Food cost calculator
Enter a menu price and what each ingredient costs to see the food cost, the gross margin and a price range for one dish. Results update as you type.
Your dish
Enter its menu price, then each ingredient’s unit cost and how much the dish uses.
A 12-inch pepperoni pizza, with example prices rather than quotes.
Ingredients
Each line is unit cost × quantity. You can add up to 100 ingredients.
Unit cost from a case price
Suppliers sell by the case, bag or can. Divide what one costs by how much it holds, in the unit your recipe uses: 5 for a 5 kg case, or 5000 to price it by the gram.
A number in your recipe’s unit, such as 5 (kg) or 5000 (g).
Unit cost: enter a case price and how much it holds.
Results
This dish at —
Food cost
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Add a menu price and an ingredient cost to see how this food cost compares.
CA$0.00 of ingredients
- Gross margin
- —
- Margin
- —
- Price range at a 28–35% food cost
- —
Cost your whole menu
This tool costs one dish. Mezbano costs every recipe from your real ingredient prices, keeps it up to date as prices change, and brings it into your month end.
Request a demoNothing you type here leaves your browser. The calculator runs on your device: no numbers are sent to us, and nothing is saved.
How food cost is worked out
Food cost % = ingredient cost ÷ menu price × 100, using the price before tax. Gross margin is the price minus the ingredient cost, and the price range is the ingredient cost divided by 0.35 and by 0.28.
Example: a 12-inch pepperoni pizza with CA$4.10 of ingredients and a menu price of CA$15.99 has a food cost of 25.6% and a gross margin of CA$11.89. To land between a 28% and a 35% food cost it would sell for CA$11.71 to CA$14.64.
Mezbano marks a food cost good below 30.0% and high at 35.0% or more, the levels its restaurants start with.
Questions about the calculator
How do I calculate the food cost of a dish?
Enter each ingredient’s cost per unit and how many units the dish uses, then the menu price before tax. The calculator adds up the ingredients and divides by the price: CA$4.10 of ingredients in a CA$15.99 pizza is a 25.6% food cost.
How is the price range worked out?
It is the ingredient cost divided by 0.35 and by 0.28: the menu prices at which the dish would have a 35% and a 28% food cost.
My supplier sells by the case. What unit cost do I enter?
Divide the case price by how much the case holds, in the unit your recipe uses. A CA$80.00 case of 5 kg is CA$16.00 per kg, or CA$0.016 per gram. The “Unit cost from a case price” box on this page does the division for you.
Is the calculator free, and is anything saved?
It is free and needs no account. It runs in your browser: nothing you type is sent to Mezbano or saved.