🐻 Early access - all features free for now. No credit card, no limits, no paywalls. Help us shape the product.
MarginCub

Free food cost calculator

Enter your ingredients, quantities, and supplier prices. Get total recipe cost, cost per serving, and food cost percentage in real time - or set a target food cost % and get the menu price to charge. No login. Built-in unit conversion (oz, lb, g, kg, cup, tbsp, tsp, ml, l, each).

✓ No signup ✓ 10 unit types ✓ Auto food cost % ✓ Menu price from target % ✓ Mobile-friendly
Line cost
$0.00
Line cost
$0.00
Line cost
$0.00
Total cost
$0.00
Cost / serving
$0.00
Food cost %
-
Suggested menu price (at target %)
-
Gross profit per serving (at suggested price)
-

We'll keep what you typed and put it in your library right after signup. Free, no credit card.

28-32%
Target food cost % for casual dining restaurants
3-5%
Average net margin for independent restaurants - precision matters
10
Unit types supported (oz, lb, g, kg, cup, tbsp, tsp, ml, l, each)
$0
Cost during early access. No card. No limits.

How to use this calculator

Four steps. Two minutes. Works for any dish, baked good, or catering platter.

  1. 1

    Add each ingredient as a line

    Enter the ingredient name, the quantity used in the recipe, and the unit. Click "+ Add ingredient row" for as many lines as you need.

  2. 2

    Enter your supplier price + price unit

    Your price per unit (what you actually pay). Pick the matching unit. Buy chicken at $3.20/lb but use 8oz? The calculator converts automatically.

  3. 3

    Set servings (yield)

    How many portions does this recipe make? The calculator divides total cost by yield to get cost per serving.

  4. 4

    Check the price - either direction

    Have a menu price? Enter it to see your food cost percentage. Pricing a new dish? Set your target food cost % (30% by default) and read the suggested menu price and gross profit per serving.

The food cost formula (in plain English)

Food cost percentage is the simplest health metric in food service. It tells you what share of every dollar of revenue is going to ingredients.

Food cost % = (Cost per serving ÷ Menu price) × 100

Example: $4.20 cost per serving ÷ $14.00 menu price × 100 = 30.0% food cost.

The other side of the equation - what you keep:

Gross margin per serving = Menu price - Cost per serving

$14.00 - $4.20 = $9.80 gross per dish. That $9.80 still has to cover labor, rent, utilities, marketing, and profit.

Pricing a new dish? Run the formula backwards - pick the food cost % you want and solve for the price:

Menu price = Cost per serving ÷ (Target food cost % ÷ 100)

$4.20 ÷ 0.30 = $14.00 menu price at a 30% target. Aim for 25% and the same dish needs $16.80 - $2.80 more per plate from the same recipe.

For a deep dive on targets by business type, drift patterns, and a 30-day fix plan: How to calculate food cost percentage.

Food cost percentage targets by business type

Use the low end of the range for dishes with pricing power (signatures, items nobody nearby makes) and the high end for commodity dishes customers compare with the chain across the street.

Business type Healthy food cost % Why
Fine dining30-35%Premium proteins push plate cost up
Casual dining28-32%The classic zone most operators benchmark against
Fast-casual25-30%Tight portion control, simpler menu
Quick-service (QSR)25-30%Volume and pre-portioned product
Pizza (independent)25-35%Basic menus near 25%, premium toppings near 35%
Bakery20-28%Depends on how labor-heavy the items are
Bar drinks (pour cost)18-24%Liquor cost, not food; spirits run lower, wine higher
Catering28-35%High-volume buffets run up to 40%
Warning zoneAbove 35%Above every food range here except high-volume buffets - with labor at 25-35% of revenue, little is left for rent and profit

Worked example - chicken stir-fry

A 4-serving recipe priced at typical 2026 supplier rates.

Ingredient Qty Cost / unit Line cost
Chicken breast1.5 lb$4.80/lb$7.20
Bell peppers2 ea$1.20/ea$2.40
Soy sauce3 tbsp$0.20/tbsp$0.60
Garlic4 ea$0.10/ea$0.40
Jasmine rice1 lb$1.80/lb$1.80
Sesame oil2 tbsp$0.40/tbsp$0.80
Ginger, scallions-est.$0.80
Total recipe cost (4 servings)$14.00
Cost per serving$3.50
Menu price (sample)$13.00
Food cost %26.9%

26.9% is below the 28-32% target zone - this dish has room for either a small price drop (promo) or a slightly more generous portion before margin gets tight. Priced from a 30% target instead, the menu price would be $3.50 ÷ 0.30 = $11.67, with $8.17 gross profit per plate.

Who uses this calculator

Anyone whose price has to cover ingredient costs. The use cases below link to deeper guides.

Independent restaurants

Cost every menu item, hit the 28-32% target, recalc when chicken jumps 18%.

Profit margin breakdown →

Food trucks

Tight menus, tight margins, no back office. Food cost discipline is everything.

Food truck pricing guide →

Home bakers + cottage food

Use the multiplier model (3-5× ingredients) - decorated cookies, custom cakes, bread.

Cake pricing calculator → Sourdough calculator → Bakery pricing formula →

Caterers

Per-person pricing for events. Re-quoted for every order, every guest count.

Catering cost per person →

Ghost kitchens / delivery-app menus

Platform fees eat 15-30% of revenue - precision pricing or the kitchen runs at a loss.

Delivery-app strategy →

Menu engineering

Sort items into Stars / Puzzles / Plowhorses / Dogs based on popularity + margin.

Menu engineering matrix →

Average cost benchmarks for popular dishes

Reference cost cards for 50 popular dishes - average ingredient cost per serving and a sample menu price.

Pizza margherita → Beef burger → Chicken tikka → Caesar salad → Pad thai → Sourdough bread → Chocolate chip cookies → Pasta carbonara → Fish tacos → Ramen bowl → Pulled pork sandwich → Blueberry muffins →

See all 50 dish cost benchmarks →

Food cost calculator FAQ

What is food cost percentage?
Food cost percentage is the share of menu price that goes to ingredient cost. Formula: (cost per serving ÷ menu price) × 100. Casual dining targets 28-32%, bakeries 20-28%, independent pizza shops 25-35%. Above 35% is a warning sign: with labor at 25-35% of revenue, little is left for rent and profit.
How do I calculate menu price from food cost percentage?
Menu price = cost per serving ÷ (target food cost % ÷ 100). A dish that costs $4.20 per serving at a 30% target needs a $14.00 menu price ($4.20 ÷ 0.30). At a 25% target the same dish needs $16.80. Enter your target food cost % in the calculator above and it shows the suggested menu price and the gross profit per serving.
How do I calculate cost per serving?
Cost per serving = total recipe cost ÷ servings. A chicken stir-fry with $14.00 in ingredients that makes 4 plates costs $3.50 per serving. Count the portions you actually plate, not the ones the recipe promises - trim and shrinkage lower the yield.
Do I need an account to use this calculator?
No. The calculator is fully free with no signup required. Sign up only if you want to save recipes, export PDF cost sheets, or auto-recalculate when ingredient prices change. All paid features are unlocked free during early access.
How does unit conversion work?
Each ingredient line has two unit fields - the quantity unit (how much you used) and the cost unit (how it's priced). The calculator converts between them. So you can buy chicken at $3.20/lb and use 8oz in a recipe; the math handles the conversion. Supported units: oz, lb, g, kg, cup, tbsp, tsp, ml, l, each.
What is a good food cost percentage?
Targets vary by segment:
  • Fine dining: 30-35%
  • Casual dining: 28-32%
  • Fast-casual: 25-30%
  • Quick-service (QSR): 25-30%
  • Pizza (independent): 25-35%
  • Bakery: 20-28%
  • Bar drinks (pour cost): 18-24%
  • Catering: 28-35%
Sustainably profitable food businesses keep prime cost (food + labor) at or below 60% of revenue.
Should I include packaging and delivery costs?
For takeout-heavy or delivery-app menus, yes. Add a separate line for packaging at the per-unit cost (a clamshell box might be $0.12). For dine-in only, skip packaging - it falls under operating supplies, not food cost. Delivery-app commissions (15-30%) should be modeled at the menu level, not in this tool.
Does food cost include labor and overhead?
No. Food cost percentage counts ingredients only - labor and overhead are tracked separately. Food plus labor is called prime cost; profitable operators keep it at or below 60% of revenue. If your own time is the main cost (home bakers, custom cakes), use the cake pricing calculator, which adds hours × hourly rate and a markup.
How accurate is the calculator?
Exact for the math. Total cost = sum of (qty × cost per unit) across lines, with unit conversion. Real-world drift comes from yield loss (trim, evaporation, breakage, overcooking shrinkage) - usually 5-15% depending on the dish. For precise costing, multiply your raw ingredient cost by 1.10-1.15 to account for typical yield loss.
Can I use this calculator for catering or wedding cake pricing?
For catering, yes - calculate per-person cost and apply a typical 28-35% catering food cost target to set per-head pricing. For wedding cakes, pricing as a multiple of ingredient cost breaks down (decorating skill is the constraint, not ingredient cost) - price per serving instead, typically $6-25 per serving depending on design complexity. See the bakery pricing guide for the breakdown.
Does the calculator save my data?
Only when you click "Save this recipe". Signed in, the recipe goes straight to your library; otherwise we keep what you typed and add it right after a free signup. Without saving, a refresh starts over. Saved recipes recalculate when an ingredient price changes. During early access there are no recipe limits, no PDF gating, and no credit card required.

Going beyond a one-shot calculation

This page is great for a single recipe. Real food businesses have 50-200 recipes that share ingredients - and when chicken jumps 18%, every dish using it should recalculate at once. That's what an account gets you.

  • ✓ Unlimited saved recipes
  • ✓ Sub-recipes (sauce → 5 dishes, all linked)
  • ✓ One-click recipe scaling (4 → 40 servings)
  • ✓ PDF cost sheets for kitchen + management
  • ✓ Menu engineering matrix (Stars / Plowhorses / Puzzles / Dogs)
  • ✓ Auto-recalc when one ingredient price changes
Sign up free Browse 9 pricing guides

Early access. No credit card. No limits.