Calculate your menu pricing and profit projections
To find the best menu price for your recipe, enter the cost per plate/portion and set your target gross margin %. Restaurants typically try to keep margins from 60-75% although this varies based on food concept and volume.
To find out how much profit you can expect on weekly/annual basis from this menu item, enter expected rate of sale below.
The Menu Cost Calculator is a dynamic tool that helps food businesses determine optimal pricing for menu items based on ingredient costs, target profit margins, and sales forecasts.
It consists of two main modules:
Menu Price Calculator – Calculates the ideal selling price for a dish based on your desired margin.
Profit Projection Calculator – Estimates weekly and annual profit based on expected sales volume.
This calculator is ideal for chefs, restaurateurs, cloud kitchens, cafés, caterers, and even food bloggers testing recipe monetization.
Instant Price Calculation – Get the right menu price in real-time by inputting cost and margin.
Gross Margin Targeting – Easily test pricing at different margin levels (e.g., 60%, 70%, 75%).
Profit Projection Tool – Estimate how much profit each dish brings weekly and annually.
Reset Anytime – Use the reset button to test multiple menu items or cost structures.
No Sign-Up Needed – Use it freely, without login or data storage.
Copy or Save Results – Easily save results to your menu planning document or POS system.
Accurate Pricing Strategy – Take the guesswork out of pricing dishes and increase profitability.
Margin Protection – Maintain healthy gross margins even when food costs fluctuate.
Forecast Financials – Understand how each dish contributes to your weekly or yearly profit.
Easy to Use – No Excel or software required. Designed for chefs, not accountants.
Saves Time – Calculate pricing and projections for multiple items in a fraction of the time.
Restaurant Menu Planning – Price new dishes before launching them.
Food Truck or Cloud Kitchen – Quickly evaluate which items to promote or drop.
Catering Orders – Calculate cost-per-head with desired margins.
Meal Prep Services – Ensure each box delivers sustainable profit.
Food Startups & Ghost Kitchens – Test different concepts with margin awareness.
Correct pricing is critical for restaurant survival. A menu item priced too low might attract customers but eat into your profits. On the other hand, overpricing can drive customers away. This calculator empowers you to:
Maintain healthy profit margins
React quickly to ingredient cost increases
Plan weekly or yearly profit targets
Justify prices to investors or stakeholders
Develop financially sustainable food concepts
Restaurant and café owners
Chefs and kitchen managers
Food startups and delivery-only brands
Hospitality consultants and menu engineers
Food bloggers monetizing recipes
Culinary students learning cost control
You run a bistro and your signature pasta dish costs $4.50 to make. You want a 70% margin:
Target Menu Price: $15.00
If you sell 80 per week:
Weekly Profit: $840
Annual Profit: $43,680
With this calculator, you can confidently set prices, monitor performance, and tweak your offerings to maximize ROI.
A menu cost calculator helps determine the ideal selling price of a dish by factoring in recipe cost and target profit margin.
It ensures your food prices cover ingredient costs, labor, and overhead while maintaining profitability.
It’s the total cost of all ingredients used to make one serving of a menu item.
The percentage of profit you aim to make on each item sold. Most restaurants target 60–75% gross margin.
Just update the recipe cost in the calculator and recalculate to see the new price or profit.
Profit = Menu Price – Recipe Cost.
Yes, enter your actual business weeks (e.g., 48 if you're closed during holidays).
Absolutely. It’s ideal for fast-paced businesses needing clear pricing on the go.
Definitely. It helps price efficiently without a physical front-of-house to influence pricing.
The UpStore platform offers mid-sized companies a full range of integrated business financial management features.