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Enter the ingredients and click the convert button to see an advanced meal cost analysis.

Food Cost Premium Calculator - calculate the cost of a dish, margin and sales price (including VAT) in 2 minutes

If you have ever estimated a portion by eye and then were surprised by the profit (or lack of profit), this calculator is exactly about this problem. You enter the ingredients, set portions, losses and margin - and you get a clear result: real production cost, suggested gross price and breakdown of margin and VAT. No sheets, no chaos, no guesswork.

free online without registration food cost per portion margin + VAT ingredient analysis

Why do you need a meal cost calculator if you "more or less know"?

Because in gastronomy, "more or less" usually means: too cheap. And sometimes: it seems expensive, but still there is no profit, because losses, packaging costs, portioning losses, and VAT and surcharges take their toll. This food cost calculator works like a quick sanity-check: whether your recipe is profitable and what selling price makes sense for you to make money and not just increase sales.

The greatest magic is not in "how much it costs", but in the fact that you seewhat exactly increases the cost of. One ingredient can eat up 60% of a serving's budget. And if you add losses and fixed costs (e.g. packaging), it suddenly turns out that your "promotion" is simply a waste.

What do you calculate in practice

You calculate the cost of production (food cost) based on the ingredients and their prices, add waste, possible additional costs, and then add a margin and VAT to get the suggested gross price per portion.

Cost of ingredients and raw materials
Percentage losses / losses
Fixed costs per dish (e.g. packaging)
Margin (profit) and VAT

What do you get at the output

In addition to the classic results, the calculator shows "wow metrics" that make decisions easier: cost of 1 kg of ready-made, the most expensive ingredient, cost projection for a series of dishes and explicit margin and tax values.

This is the difference between "I did the math" and "I know what to improve." If the cost per portion is too high, you don't have to guess - you look at the table and immediately see which ingredient is causing the problem.

How to use the food cost calculator step by step

There is no philosophy here - it is a simple, kitchen process, only transferred to numbers. Do this once properly, and then you only update prices when suppliers "improve" the price list.

Add ingredients– enter name, quantity and unit price. You enter the quantity in the same unit as the price (e.g. kg and PLN/kg). If you count pieces or liters, you can too - consistency is important.

Set the number of servings– how many servings are obtained from the entire recipe. This is the key to cost per serving. If you overestimate the portions, you underestimate the cost (and understate the cost = understate the selling price).

Add waste- if you peel, trim meat, cook and some of the water evaporates, some of the product actually "disappears". 5% is often a safe start, but many menu items need 8-15% (depends on technology and product).

Enter margin– margin in % is your space for profit, electricity, gas, work, rent and the rest of the world. This is not a "whim", but a condition for the business to breathe.

Set VAT– if you count sales prices, VAT matters. This calculator includes it in the suggested gross price.

Add fixed/other costs– packaging, sauce in a sachet,

Meal Cost Calculators

Food Cost Calculator