Free Tool — Food Cost Calculator
Food Cost Percentage Calculator
Enter a dish's ingredient cost and menu price to see its food cost % and profit per plate.
Food cost %
28%
Gross profit per dish
₹180.00
This is within the typical 28-35% range most restaurants target.
The single number every menu price should pass
Food cost percentage is the share of a dish's menu price that goes toward its ingredients. Most restaurants aim to keep this somewhere between 28% and 35%, though it varies by cuisine, format and how much labour goes into a dish versus raw ingredient cost.
Run each dish on your menu through this calculator when you're setting prices or when ingredient costs change. A dish with a food cost % far outside your target range either needs a price change, a recipe change, or is intentionally priced as a loss-leader — but you should know which one it is.
Food cost percentage formula
Food cost % = Ingredient cost per dish ÷ Menu selling price × 100. Gross profit per dish = Menu selling price − Ingredient cost per dish. If food cost is above 35%, the calculator flags the dish as above the typical 28–35% range.
How to use the food cost calculator
- 1List every ingredient in one portion of the dish with the quantity used.
- 2Multiply each quantity by your latest purchase price to get each ingredient's cost, then add them up. The Recipe Costing Calculator can total the ingredient costs for you and divide a batch by its number of servings.
- 3Enter the total in Ingredient cost per dish.
- 4Enter the Menu selling price of that dish, before GST.
- 5Read Food cost % and Gross profit per dish. A note below the results flags dishes above 35%.
- 6Repeat for each dish on the menu, and again whenever a supplier changes prices.
Worked example: food cost for a ₹320 paneer dish
A portion of paneer butter masala uses 150 g of paneer at ₹400 per kg (₹60), ₹22 of butter, cream and cashew, and ₹14 of tomato, onion, oil and spices, for a total plate cost of ₹96. Entered with a menu price of ₹320, the food cost calculator shows a food cost percentage of 30% (₹96 ÷ ₹320 × 100) and a gross profit of ₹224 per dish, inside the range most kitchens aim for.
A chicken biryani priced at ₹280 with ₹110 of ingredients comes out at 39.3%, and the calculator flags it as above range. To bring it to 32%, either raise the price to about ₹345 (₹110 ÷ 0.32 = ₹343.75, rounded up), which gives 31.9%, or keep ₹280 and bring the ingredient cost down to ₹89.60 (₹280 × 0.32), for example by adjusting the chicken portion or the yield you get from each kilo bought.
Food costing mistakes to avoid
- Leaving out small items. Oil, ghee, masalas, garnish, chutneys and complimentary sides all belong in the plate cost.
- Ignoring yield. Bone-in chicken, unpeeled onions and leafy greens give less usable weight than you buy, so cost the usable quantity.
- Costing at old prices. Use the rate on your latest supplier bill, not the rate from when the menu was set.
- Judging by percentage alone. A ₹600 dish at 40% food cost earns ₹360 a plate, more than a ₹200 dish at 25%, which earns ₹150.
- Costing a thali or combo by its main item only. Add every component, including rice, roti, dal, raita, papad and pickle, and enter the total against the combo price.
Food cost calculator FAQs
Food Cost % = (Ingredient Cost ÷ Menu Selling Price) × 100. A dish costing ₹70 in ingredients sold at ₹280 has a food cost of 25%.
Most full-service and quick-service restaurants target 28-35% food cost, but high-end ingredients, beverages and bakery items can run lower or higher and still be profitable once labour and overhead are factored in.
Common causes are portion sizes drifting larger over time, ingredient price increases that prices haven't caught up to, wastage in the kitchen, or recipes that were never costed properly to begin with.
No — this calculator covers raw ingredient (food) cost only. Labour, packaging and overhead should be tracked separately alongside food cost when deciding final menu prices.
Enter the price before GST. The tax on a bill goes to the government, so it is not part of what the dish earns you. If your menu prices include GST, divide by 1.05 for the 5% rate most restaurants charge: a dish listed at ₹315 is ₹300 before tax. Restaurants on that 5% rate cannot claim input tax credit, so enter ingredient costs including the GST you paid on them.
Theoretical food cost is what this calculator shows: the recipe cost of a dish against its price, assuming exact portions and no waste. Actual food cost covers a whole period: (opening stock + purchases − closing stock) ÷ food sales × 100. If your actual figure runs well above the theoretical one, the gap is going on wastage, over-portioning, staff meals or missing stock.
The two always add up to 100% of the menu price. A dish with a 30% food cost has a 70% gross margin, which the calculator shows in rupees as gross profit per dish, for example ₹70 on a ₹100 dish. Because only ingredients are counted, rent, salaries, gas and electricity still have to be paid out of that gross profit before the dish makes a net profit.
Yes, but enter what you actually receive for the dish rather than the price shown in the app. Take the listed price, subtract the platform commission and any discount you fund, and enter that figure as the menu selling price. The same recipe then shows a higher food cost percentage online than in your dining room, which tells you whether the online price needs to be set higher.
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