Restaurant Menu Price Calculator
How do you price a menu item so it actually makes money? Add up what goes on the plate, pick a target food cost percentage, and this restaurant menu price calculator gives you a suggested price, your gross profit per plate and the food cost you would run at today’s price. Most restaurants aim for a food cost between 28% and 35%.
Your dish
Enter what each ingredient costs you for one portion. The example is a burger plate. Replace it with your own costs.
Plate cost ÷ target food cost %, rounded up.
| Food cost % | Price |
|---|
How to use the restaurant menu price calculator
- List every ingredient on the plate. Use the cost for one portion. To get it, divide what you pay for a case or pound by how many usable portions you get from it (after trim).
- Pick an extras and waste buffer. Oil, garnish, sauce and trim rarely get measured. A small buffer keeps your plate cost honest.
- Choose a target food cost %. Lower targets mean higher prices and more gross profit per plate. Most sources put restaurants between 28% and 35%.
- Round the price. The calculator rounds up so you never price below your target.
- Check a dish you already sell. Enter today’s menu price to see the food cost you’re really running.
Worked example: the sample burger plate costs $3.60 in ingredients. With a 5% buffer the plate cost is $3.78. At a 30% target that is $12.60, rounded up to $13.00, which runs a 29.1% food cost and leaves $9.22 gross profit per plate. Those ingredient costs are placeholders, so swap in your own supplier prices.
Still planning the build-out? Start with the Restaurant Startup Cost Calculator, then read how much restaurant owners make to see why food cost matters so much to take-home pay.
Where these numbers come from
- The pricing formula (price = raw food cost ÷ target food cost %) and the 28% to 35% range: WebstaurantStore, Restaurant Menu Pricing. Its example: a $4.00 plate at a 28% target is $14.29, which you can round to a cleaner price like $14.50.
- Food cost % formula and the 30% to 35% rule of thumb: Toast, How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage. Toast also cites National Restaurant Association 2024 medians of 32.0% for full-service and 32.4% for limited-service restaurants, and examples like a $15 burger with a $4.50 ingredient cost (30%).
- The sample burger costs and the waste buffer are placeholders for you to replace, not published figures.
Food cost % is one lens. Labor, rent and what guests in your market will pay matter too, so test prices against your whole budget before you print the menu.
Restaurant menu pricing FAQ
Add up the cost of every ingredient in one portion to get your plate cost, then divide by your target food cost percentage. WebstaurantStore uses the formula price = raw food cost ÷ ideal food cost %. A $4.00 plate at a 28% target comes out to $14.29.
WebstaurantStore says most restaurants fall between 28% and 35%, and Toast calls 30% to 35% a common rule of thumb. Toast also cites National Restaurant Association 2024 medians of 32.0% for full-service and 32.4% for limited-service restaurants.
Plate cost is what it costs you to put one portion of a dish in front of a guest: every ingredient, plus the small stuff like oil, garnish and sauce. It is the number you divide by your target food cost % to set a price.
Divide what you pay for a case, pound or bottle by the number of usable portions you get from it after trim and cooking loss. Weigh a few portions in your own kitchen to get it right.
No. Most menus mix higher-cost items with lower-cost ones. Toast’s examples show a burger at 30% and a steak at 35%, and the steak still earns more dollars per plate. Watch the gross profit per plate, not just the percentage.
Turn one plate into a priced menu.
Not ready to buy? Grab the free Restaurant Starter Kit below, or try the free Restaurant Startup Cost Calculator.
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An opening roadmap, a startup budget worksheet and a plate cost cheat sheet. Free, instant download.
