Menu price calculator
Enter the cost of a drink or dish and your target cost percentage or margin. Get a rounded menu price that accounts for tax, and compare prices at different targets.
How to calculate a menu price
Divide the ingredient cost by your target cost percentage, then account for tax and round up to your preferred price.
Worked example: a Paper Plane at a 25% cost
| Tax left out | 20% VAT in the price | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to make one | $3.36 | $3.36 |
| Price before tax, $3.36 ÷ 25% | $13.44 | $13.44 |
| With tax | $16.13 | |
| Rounded up to the next 0.50 | $13.50 | $16.50 |
| Cost % at the menu price | 24.9% | 24.4% of $13.75 |
Rounding up keeps the cost at or under your target. The Marlowe prices its Paper Plane at $14.00, a 24.0% cost. Rounding to a price ending the guest is used to seeing matters more on a printed menu than the last few cents of margin; the calculator shows both, so the choice is yours.
Menu price or pour cost: which calculator
This calculator starts from the cost and your target and gives the price. The pour cost calculator starts from a price you already charge and tells you the pour cost and margin, with each line of the spec costed from the bottle. Use this one to set a new price, that one to check an old one.
Sources: UK VAT standard rate, GOV.UK; Australian GST rate, Wikipedia. Drink costs and prices: the Marlowe, a sample bar.
- Sarah Dawn MarsWrote this · Head of customer success and community
Sarah co-founded and ran Teresa Cocktail Bar, a Tales of the Cocktail nominee. She was also the first customer success hire at Loaded and now builds Overproof.
Menu pricing questions
How do I calculate a menu price from food cost?
Divide the cost of the plate by your target food cost percentage. A plate that costs $4.20 at a 30% target is $14.00 before tax. The calculator works the same way for food and drinks; only your target changes.
What is the difference between cost % and margin?
They are two sides of the same price. Cost % is the share of the price the ingredients take; margin is the share left over. A 25% cost is a 75% margin.
How do I price with VAT or GST included?
Work out the price before tax, then multiply by 1 plus the rate: 1.20 for UK VAT at 20%, 1.10 for Australian GST at 10%. Your cost % is worked out on the price without tax, because the tax is never the bar's money. UK and Australian law on showing tax-inclusive prices on a menu is in the pricing guide.
Should I round prices up or down?
Up, if you want every item at or under your target. Rounding down to a tidier price is a fine choice for an item that sells on volume; the calculator shows the cost % at the price you pick.
Prices that follow your costs
In Jery every drink is costed from the invoices you approve. Set one target margin for the bar and the menu shows each drink against it, with a suggested price rounded the way you print, tax handled. When a bottle goes up, the drinks it touches are named with the price that restores their margin.
| Autumn menu · target 75% | Cost | Price | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Negroni | $2.76 | $15.00 | 81.6% |
| Daiquiri | $1.68 | $13.00 | 87.1% |
| Paper Plane | $3.36 | $14.00 | 76.0% |
| Last Word | $4.10 | $16.00 | 74.4% |
| Bijou | $4.63 | $16.00 | 71.1% |
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Price the whole menu from current costs
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