KhanaOSFood cost calculator
Enter one dish's ingredient cost and menu price. Get the food cost percentage every profitable kitchen defends — with an honest verdict against Indian benchmarks.
What's this dish really making?
Food Cost % = (Ingredient Cost ÷ Menu Price) × 100
Healthy. A food cost under 32% leaves room for labour, rent and profit.
Read the full food-cost guide →Target food cost by format (India)
| Format | Target food cost | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Café / beverage-led | 20–28% | Coffee and chai carry 75%+ gross margins; food menu pulls the average up. |
| QSR / fast food | 28–32% | Volume game — every point of food cost is margin at scale. |
| Cloud kitchen | 28–32% | Aggregator commissions of 25–33% leave no room for loose costing. |
| Casual dining | 30–35% | Balanced menu; labour and rent take bigger shares than QSR. |
| Fine dining | 35–40% | Premium ingredients justified by premium prices and experience. |
| Sweet shop / mithai | 30–38% | Ghee, khoya and dry fruits are volatile — batch costing per kg is essential. |
One dish at a time is how you check. Every dish, every day, automatically — that's MarginMind AI.
Food cost FAQ
What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant in India?
Most profitable Indian restaurants run 28–35%. Fine dining sustains 35–40% on higher prices; QSR and cloud kitchens should target 28–32%; beverage-led cafés often run 20–28%. Above 38%, most operations lose money per plate after labour and rent.
How do I calculate food cost percentage?
(Ingredient cost ÷ menu price) × 100. A dish costing ₹95 sold at ₹320 runs 29.7%. For period-level accuracy: (opening stock + purchases − closing stock) ÷ food sales × 100. Full method in the food cost guide.
Why is my food cost higher than my recipe says?
Recipe cost assumes perfect execution. Reality adds yield loss, wastage, staff meals, theft and inconsistent portioning — typically a 3–8 point gap. That's why tracking against actual purchases matters (and what MarginMind AI automates).
Is this food cost calculator free?
Yes — free, no sign-up. It computes dish-level food cost instantly. For automatic tracking across your whole menu from live sales data, that's MarginMind AI.
Stop calculating one dish at a time.
MarginMind AI runs this math on every dish you sell, live, from your actual purchase prices. See it on your own menu in a free 20-minute demo.
Book Your Free Demo →Free 20-minute demo · No setup fees for standard installations · WhatsApp: +91 79803 72217