Restaurant Food Cost & Menu Price Calculator
Price a menu item for profit. Enter ingredient cost, waste, labor, and packaging to get the full plate cost, your food cost percentage, and the menu price to hit your target.
Menu price breakdown
How you compare
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Get itPrice to a target food cost
Restaurants live and die on food cost percentage — ingredient cost as a share of menu price, often targeted around 28–35%. Working backward from your target tells you what to charge. But the full plate cost also includes labor and packaging, so the menu price needs to clear all three to leave real profit. Use it to rank which menu items actually make money.
How it’s calculated
Plate cost = ingredients (× waste) + labor + packaging. Food cost % = ingredients ÷ menu price; suggested price = ingredients ÷ target %.
Results update as you type and are estimates, not professional advice — verify important decisions with a qualified professional.
Worked example
A dish with $4 of ingredients (5% waste), 8 min of labor, $0.50 packaging costs $7.10 a plate; a 30% target suggests a $14 menu price.
Common mistakes
- Pricing on ingredients only and ignoring labor.
- Forgetting delivery-platform fees on the menu price.
Where it is used
- Pricing a menu item to a target food cost.
- Ranking which menu items actually make money.
Frequently asked questions
What's a healthy food cost percentage?
Many full-service restaurants target 28–35%, but it varies by concept. Lower is better if quality and portion hold.
Should labor be in plate cost?
For true profitability, yes. Food cost % traditionally uses ingredients only, but labor and packaging determine actual margin.
Why include waste?
Trim, spoilage, and over-portioning mean you buy more than you serve. A waste factor makes the cost realistic.
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