Menu price calculator

Menu price calculator: plate cost, food cost and the price to charge.

Type what you paid for each ingredient and how much goes on the plate. You get the cost of every plate, your food cost percent at your menu price, and the price that hits your target. Free, no sign-up, and it works for your whole menu.

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Cost your plates

Add one dish at a time. For each ingredient, enter what you paid, the pack size it came in, and how much goes on one plate. Pounds, ounces, grams, kilos, fluid ounces, cups, spoons, quarts, gallons, liters, each and dozen all convert for you.

How to use it

Set your target: Pick the food cost percent you aim for. It starts at 30%, a common rule of thumb.
Add a dish and its menu price: Name the dish and type what it sells for. Leave the price blank to just see the plate cost and a suggested price.
Enter each ingredient: What you paid, the pack size, and the amount on one plate. Count sides, sauce, oil and garnish too; they add up.
Read the results: Plate cost, food cost percent, the price at your target, and what is left after food cost. Add more dishes to see your whole menu.
Keep a copy: Download a CSV for your spreadsheet or print it. It also stays in this browser on this device.

The food cost formula

Ingredient cost per plate = what you paid × (amount on the plate ÷ pack size), with both amounts in the same unit.
Plate cost = all the ingredient costs on the plate added together.
Food cost percent = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100.
Menu price at a target = plate cost ÷ target food cost. At a 30% target, divide by 0.30.

Worked example: ground beef at $4.80 a pound with 6 ounces on the plate is 6 ÷ 16 = 0.375 of a pound, so $1.80. Say the whole plate comes to $3.60. At a $12 menu price, food cost is 3.60 ÷ 12 = 30%. To hit 28%, the price would be 3.60 ÷ 0.28 = $12.86.

Tips that change the number (advice)

Weigh the part you actually serve. Trim, bones and cooking loss mean a pound bought is less than a pound on the plate, so enter the price per usable pound when you can.
Use what you paid on your latest invoice, not last year's price, and check again when a supplier raises prices.
A dish with a high food cost can still earn well if it sells a lot and leaves good dollars after food cost. Look at both the percent and the dollars left.
Price drinks on their own: pour cost works the same way per ounce poured.

More free tools

Pour cost calculator: Cost per drink and the price to charge, from bottle price and pour size. Free, from Restaurant Owner Tools, our calculator site for owners.
What RightPlace costs against what you pay now: Add up the tools a room pays for each month for the waitlist, kitchen screen and more.

Questions owners ask

How do I calculate the cost of a plate?

For each ingredient, divide the amount on the plate by the pack size you bought, then multiply by what you paid. Add every ingredient together. The calculator does the unit conversions, so you can buy by the pound and portion by the ounce.

How do I price a menu item from food cost?

Divide the plate cost by your target food cost percent. A $3.60 plate at a 30% target is 3.60 ÷ 0.30 = $12.00. Then round to a price that fits your menu.

What is the food cost percentage formula?

Food cost percent = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100. A $3.60 plate on a $12 menu price is a 30% food cost.

What food cost percent should a restaurant aim for?

Around 30% is a common rule of thumb, but the right number depends on your prices, portions and what you sell most. Set your own target in the calculator and every suggested price follows it.

Does the calculator save my menu?

It saves in this browser on this device, and you can download a CSV any time. A free RightPlace account will save your menu costs so you can open them anywhere.