Menu Pricing Calculator for Restaurants
Turn plate cost into a menu price — free, no signup, your numbers stay in your browser.
Food cost percentage is the share of a plate’s price that walks back out the door as ingredients. If a dish costs $4.20 to make and sells for $14, its food cost is 30%. That single number shapes the whole menu: price by gut feel alone and a packed Friday night can still lose money, plate by plate.
This calculator works the equation backwards. Enter what one serving costs you to make, pick the food-cost percentage you want to hit, and it returns the menu price that lands there — plus the same dish priced at the percentages owners commonly target, so you can see the whole spread before you commit to one. Many restaurants aim for a target somewhere around 28–35%, but the right figure depends on your concept, your portions, and your other costs. Treat the result as arithmetic, not gospel: it is only as honest as the plate cost you enter, so weigh and cost your servings first.
Pricing the whole menu by hand?
This calculator prices one dish at a time. The free RestoZign audit looks at the whole picture — your menu, your website, and your Google profile — and includes a free mockup of your site redesigned.
Price a dish
Same dish, priced at common targets
| Target food cost | Menu price |
|---|
Table prices are rounded to the nearest nickel.
Pricing is one page of the picture
A menu priced right still needs diners to find it. RestoZign designs restaurant websites with the menu up front — and it starts with a free audit + mockup of what your site could look like.
Menu pricing questions
What does food cost percentage actually mean?
It is the ingredient cost of a dish divided by its menu price, shown as a percentage. A plate that costs $4.20 to make and sells for $14 runs a 30% food cost. It tracks ingredients only — not the cook, the rent, or the lights.
What percentage should I target?
Many restaurants aim for roughly 28–35% as a common target range, but it is a range, not a rule. A steakhouse and a pizza shop carry very different ingredient costs, and a lower-priced dish can carry a higher percentage if the dollar margin still works. Use the table above to compare, then decide with your full cost picture in view.
Does this include labor?
No. This calculator works on plate cost — ingredients only. Labor enters through prime cost, which combines food cost and labor cost and is the bigger number owners watch week to week. Price the plate here first; prime cost is the next conversation.
How often should I reprice my menu?
Whenever your supplier costs move enough to change the math — a protein increase, a new vendor, a portion change. Recost your top sellers first, since they set the percentage for most of what leaves your kitchen, and rerun them here when invoices change.
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