Food cost calculator: what one plate really costs.
Add each ingredient the way you buy it — a 1 kg bag, a 2 litre bottle, a pack of 50 — and how much goes into one portion. The calculator converts the units, allows for trim and waste, and gives you the cost per portion, the food cost percentage and the price that hits your target. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How to calculate food cost per portion.
For each ingredient, divide the pack price by the pack size to get the cost of one gram, millilitre or piece; multiply by the amount in one portion; and divide by the yield — the share of what you buy that ends up on the plate after trimming, peeling or cooking loss. Add the lines and you have the plate cost. Divide it by the menu price (before tax) and you have the food cost percentage.
The example above is a 12oz flat white: 18 g from a $24 kilo of beans is $0.43, 180 ml from a $3.20 two-litre bottle of milk is $0.29, and the cup and lid are $0.18 — $0.90 in total. At $4.50 that is a 20% food cost and $3.60 of gross profit per cup.
What a good food cost percentage is.
Most full-service restaurants aim for a food cost of roughly 28–35% of menu price, with drinks and coffee usually much lower and premium proteins higher. The number that matters is your own target, set from your rent and labour: if labour and occupancy take 45% of sales, food cannot also take 40%. To price a dish from a target, divide the plate cost by the target percentage — a $3.30 plate at a 30% target needs an $11 menu price.
- Price from the target: menu price = plate cost ÷ target food cost %
- Check the mix, not just one dish: high-cost signatures can carry low-cost sides
- Re-run the numbers when a supplier price moves, not at year end
Why yield changes the answer.
A kilo of whole fish does not give you a kilo of fillet, and a case of lettuce loses its outer leaves. If only 60% of what you buy reaches the plate, every portion costs 1 ÷ 0.6 = 1.67 times the raw price. Leaving yield at 100% for trimmed or cooked items is the most common reason a calculated food cost looks fine while the real one does not.
From one plate to every order, automatically.
A calculator answers the question once. In Nonari each dish or drink is a recipe, so every order rung at the till takes its ingredients out of stock at their current weighted-average cost and posts the cost of sales at the same moment as the sale. Waste is written off with a reason, and the sales-by-item report shows each item’s margin every day — when the bean price moves, the margin on every coffee moves with it.
Food cost, kept live.
Recipes for dishes and drinks
Ingredients and quantities per item, in grams, millilitres or pieces.
Stock consumed as orders ring
Ingredients leave stock at weighted-average cost when the sale posts.
Waste on its own line
End-of-day and kitchen waste written off with a reason, reported as its own expense.
Margin per item
Sales by item with cost and margin, per outlet, every day.
POS on the same ledger
Tables, tabs or one counter; tips and service charge to their own accounts.
Unlimited users
Every cashier, server and manager included.
Frequently asked.
How do I calculate food cost per plate?
For each ingredient: pack price ÷ pack size × amount used ÷ yield. Add the lines to get the plate cost, then divide by the menu price before tax to get the food cost percentage. A plate costing $3.30 on an $11 menu price is a 30% food cost.
What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant?
Roughly 28–35% of menu price for most full-service restaurants, lower for coffee and drinks, higher for premium proteins. Set your own target from your labour and occupancy costs — the three together have to leave a profit.
How do I price a menu item from its food cost?
Divide the plate cost by your target food cost percentage. A $2.40 plate at a 30% target needs an $8.00 menu price; at 25% it needs $9.60. Then check it against what the market will pay and your menu mix.
What is yield in food costing?
The share of the purchased weight that reaches the plate after trimming, peeling or cooking. A 60% yield means each portion costs 1.67 times the raw price; ignoring it understates food cost.
How do I track food cost automatically?
Put each item’s recipe in a system where the POS and the stock share one ledger, so every sale consumes its ingredients at current cost and posts cost of sales immediately. Nonari does this for restaurants and cafes, with waste written off separately and margin per item reported daily.
Put the recipe in once and read the margin every day.
15-day free trial, no card. Load a few recipes, ring an order, and watch the cost of sales post with the sale.