Menu Costing Tool
Calculate exact food costs per dish and optimize your menu pricing for maximum profitability.
How Menu Costing Works
Enter your ingredients, costs, and target profit margin to determine the optimal menu price that ensures profitability while staying competitive.
💡 Quick Tips:
- •Typical food cost percentages range from 25-35% for most restaurants
- •Include ALL ingredients, even small amounts like spices and garnishes
- •Use wholesale prices, not retail prices from grocery stores
- •Don't forget about waste - add 5-10% to your ingredient costs
Recipe Costing & Ingredients
Recipe Costing
Add ingredients and their costs to calculate menu item pricing
💡 Industry sweet spot: 28-32% for most restaurants
💡 Pro tip: Include everything - even salt, pepper, and garnishes!
💡 Pro Tips for Accurate Costing:
- Name: Be specific - "Ground beef 80/20" vs "Ground beef" affects pricing
- Quantity: Use actual recipe amounts - 0.5 lb, 2 oz, 1 cup, 1 piece
- Cost: Use your actual wholesale prices, not retail grocery store prices
- Don't forget: Salt, pepper, oil, garnishes - small costs add up!
📚 Business Terms Explained
How to cost a menu item in four steps
Food costing is just working out what one serving of a dish costs you to make, then pricing it so that cost lands at a healthy share of the menu price. Here is the short version you can run for every item on your menu.
- List every ingredient. Include the small stuff like oil, spices, sauces, and garnishes. They add up faster than most owners expect.
- Use your real wholesale prices. Price each ingredient by the unit you actually buy it in, then scale it down to the amount used per serving.
- Add a little for waste. Trim, spillage, and the occasional mistake are real, so build in five to ten percent on top of your raw ingredient cost.
- Divide by your target food cost. If a dish costs you 3 dollars and you want a 30 percent food cost, your menu price is 3 divided by 0.30, which is 10 dollars.
Want the bigger picture on margins and pricing strategy? Read our menu costing guide and menu pricing guide, or price a full catering order with the catering pricing calculator.
Food costing questions, answered
What is a good food cost percentage?
For most food trucks and restaurants, 28 to 32 percent is the sweet spot. Below 25 percent and your prices may start to scare customers off. Above 35 percent and there is often not enough left to cover labor, rent, and profit.
How do I price a single menu item?
Add up what the ingredients for one serving cost you, then divide that number by your target food cost percentage written as a decimal. A 3 dollar plate at a 30 percent target prices out at 10 dollars.
What is the difference between food cost and food cost percentage?
Food cost is the dollar amount you spend on ingredients for a dish. Food cost percentage is that dollar amount divided by the menu price, shown as a percent. The percentage is the number you compare across your whole menu.
How can I lower my food cost without raising prices?
Buy in the right pack sizes, cut waste, tighten portions, swap a few of the most expensive ingredients, and lean on high margin add ons like drinks and sides to balance out your lower margin mains.
Is this food cost calculator free?
Yes. The calculator is completely free, there is no sign up, and you can export your results to a spreadsheet whenever you want.