Free restaurant food-cost calculator
Calculate restaurant food-cost percentage, gross profit and target menu price.
Use the free ZestIQ food-cost calculator to compare current ingredient cost with menu price and estimate the price required to reach a target food-cost percentage.
Restaurant food-cost formula
Food cost percentage equals ingredient cost divided by menu price, multiplied by 100. A dish with $6.40 of ingredients and a $24 menu price has a food cost of 26.7 percent.
Use current supplier prices
A one-time calculation becomes outdated as purchase prices change. Connect invoice prices to ingredient units and recipes, then review menu items that move outside their target margin.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant?
There is no universal percentage. Operators should use category-specific targets and consider contribution margin, labour, waste and menu demand.
Should food cost include waste?
Recipe cost measures expected ingredients. Actual food cost is also affected by waste, over-portioning, receiving errors and count accuracy.