Food cost calculator: price every dish for profit
For restaurants, cafes, bakers, caterers and food trucks. Enter what you pay your suppliers, build your recipes and see the cost per portion, your food cost % and the menu price that hits your target. Free, no sign-up, nothing uploaded.
Recipes
Menu at a glance
Ingredient library
Enter each item the way you buy it: pack size, unit and the price you pay. Yield % is what is left after trimming and waste (a head of lettuce at 75% means a quarter is thrown away). Density lets you use cups or spoons for things you buy by weight.
CSV import format
Any supplier price list or invoice export with a header row works. Platesprig looks for a name column (name, item, product, description), a price column (price, pack price, cost) and a pack size, such as 25 kg, 12 x 1 l or 6x400g, either in one column or split into quantity and unit. Optional columns: yield and density. Items with the same name are updated; new items are added.
Item,Pack size,Price,Yield Ground beef 80/20,10 lb,52.90, Romaine lettuce,1 kg,4.10,75 Brioche buns,12 x 1 each,7.80,
Price-change impact PRO
A supplier raises a price: see every dish it touches (including through sub-recipes), how much each plate cost moves, the new food cost % and the price that gets you back to target.
Price-change impact is part of Platesprig Pro, along with sub-recipes, the menu matrix and CSV import.
Menu engineering matrix PRO
Enter how many of each dish you sold in one period (from your till or POS report). Each dish is sorted by popularity and by gross profit per portion into Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles and Dogs.
How the 70% popularity rule works
With n dishes, an even share of sales would be 100% ÷ n each. A dish counts as popular when its share of the items sold is at least 70% of that even share (for 4 dishes: 70% × 25% = 17.5%). A dish counts as high profit when its gross profit per portion (menu price without tax, less food cost) is at or above the average across everything sold, weighted by sales. Stars are high on both, Plowhorses are popular with low profit, Puzzles are profitable but slow, and Dogs are low on both.
The menu engineering matrix is part of Platesprig Pro.
Your data
Everything is saved in this browser only. Nothing is uploaded.
Costing your whole menu?
Platesprig Pro: unlimited recipes and ingredients, sub-recipes for sauces and doughs, the menu engineering matrix, price-change impact, supplier CSV import and cost cards without the footer. $5/month or $39 once.
How it works
- Add your ingredients. Pack size, unit and what you pay, plus yield % for trim and waste. Grams, kilos, ounces, pounds, millilitres, litres, cups and spoons all convert for you.
- Build each recipe. Quantities per batch and how many portions it makes. Platesprig shows the cost per portion and what each ingredient adds to the plate.
- Price it. Enter your menu price to see the food cost %, or take the suggested price for your target, rounded to .49, .95 or .99. Print a cost card for the kitchen.
Platesprig vs other recipe costing tools
| Tool | Price | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Platesprig Free | $0 | 5 recipes, 25 ingredients, food cost %, suggested prices with rounding, plate cost chart, printable cost cards; no account, works offline, nothing uploaded |
| Platesprig Pro | $5/month or $39 once | Unlimited recipes, sub-recipes, menu engineering matrix, price-change impact, supplier CSV import/export, JSON backup |
| meez | Starter $19/month billed annually or $24 monthly; Pro $89/$119; Premium $179/$199 | Full recipe platform for professional kitchens, with team and training features |
| Apicbase | From €249/month | Back-of-house management suite for multi-site groups |
| Recipe cost spreadsheet templates | $2.99 to $3.99 once (Gumroad) | A spreadsheet you fill in yourself; no sub-recipes, impact report or menu matrix built in |
Rival prices checked 2 Oct 2026 from the linked pages (meez from its pricing page; Apicbase via GetApp and the Gumroad templates from search summaries). Prices can change; check their sites.
Questions
How do I calculate food cost percentage?
Food cost % = cost per portion ÷ menu price × 100. A burger that costs $4.44 to plate and sells for $13.50 runs at 32.9%. If your menu prices include sales tax or VAT, take the tax out first; enter the rate under “Menu prices include tax %” and Platesprig does it for you.
How is the suggested menu price worked out?
Cost per portion ÷ target food cost %, plus any tax your menu prices include, then rounded up to the price ending you pick (.49, .95, .99 or a whole number), so the rounded price never pushes you over target.
What target food cost % should I use?
Platesprig starts at 30% as an editable assumption, not a rule. Set your own target from your own numbers: rent, labour and the margin you need.
Why not meez?
meez is a full recipe platform for professional kitchens, with team features to match. Its Starter plan is $19 a month billed annually or $24 monthly, Pro is $89/$119 and Premium $179/$199 (meez pricing page, checked 2 Oct 2026). If what you need is the costing maths for your menu, Platesprig is free for 5 recipes and Pro is $39 once, with no subscription.
Why not a spreadsheet template?
A $3 template is cheap, but you maintain the formulas, unit conversions and links yourself. Platesprig converts units for you, handles trim and waste, sub-recipes, price rounding, price-change impact and the menu matrix, and works on a phone in the kitchen.
Is my data private?
Yes. Platesprig runs entirely in your browser. Your ingredients, supplier prices and recipes are saved only on this device. Nothing is uploaded. Pro adds a JSON backup to move your data to another device.
What does Pro add?
Unlimited recipes and ingredients, sub-recipes (a sauce, dough or dressing used inside dishes), the menu engineering matrix, the price-change impact report, CSV import of supplier price lists, CSV export, cost cards without the footer line and a JSON backup.
Can I cancel?
Yes. The $5 monthly plan cancels any time from the link in your Stripe receipt email, and Pro then switches off by itself; your recipes stay. The $39 Lifetime plan is one payment with nothing to cancel.
Can I enter cups and spoons for flour or sugar?
Yes. Set the ingredient's density in grams per millilitre (for example about 0.53 for flour) and you can use cups, tablespoons and teaspoons for anything you buy by weight.
Does it work on my phone and offline?
Yes. Platesprig is built for phones too, and once it has loaded you can install it and use it in the kitchen with no connection.
Platesprig calculates food (ingredient) cost only. Labour, overheads and tax rules are yours to check; the target food cost % is your own assumption.