Restaurant Tools
Food Cost Calculator
Calculate your restaurant food cost percentage and gross profit in seconds. Enter the food cost of a dish or portion and its menu price to get an instant result.
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Food Cost Percentage
30.0%
Your food cost is 30% of the menu price.
Your food cost is higher than your menu price, which means the dish has a negative gross profit before other operating costs.
Want to calculate your target menu price?
Recommended Menu Price: $15.00
What Is Food Cost?
Food cost is the dollar cost of the ingredients used to prepare a dish; divided by the menu price, it gives the food cost percentage. It typically includes the raw ingredients in a recipe — proteins, produce, dairy, dry goods and other components — before cooking, plating or serving.
Restaurants track food cost because it is one of the clearest signals of how efficiently a menu is priced. A dish with a food cost that runs high relative to its price can quietly erode profitability, even when it sells well.
Food cost percentage connects directly to menu pricing: it shows how much of every dollar a customer pays goes toward ingredients, before labor, rent, utilities and other operating costs are factored in. Most operators review it dish by dish, and across the full menu, to guide pricing and purchasing decisions.
The math
Food Cost Formula
The food cost formula compares what a dish costs to make with what it sells for on the menu.
The formula
Food Cost divided by Menu Price × 100 = Food Cost %
Example: $4.50 ÷ $15.00 × 100 = 30% food cost.
Three steps
How to Calculate
Food Cost
Calculate the food cost
Determine how much the ingredients for the dish cost.
Determine the menu price
Use the selling price of the dish.
Divide food cost by menu price
Multiply by 100 to get the percentage.
For example, a dish that costs $4.50 in ingredients and sells for $15.00 has a food cost of 30%: $4.50 ÷ $15.00 × 100 = 30%. Want the full walkthrough? Read our complete guide to calculating food cost →
Batch recipes
How to Calculate Food
Cost Per Serving
Many recipes are prepared in batches rather than one portion at a time. To find the food cost of a single serving, divide the total cost of the recipe by the number of servings it produces. That per-serving figure is what you compare against the menu price when calculating food cost percentage for that dish.
The formula
Total Recipe Cost divided by Number of Servings = Cost Per Serving
Example: $45 recipe cost ÷ 10 servings = $4.50 cost per serving.
The relationship
Food Cost vs.
Gross Profit
Food cost and gross profit are two sides of the same calculation. Food cost is the ingredient cost of a dish; gross profit is what remains from the menu price once that food cost is subtracted. Gross profit here refers only to the amount left after food cost — it does not represent the restaurant's final net profit, since labor, rent, utilities and other operating expenses still come out of that amount.
The relationship
Menu Price − Food Cost = Gross Profit
Example: $15.00 − $4.50 = $10.50 gross profit, a 30% food cost.
The payoff
Why Food Cost Matters
for Restaurants
Menu Pricing
Food cost helps inform menu pricing decisions.
Profitability
Food cost affects gross profit per dish.
Portion Control
Consistent portions make food costs easier to control.
Waste Control
Reducing food waste can improve cost efficiency.
Use with judgment
What Is a Good
Food Cost Percentage?
There is no single food cost percentage that is correct for every restaurant. What works for a fast-casual counter with a simple, high-volume menu will look very different from a fine-dining room built around premium ingredients and a lower table count.
A restaurant's appropriate food cost target depends on its concept, menu mix, ingredient prices, labor costs, rent, pricing strategy, market and service model. Two restaurants can run profitably at very different food cost percentages, because the rest of their cost structure differs too.
You'll often see 30% used as an example food cost target, including in the calculator above — treat it as an illustrative reference point, not a rule. Many restaurants use food cost targets as part of their pricing and profitability strategy, but the appropriate target varies by concept, menu, market and operating costs. The most useful approach is to evaluate food cost alongside labor, overhead and other operating costs, rather than in isolation.
Worked example
Food Cost Example
In this example, a dish with $4.50 of ingredient cost is priced at $15.00 on the menu. Dividing $4.50 by $15.00 and multiplying by 100 gives a food cost of 30%. Subtracting the $4.50 ingredient cost from the $15.00 menu price leaves a gross profit of $10.50, before labor, rent and other operating costs. Enter your own numbers in the calculator above to get results for your dish.
Good to know
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a food cost percentage?
Food cost percentage is the portion of a menu item's selling price that goes toward the food cost of that item. It is calculated by dividing food cost by menu price and multiplying by 100.
How do you calculate food cost?
Divide the food cost of the dish by its menu price and multiply the result by 100.
What is the food cost formula?
Food Cost Percentage = Food Cost ÷ Menu Price × 100.
Is 30% a good food cost?
30% can be used as an example or target in some restaurant pricing strategies, but there is no universal ideal food cost percentage. The right target depends on the restaurant's concept, menu, ingredient costs and other operating expenses.
Does food cost include labor?
Food cost generally refers to the cost of food ingredients. Labor is typically tracked separately as a labor cost.
What is the difference between food cost and gross profit?
Food cost is the cost of ingredients associated with a sale, while gross profit after food cost is the menu price minus that food cost. Gross profit does not account for other operating expenses.
Can I use this food cost calculator for a recipe?
Yes. You can use the calculator with the food cost of a recipe, portion or dish and compare it with the selling price to calculate the food cost percentage.
Calculate Your Food
Cost in Seconds
Enter your food cost and menu price to get your food cost percentage and gross profit instantly.