Free Food Cost Calculator for Restaurants
A free food cost percentage calculator for restaurants and small food businesses. Find out what percentage of your food revenue is going toward ingredient costs, and see how it compares to typical industry ranges.
Your Numbers (for one period)
Your Food Cost
Most full-service and quick-service restaurants target a food cost percentage of roughly 28-35%, though the right number varies by concept and menu.
How food cost percentage is calculated
Food cost percentage measures how much of your food revenue goes toward the ingredients themselves. The standard formula is:
Food Cost % = (Beginning Inventory + Purchases - Ending Inventory) ÷ Food Sales Revenue × 100
The result (Beginning Inventory + Purchases - Ending Inventory) is your cost of goods sold (COGS) for the period - what you actually spent on ingredients that were sold, rather than just what you purchased.
Why this number matters
Food cost percentage is one of the fastest ways to spot a pricing or waste problem. A number that's creeping upward over time usually points to portion inconsistency, spoilage, theft, or supplier price increases that haven't been reflected in your menu prices yet. Tracking it consistently - ideally with real-time inventory data rather than a monthly manual count - lets you catch the problem while it's still small.
Want to see how live inventory tracking and automated reporting can keep this number in check without manual spreadsheet work? Book a free demo.