What is my food cost percentage?
Type your food inventory, purchases and food sales for a period, or one dish’s plate cost and menu price. The food cost calculator shows the food cost percentage and the menu price that hits your target.
- Food cost percentage
- 30%
Your food cost is 30% of food sales.
- Cost of food used
- $3,000.00
- Gross profit on food
- $7,000.00
Food cost percentage: 30%. Your food cost is 30% of food sales.
How to calculate
Computes a restaurant’s food cost percentage for a period from inventory, purchases and food sales, or for one dish from its plate cost and menu price, and the menu price for a target food cost.
Example with the default inputs (Work out A period, Food inventory at start $16,000.00, Food purchases $4,000.00, Food inventory at end $17,000.00, Food sales $10,000.00): Your food cost is 30% of food sales.
Method: Period: food cost % = (inventory at start + purchases − inventory at end) ÷ food sales × 100. Dish: food cost % = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100; menu price for a target = plate cost ÷ (target ÷ 100).
- Inventory counts and purchases cover food only (no drinks, paper goods or cleaning supplies) and the same period as the sales.
- The plate cost is the ingredient cost of one serving as served, including garnish and waste you count in it.
- The target menu price is not rounded up to a menu-friendly number; round it yourself.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Work out A period, Food inventory at start $16,000.00, Food purchases $4,000.00, Food inventory at end $17,000.00, Food sales $10,000.00 gives Cost of food used $3,000.00, Food cost percentage 30%, Gross profit on food $7,000.00.Source: US Foods, Track Your Food Cost Percentage to Drive Revenue (food cost % = (beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory) ÷ food sales; $16,000 + $4,000 − $17,000 over $10,000 of sales is 30%). https://www.usfoods.com/tools-tips-and-ideas/articles-and-publications/articles/track-your-food-cost-percentage-to-drive-revenue
- Work out A period, Food inventory at start $8,250.40, Food purchases $12,480.75, Food inventory at end $7,930.15, Food sales $41,600.00 gives Cost of food used $12,801.00, Food cost percentage 30.771635%.Source: IRS Publication 334 (2025), chapter 6, Cost of Goods Sold (inventory at beginning + purchases − inventory at end). https://www.irs.gov/publications/p334
- Work out One dish, Plate cost $4.50, Menu price $15.00, Target food cost 30% gives Food cost percentage 30%, Gross profit per plate $10.50, Menu price for your target $15.00.Source: US Foods, Track Your Food Cost Percentage to Drive Revenue (ideal food cost % = total cost per dish ÷ total sales per dish). https://www.usfoods.com/tools-tips-and-ideas/articles-and-publications/articles/track-your-food-cost-percentage-to-drive-revenue
- Work out One dish, Plate cost $3.85, Menu price $12.50, Target food cost 28% gives Food cost percentage 30.8%, Gross profit per plate $8.65, Menu price for your target $13.75.Source: US Foods, Track Your Food Cost Percentage to Drive Revenue (ideal food cost % = total cost per dish ÷ total sales per dish). https://www.usfoods.com/tools-tips-and-ideas/articles-and-publications/articles/track-your-food-cost-percentage-to-drive-revenue
How it works
A period (actual food cost).
- Cost of food used = food inventory at start + food purchases − food inventory at end
- Food cost percentage = cost of food used ÷ food sales × 100
- Gross profit on food = food sales − cost of food used
One dish (ideal food cost).
- Food cost percentage = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100
- Gross profit per plate = menu price − plate cost
- Menu price for your target = plate cost ÷ (target ÷ 100)
Exact arithmetic. Every amount is read as the exact decimal you typed and every step is an exact fraction, rounded once for display.
Output format. Money shows in dollars and cents; percents show at most 2 decimals with trailing zeros left off; each is rounded half up from its exact value. The target menu price is that rounding of plate cost ÷ target; it is not rounded up to a price ending.
When there is no answer.
- Inventory at end more than inventory at start plus purchases (food used below $0).
- Food sales or the menu price of $0 (both must be above $0; the boxes refuse 0).
- Amounts so far apart in size that the percentage is beyond the largest number the page can hold.
Assumptions
- Inventory and purchases are food only and cover the same period as the food sales.
- The target food cost is above 0% and at most 100% (30% by default). Amounts are at most $1 trillion.
Worked examples by hand
US Foods’ example. 16,000 + 4,000 − 17,000 = $3,000 of food used; 3,000 ÷ 10,000 = 30%; gross profit $7,000.
Cents. 8,250.40 + 12,480.75 − 7,930.15 = $12,801.00; ÷ 41,600 = 30.77%.
A $4.50 plate at $15. 4.50 ÷ 15 = 30%; profit per plate $10.50; at a 30% target the price is 4.50 ÷ 0.30 = $15.
A $3.85 plate at $12.50, 28% target. 3.85 ÷ 12.50 = 30.8%; profit $8.65; target price 3.85 ÷ 0.28 = $13.75.
Other questions people ask
How do I calculate food cost percentage?
Food cost % = (food inventory at start + food purchases − food inventory at end) ÷ food sales × 100. With $16,000 at the start, $4,000 bought, $17,000 left and $10,000 of food sales, you used $3,000 of food: 30%.
What is a good food cost percentage?
US Foods puts the average at 28% to 32% for many full-service and limited-service restaurants. Fine dining often runs higher and quick service lower. Compare your own periods over time, not just one number.
How do I price a menu item from its food cost?
Divide the plate cost by your target food cost as a decimal. A dish with $3.85 of ingredients at a 28% target sells for 3.85 ÷ 0.28 = $13.75. Round up to a menu-friendly price yourself.
What is plate cost?
The cost of every ingredient in one serving as it goes out: the protein, sides, sauce and garnish, using what you pay per unit and the amount you use. It is the "total cost per dish" in the ideal food cost formula.
Why use inventory instead of just purchases?
Purchases alone count food you bought, not food you used. Adding the stock at the start and taking off the stock at the end gives the food actually used in the period, the same cost of goods sold rule the IRS uses.
What is the difference between actual and ideal food cost?
Actual food cost comes from inventory counts and sales for a period. Ideal food cost comes from plate costs and menu prices, as if nothing were wasted. A gap between them points to waste, theft or portion drift.