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Free recipe cost calculator.
Add the ingredients you buy and what you pay for them, then build your recipe from them. Buy by the pound and cook by the ounce? It converts for you. Get your recipe cost, cost per serving, food cost %, gross margin, and a suggested menu price.
1 Ingredients you buy
What you pay, and how much comes in the package.
2 Your recipe
Pick ingredients from above and enter how much the recipe uses.
How to calculate recipe cost
Start with what you buy: each ingredient's price and package size gives its cost per unit. Then build the recipe: multiply each ingredient's unit cost by how much the recipe uses, and add them up. Divide by the number of servings to get cost per serving, then compare that to your menu price. The calculator does the unit conversions (lb to oz, gallons to fl oz, dozens to each) so you can enter amounts the way you buy them and the way you cook them.
- Cost per unit
- Package price ÷ package size
- Ingredient cost
- Cost per unit × amount used (in the same unit)
- Recipe cost
- Sum of every ingredient cost
- Cost per serving
- Recipe cost ÷ servings
- Food cost %
- Cost per serving ÷ selling price × 100
- Gross margin
- Selling price − cost per serving
- Suggested price
- Cost per serving ÷ target food cost %
What food cost percentage should you aim for?
Many restaurants aim for a food cost of roughly 28–35% on food items, and coffee shops often aim for 20–30% on drinks. Your right number depends on your rent, labor, and menu mix, so set your own target in the calculator and it will suggest a price that hits it, rounded up to the next quarter. Costing coffee drinks? The coffee drink cost calculator page shows how to cost espresso, milk, syrup, and cups.
Why your recipe cost goes stale
This calculator gives you today's cost. But supplier prices move every week, and one price change touches every recipe that uses that ingredient. That's why costing spreadsheets drift out of date and margins shrink without anyone noticing. RecipeMate reads your supplier invoices, updates ingredient prices, and recalculates every recipe on your menu, including sub-recipes like sauces and prep batches.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate food cost per serving?
Add up the cost of every ingredient in the recipe, then divide by the number of servings it makes. Each ingredient's cost is what you paid for the package divided by the package size, times the amount the recipe uses.
How do I convert purchase units to recipe units?
Convert both to the same unit first: 1 lb is 16 oz (about 453.6 g) and 1 gallon is 128 fl oz. The calculator does this for you within weight, volume, or count. Weight to volume (for example, pounds of flour to cups) needs the ingredient's density, so the calculator asks you to use matching units instead of guessing.
What's the difference between food cost % and gross margin?
Food cost % is the share of the selling price spent on ingredients. Gross margin is what's left after ingredient cost, in dollars or as a percentage. A 30% food cost means a 70% gross margin.
How do I price a menu item from its food cost?
Divide the cost per serving by your target food cost percentage. A dish that costs $3.00 to make, at a 30% target, should sell for at least $10.00. The calculator rounds the suggestion up to the next quarter.
Is this recipe cost calculator free? Is my recipe saved?
It's free and needs no sign-up. The math runs in your browser, and the calculator doesn't save or upload your recipe. To save recipes and keep them updated as prices change, become a RecipeMate founding member.
Keep every recipe costed, not just this one.
RecipeMate reads your supplier invoices and updates the cost of every recipe on your menu when prices change.
Become a founding member