Recipe and Food Cost Calculator
Enter what you paid for each ingredient and how much the recipe uses, in grams, ounces, cups or each. You get the recipe cost, cost per portion and menu price, with every step shown. Nothing is uploaded, and recipes stay on this device.
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This calculator does the arithmetic on the prices and amounts you enter. It works out recipe (theoretical) food cost, not your actual food cost from inventory and sales. It does not look up supplier prices, tax rates or ingredient weights. Weight-to-volume conversions use the cup, tablespoon or teaspoon weight you enter, and real cup weights vary with how an ingredient is packed. US cup and spoon sizes follow NIST; the label option follows the US FDA rounding. VAT, GST and delivery commission figures are estimates from the rates you type, not tax advice. Check your figures before you set menu prices. Recipes are saved only in this browser and are not backed up, so export a CSV to keep a copy.
How it works
Add each ingredient with the pack you bought, its price and the amount the recipe uses. The calculator turns each pack price into a unit cost, adds up the lines, divides by portions and prices the dish at your target food cost %. Type your current menu price to see the food cost % and gross profit it gives you.
How we calculate it
The food cost formula: food cost % = cost per portion ÷ menu price × 100. Solved for price: menu price = cost per portion ÷ target food cost %. A dish that costs $4.07 a portion and sells for $12.99 has a food cost of $4.07 ÷ $12.99 = 31.3% (Egan, Introduction to Food Production and Service, Lesson 2.4, CC BY 4.0).
"Show the working" lists these steps with your numbers, in this order.
- Units. US customary factors from NIST: 1 lb = 453.59237 g, 1 oz = 28.349523125 g, 1 cup = 236.5882365 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.78676478125 mL, 1 tsp = 4.92892159375 mL. The US label option uses 1 cup = 240 mL, 1 tbsp = 15 mL and 1 tsp = 5 mL (21 CFR 101.9).
- Unit cost. Pack price ÷ pack size, per gram, millilitre or each. A $23.00 pack of 1 kg is $0.023 per g.
- Recipe amount. Converted to the same base unit. Weight and volume are bridged only with the weight you enter: density = weight of 1 cup ÷ mL in 1 cup. Count and weight are bridged only with the weight of 1 each. Without the bridge, the line is not costed.
- Yield. Amount to buy = recipe amount ÷ yield %. At 70%, 1,000 g ÷ 0.70 = 1,428.571 g, so you pay for the trim (BC Cook Articulation Committee, Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management, 3.2, CC BY 4.0).
- Line cost. Amount to buy × unit cost. 1,428.571 g × $0.023 = $32.86.
- Recipe cost. The sum of the costed lines, plus your misc allowance % if you set one.
- Cost per portion. Recipe cost ÷ portions.
- Menu price at target. Cost per portion ÷ target %. With VAT or GST on, the menu price is that × (1 + rate). Rounded-up prices (next quarter and next .99) are suggested with their food cost %, never applied for you.
- Delivery price. Cost per portion ÷ (target × (1 − commission)). With VAT on, (1 − commission) becomes (1 ÷ (1 + rate) − commission), because the app takes its cut from the price the customer pays.
- Your price. Net price = your price ÷ (1 + VAT rate), or your price when VAT is off. Food cost % = cost per portion ÷ net price. Gross profit = net price − cost per portion. After a commission, you keep net price − commission × your price.
Nothing is rounded until the final figure. Money is rounded to the nearest cent, half up.
Questions
What is a good food cost percentage?
There is no single right number. It depends on your concept, your labor costs and how much of your sales are drinks. The National Restaurant Association's 2025 operations report put the 2024 median at 32.0% of sales for full-service restaurants and 32.4% for limited-service. The calculator starts at 30%, and you can change it. If a dish runs near 50%, type your current price to see the gap, then read the price you would need at your target.
Is this my real food cost?
It is your recipe (theoretical) cost: what a dish should cost when it is made exactly to the recipe. Your actual cost over a period also includes waste, spoilage and over-portioning. That figure comes from your inventory: opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock, divided by food sales. A big gap between the two is worth looking into. This tool does not track inventory.
How do delivery app fees change my food cost?
The app takes a percentage of the price the customer pays, so the same dish costs a bigger share of what you keep. A dish that costs $1.40 and sells for $4.99 is 28.0% food cost in house. After a 30% commission you keep $3.49, and food cost rises to 40.0%. Enter the commission to see this, plus the delivery price that keeps your target ($6.65 at 30% in this example).
Why does it ask what a cup of my ingredient weighs?
A cup is a volume and a pound is a weight. The link between them depends on the ingredient. A cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of honey, and packed brown sugar weighs more than loose. Weigh one level cup once, enter it, and the tool converts exactly. Without it, the line is not costed. The tool never guesses. Australian and New Zealand cups and tablespoons are bigger than US ones, so enter those amounts in mL.
How do I keep costs current when supplier prices change?
Save each recipe. When an invoice price moves, open the recipe, change that pack price and save again. The cost per portion and menu price update at once. Export a CSV to keep a dated copy for Excel or Google Sheets. Recipes are saved only in this browser, so export anything you need to keep.