns four times more.
Worked example
A cheeseburger with fries, line by line
Real pack prices, real portions, in euro. Copy the same shape for your own dishes and you will never guess a price again.
- Plate cost
- € 3.79
- Food cost
- 30.3%
- Gross profit
- € 8.71
At a 30% target the price works out at €12.63. Round it to €12.95 and the dish is on target with a little room for the next beef price rise.
- Beef patty — 1 kg pack €12.00, 180 g, 5% waste
- 2.27
- Bun — box of 48 €16.80, 1 piece
- 0.35
- Cheese — 1 kg €9.00, 40 g
- 0.36
- Salad & tomato — 1 kg €3.20, 90 g, 12% waste
- 0.33
- Sauce — 30 g
- 0.12
- Fries — 2.5 kg €4.50, 200 g
- 0.36
- Plate cost
- € 3.79
- Menu price
- € 12.50
What to do next
Six ways to lower your food cost
Start with the cheap ones. Most kitchens find two or three points without touching a single price.
Weigh your portions
A scoop that grew by 20 g costs you every single service. Scales on the line, not in the office.
Check pack prices monthly
Suppliers move prices quietly. Put the new price in your recipe and see which dishes went over target.
Use the whole product
Bones for stock, old bread for croutons, trim for the staff meal. Waste is money you already paid for.
Cut the slow dishes
A shorter menu means fewer part-used packs going off in the fridge. It also speeds up your line.
Count stock every week
A short weekly count beats a perfect monthly one. You cannot fix what nobody counts.
Show the team the numbers
One cook who free-pours cheese can push a whole section over target. Print the recipe card and stick it up.
Watch out
Six mistakes that give a wrong food cost
The formula is simple. Almost every wrong answer comes from the numbers you put into it.
-
01
Using the pack price as the plate cost
You put 180 g on the plate, not the whole kilo. Always divide by the pack size first.
-
02
Forgetting waste and trim
Peel, bones, burnt pans and the fish you dropped are all real money.
-
03
Leaving out the small things
Oil, butter, sauce, garnish and the pickle on the side add up fast across a service.
-
04
Working from an old supplier price
Last year's price gives you last year's answer. Re-cost your top ten dishes every month.
-
05
Mixing tax into the price
Use net prices on both sides. With tax in the price, every dish looks better than it is.
-
06
Judging food and drinks together
A coffee at 15% will hide a main dish at 45%. Keep the two lists apart.
Questions
Food cost questions
How do I calculate food cost?
Add up the cost of every ingredient on the plate. Divide that plate cost by your menu price, then multiply by 100. That is your food cost percentage. A plate that costs 3.79 and sells for 12.50 sits at 30.3%.
What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant?
Most restaurants work between 28% and 35%. Pizza and fast food often sit lower. Fine dining sits higher. Drinks are much lower, around 18% to 24%. Your own target depends on your rent, your wages and how busy you are.
How do I work out the food cost of a recipe?
Take the pack price, divide it by the pack size, then multiply by the amount you use. Do that for every ingredient and add them up. Add a few percent for waste and trim. Then divide by the number of portions the recipe makes.
What price should I charge for a target food cost?
Divide the plate cost by your target as a decimal. A plate cost of 4.00 at a 30% target gives 13.33. Round it up to a price that reads well on your menu, never down.
Is this food cost calculator free?
Yes. It is free, with no sign-up and no card. Your numbers stay in your own browser, so we never see them. Every core part of Tabres is free too.
Which currency can I use?
Any currency in the list. Search for yours, and every number on the page changes to it. The maths stays the same in every currency.
Should I use the price with tax or without tax?
Use the price without tax, and the ingredient cost without tax. If you mix them, every dish looks better than it really is. Keep the same rule for your whole menu.
Does Tabres help me with food cost?
Yes. You keep your inventory items, your suppliers and your purchase prices in Tabres, and you link ingredients to each product. Reports show your best sellers, your worst sellers and what is trending. All of it is free.
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