Food cost percentage calculator
Food cost percentage is your ingredient cost divided by the selling price excluding VAT, times 100. This calculator strips the VAT out for you — which is the step most free calculators skip, because they were built for the United States where tax is added at the till instead of included in the price.
Food cost
30.0%
Gross profit
70.0%
Gross profit, cash
£8.46
Net selling price after 20% VAT: £12.08. All percentages are calculated against this, not the menu price.
Judge this against the cash, not just the percentage — a dish at 35% food cost returning £13 beats one at 25% returning £4.
Nothing you type here leaves your browser. No signup, no email, no limit.
The one mistake to avoid
Comparing a VAT-inclusive menu price against a VAT-free ingredient cost. It flatters your margin by a fifth, and it is the single most common costing error in British kitchens. A £14.50 dish is not £14.50 of revenue — it is £12.08.
The second mistake is costing at raw weight. A whole side of salmon does not weigh the same as the portions that come off it, so cost at yielded weight or every plate is under-costed.
Questions
- How do you calculate food cost percentage?
- Food cost percentage = ingredient cost ÷ selling price excluding VAT × 100. In the UK your menu price includes VAT, so divide it by 1.2 first. A £14.50 dish is £12.08 net; if the ingredients cost £3.62, food cost is 30% and gross profit is 70%, or £8.46 in cash.
- Why does VAT matter in a food cost calculation?
- Because VAT is not your money. Comparing a VAT-inclusive menu price against an ingredient cost overstates your margin by a fifth. Most free calculators online are built for the United States, where sales tax is added at the till rather than included in the price, so they get this wrong for UK operators.
- What is a good food cost percentage?
- Most UK kitchens target 25–35% for food and 18–25% for drinks, but the right number depends on your rent, labour and volume. Judge dishes on cash gross profit as well as percentage: a dish at 35% returning £13 beats one at 25% returning £4, because percentages do not pay wages.
- Is this calculator free?
- Yes. No signup, no email, no limit. It runs entirely in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored.
Doing this for every dish, by hand?
David AI costs your whole menu and re-costs it automatically when a supplier price changes. The software is free.