Free Food Cost Calculator
Work out the real cost of any dish: cost per portion, food cost percentage, gross margin and the price you need to hit your target. No accounting skills needed. Preview your sheet below, then get the PDF sent to your email.
1. Your dish
2. Ingredients
Enter the pack you buy (for example 5 lb for $18) and the amount the recipe uses. Units are converted for you.
3. Preview your PDF
Food Cost Sheet
Chicken burger
| Ingredient | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | 1500 g | $11.90 |
| Burger buns | 10 piece | $5.00 |
| Cheddar cheese | 150 g | $2.70 |
| Lettuce | 100 g | $0.40 |
| Mayonnaise | 6 tbsp | $0.67 |
| Recipe total | $20.68 | |
- Portions made
- 10
- Ingredient cost per portion
- $2.07
- Other cost per portion (packaging etc.)
- $0.35
- Total cost per portion
- $2.42
- Selling price
- $9.50
- Food cost %
- 25.5%
- Gross margin per portion
- $7.08 (74.5%)
- Suggested price at 30.0% food cost
- $8.06
Free. We send the PDF to your email.
What is food cost?
Food cost (also called food cost percentage, or COGS for cost of goods sold) is the share of a menu price that goes to ingredients. If a dish costs you $2.40 to make and you sell it for $9.00, your food cost is 26.7%. Tracking it dish by dish shows which items make money and which quietly lose it.
How to calculate it
- Add up the cost of every ingredient in the recipe.
- Divide by the number of portions the recipe makes.
- Add packaging or other costs per portion.
- Food cost % = cost per portion ÷ selling price × 100.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good food cost percentage?
Many restaurants aim for a food cost of roughly 28% to 35% of the menu price, but the right target depends on your concept, location and other costs. Use the target field in the calculator to see the price you need to reach your own goal.
How do I calculate food cost per portion?
Add up the cost of every ingredient the recipe uses, divide by the number of portions it makes, then add packaging or other per-portion costs. Divide that total by the selling price to get your food cost percentage.
Do I need accounting knowledge to use this?
No. Enter what you pay for each ingredient and how much the recipe uses. The calculator does the maths and shows the cost per portion, the food cost percentage, and the price you need to reach your target.
Do I need to convert units myself?
No. Enter the pack you buy (for example 5 lb for $18) and the amount you use (for example 1500 g). The calculator converts between weight units and between volume units. Weight, volume and pieces cannot be converted into each other.
Are my recipes stored on your servers?
Your figures are saved in your browser so you can come back to them. When you ask for the PDF, they are sent to our server only to create it and email it to you. We do not keep them in our database.
Want this for every dish, automatically?
Pixelorid Resto has a built-in COGS calculator for your whole menu, and Pixelorid POS shows your real profit after costs.
More free tools: Invoice Generator and all free tools.