Live tool
Food Cost Calculator
Estimate food cost percentage and gross profit from item cost and selling price before making pricing decisions.
Usable Unit Cost = Package Cost / (Package Size x Usable Yield %)
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Food Costing
Calculators and guides for recipe cost, food cost percentage, menu price, and margin checks.
Best starting point
Food Cost Calculator
Use this hub when you need to check ingredient cost, portion cost, food cost percentage, or pricing pressure before changing a menu item.
Best for
- Checking whether a recipe cost supports the current menu price.
- Comparing food cost percentage across plated items, packages, or specials.
- Finding the next guide or calculator for recipe costing work.
Common questions
- What does this recipe cost per portion?
- What food cost percentage does this selling price create?
- Does this menu price leave enough room for labor and overhead?
Start here
Food costing workflow
Food costing works best when the numbers move in order: recipe cost, portion cost, food cost percentage, and then menu price. Skipping the early cost work makes the final percentage less reliable.
| Step | Use when | Best starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Build recipe cost | You need the cost of one recipe, batch, item, or portion | How to Calculate Recipe Cost |
| Check food cost % | You know food cost and selling price and need the percentage | Food Cost Percentage Calculator |
| Review gross profit | You want to see dollars left after food cost | Food Cost Calculator |
| Set menu price | You know item cost but need a target selling price | Menu Price Calculator |
Common questions
Questions to answer before changing price
- Do the recipe cost and menu price describe the same portion or package?
- Are sides, sauces, garnish, bread, waste, and trim included in the food-cost input?
- Is the supplier price current enough to support a pricing decision?
- Does the item leave enough gross-profit dollars, not just an acceptable percentage?
- Should the item be repriced, resized, rebuilt, or reviewed with menu engineering?
Practical example
Recipe cost to menu price example
A kitchen costs a sandwich at $5.40 per portion. At an $18.00 menu price, the food cost percentage is 30.0% and gross profit before labor and overhead is $12.60.
If the target food cost is 30%, the price is on target. If the target is 28%, the Menu Price Calculator gives a higher suggested price, so the operator should review portion size, ingredient mix, or market fit before changing the menu.
| Checkpoint | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Recipe cost | Ingredient cost per portion | $5.40 |
| Food cost % | $5.40 / $18.00 x 100 | 30.0% |
| Gross profit | $18.00 - $5.40 | $12.60 |
| Target price at 30% | $5.40 / 0.30 | $18.00 |
Featured tools
Food Costing calculators
Start with a calculator when you already have numbers to check.
Live tool
Food Cost Percentage Calculator
Use the food cost percentage formula to compare food cost against the selling price for one item or package.
Food Cost % = (Food Cost / Sales Price) x 100
Open calculatorPractical guides
Food Costing guides
Use the guides when you need the method, assumptions, or examples behind the math.
How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage
Learn the food cost percentage formula, how to calculate it, and how to use the number when checking menu prices.
Read guideHow to Calculate Recipe Cost
A practical method for adding ingredient costs, yield, and portion cost before pricing a recipe.
Read guideRelated categories
Move to the next connected workflow when this calculation needs more context.
Catering Planning tools for guest counts, portions, buffet service, and catering price decisions. Recipe & Yield Recipe scaling, batch yield, portion changes, and production planning for kitchen teams. Kitchen Conversions Fast conversions for common kitchen units, batch changes, prep math, and purchasing checks.