Most restaurants don’t lose money on the dishes that don’t sell, they lose it on the ones that do. This free food cost calculator shows you what a plate actually costs to make, then tells you your food cost percentage and the price you should be charging to protect your margin.
Add your ingredients, enter what you sell the dish for, and you’ll see your true plate cost, your food cost percentage measured against industry benchmarks, your gross profit per plate, and a suggested menu price. No spreadsheets, no formulas to memorize, just the numbers that decide whether a dish makes you money or quietly costs you it.
See your food cost %, margin, and the price you should be charging.
It’s the share of a dish’s menu price that goes toward the ingredients to make it. You calculate it by dividing the plate’s ingredient cost by its selling price. A $5 plate that sells for $16 has a food cost of about 31%.
Most full-service restaurants aim for 28–35%, with around 30% a common target. Quick-service and pizza concepts often run lower, while steakhouses and seafood spots run higher because premium proteins cost more. The right number depends on your concept, the goal is consistency and knowing where each dish lands.
You enter each ingredient three ways: what you paid for the pack, how much that pack contains, and how much of it the recipe uses. The tool prorates the cost automatically, so a $12 bag of flour that yields 1,000g costs you $3.00 when a recipe uses 250g. Add your menu price and it returns your food cost percentage, profit, and a suggested price.
It works backward from a target food cost percentage (30% by default). It takes your total plate cost and divides it by that target, so a $6 plate at a 30% goal suggests a $20 menu price. Think of it as a floor that keeps your margin intact, not a ceiling, you can always charge more if the market supports it.
No. This calculator measures plate cost. Labor, utilities, rent, and waste are real costs, but they’re tracked separately as part of your prime cost and overhead. Food cost percentage is meant to isolate the ingredient side so you can price and portion with precision.
The calculator is free to use. Your ingredient figures stay in your browser and aren’t stored. When you unlock the full breakdown, you’re sharing your contact details so we can send your results and pricing tips while nothing about your recipes leaves your screen.
