Calculate your food cost
Enter a dish’s cost and price — results update as you type.
Rule of thumb: aim for a food cost under ~30–35%. Enter your numbers above — nothing is stored.
What you get
Everything below is included — one app, one price.
Cost every recipe automatically
Skip the calculator per dish — Savrsoft prices whole recipes from your ingredient price book.
Food-cost % on every event
See food cost, margin and profit per guest across an entire event menu, not just one dish.
Import recipes fast
Snap a photo or paste a URL and AI builds the costed recipe for you.
Accurate units & yields
Metric/imperial and baking weight conversions keep your costing precise.
Best-price sourcing
Import supplier order guides and auto-pick the cheapest source per ingredient.
Menu pricing that protects margin
Set target food-cost % and price your menu to hit the margin you need.
How to read your food-cost percentage
Food-cost percentage is the cost of a dish's ingredients divided by its selling price. A $4.50 dish sold at $18.00 runs 25% — meaning a quarter of the menu price goes to food and the rest covers labor, overhead and profit. Lower is more profitable, but a very low number often means you are underportioning or could charge more.
To price from a target instead, divide the food cost by the target percentage: at a 30% target, that same $4.50 dish should sell for about $15.00. The calculator above works in both directions for you.
Typical targets vary by the kind of catering you do:
- Plated dinners and full-service catering — 28–35%.
- Buffets and drop-off — 25–32%, where volume offsets thinner per-plate margin.
- Canapés and bar snacks — often under 25%.
- Weddings and premium events — 30–38%, where presentation and staffing justify a higher food spend.
These are starting points, not rules — your real target depends on your labor and overhead. The value of costing every recipe in Savrsoft is that you see the actual number on each dish and each event, so you price from your own data instead of a rule of thumb.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate food cost percentage?
Food cost percentage = (cost of ingredients ÷ menu price) × 100. For example, a dish that costs $4.50 to make and sells for $18.00 has a 25% food cost. Aim to keep it under about 30–35%.
What is a good food cost percentage for catering?
Most caterers and restaurants target a food cost of 28–35%. Lower is more profitable, but very low can mean underportioning or overpricing. Savrsoft shows your food-cost % on every dish and event so you can price with confidence.
How do I price a menu item from its food cost?
Divide the food cost by your target food-cost percentage. At a 30% target, a $4.50 dish should sell for about $15.00 ($4.50 ÷ 0.30). The calculator above does this for you.
Can Savrsoft calculate food cost for a whole recipe or event?
Yes. Instead of one dish at a time, Savrsoft costs entire recipes from your ingredient price book and rolls costs up to a per-event P&L with margin per guest.
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