Food Cost Calculator for Restaurants
This food cost calculator gives you each dish's plate cost, food cost percentage and margin from its ingredients and menu price. Then switch to Whole menu to see your menu's food cost weighted by what you actually sell. Free, no signup, nothing leaves your browser.
Calculator
Plate—Food cost—All results ↓Your whole menu, without typing
Cost your whole menu in a Google Sheet
Snap a photo of each recipe, paste a link from Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, or dictate it. FoodTechGuru builds a cost card per dish with ingredient prices for your country, then a menu Google Sheet with food cost %, menu mix and profit for every dish, graded Star, Plowhorse, Puzzle or Dog.
- New accounts get 15 free credits; one recipe uses one credit
- Food cost % colour-coded per dish, like the sheet on the right
- iPhone today, Android coming
Food cost formula
Plate cost = for each ingredient, price ÷ the quantity it's priced per × the amount in one portion, added up. Food cost % = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100.
Example: one plate of carne asada tacos uses 132 g of flank steak bought at $14.97 per 2 lb, so the steak costs $2.18. With tortillas, onion, cilantro, lime, oil and salt the plate costs $2.63. At an $8.00 menu price that's a 32.9% food cost and $5.37 left per plate.
Food cost percentage by dish
One average hides the problem dishes. In the example menu, three dishes sit above a 30% target: elote, carne asada and the quesadilla. Carne asada is also the best seller, so it pulls the menu's food cost up the most.
- Menu food cost % weighs each dish by how many you sell: total food cost ÷ total food sales.
- Average of dish %s treats every dish the same. Useful for spotting outliers, not for your P&L.
Need the % only? Use the food cost percentage calculator. Costing a batch? The cost per serving calculator splits it into portions.
Food cost calculator FAQ
Is this food cost calculator free?
Yes. It is free, needs no signup and runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
What is the formula for food cost?
Plate cost is the sum of each ingredient's price per unit times the amount in one portion. Food cost % is plate cost divided by menu price, times 100.
Why is my menu food cost different from the average of my dishes?
The menu figure is weighted by sales: a dish you sell 700 times a month counts more than one you sell 50 times. The simple average treats every dish the same.
What food cost percentage is good?
Many operators aim for roughly 25–35%, depending on the concept. Set your own target and the calculator flags dishes above it and suggests a price that hits it.
Can an app work out food cost for my whole menu?
Yes. FoodTechGuru for iPhone builds a cost card for each recipe from a photo, link or voice note, then a menu Google Sheet with every dish's food cost %, sales mix and profit. New accounts get 15 free credits; one recipe uses one credit. Android is coming.
Know the food cost of every dish
Photograph your recipes; get the cost cards and the menu sheet.
Download free on iOS