Food Cost Percentage Calculator
Enter what a dish's ingredients cost and the price you charge to get your food cost % instantly — and see how it stacks up against the 28–35% benchmark.
Per dish, or total food cost for a period.
Per dish, or total food sales for a period.
Food cost percentage
Food cost percentage tells you how much of every dollar of sales is eaten up by the ingredients on the plate. It's the single most-watched number in a restaurant kitchen, because small changes in portioning, purchasing, or pricing move it fast — and it flows straight to your bottom line.
To use the calculator, enter what the ingredients for a dish cost you and the price you charge for it. You'll get your food cost percentage instantly. You can also run it for a whole week or month by entering your total food cost and total food sales for the period.
What's a good food cost percentage?
Most full-service restaurants aim for 28–35%. Quick-service and pizza often run lower; steakhouses and seafood often run higher because premium proteins cost more. What matters most is that your number is stable and that your menu prices are set with it in mind. Working backwards from a target? Use the menu price calculator to price a dish for the food cost you want to hit.
| Restaurant type | Typical food cost % |
|---|---|
| Pizzeria | 20–28% |
| Quick-service | 25–30% |
| Full-service (casual) | 28–35% |
| Fine dining / steakhouse / seafood | 32–40% |
If your food cost runs high
The usual culprits are oversized portions, waste and spoilage, theft, under-pricing, or supplier price creep you haven't passed through. Re-cost your top-selling dishes first — that's where a one-point improvement is worth the most. Food cost is one half of your prime cost; the other is labor, which you can size up with the labor cost percentage calculator.
Benchmark ranges are widely-cited US full-service norms — treat them as typical ranges, not guarantees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related calculators
See all restaurant calculatorsMenu Price Calculator
Price any dish for profit from its plate cost and a target food cost percentage.
Labor Cost Percentage Calculator
Turn total labor cost and sales into a labor % you can compare against industry norms.
Break-Even Calculator
Find the revenue — and the number of covers — you need to cover every cost.
Profit Margin Calculator
Calculate net profit and net profit margin, and see how you stack up against the 3–9% range.
Prime Cost Calculator
Combine food and labor into your prime cost % — the single most-watched number in restaurant P&Ls.
Recipe Cost Calculator
Build a plate cost from an ingredient list and get your cost per portion, ready to price.
Table Turnover Calculator
See how many times you turn each table and the average dining time per party.
Pour Cost Calculator
Calculate beverage pour cost % for any drink and compare it to the 18–24% bar benchmark.
Tip-Out Calculator
Split a shift’s tips in seconds — support tip-outs off the top, then pooled by hours. Remembers your team.