Menu pricing calculator.
Enter the ingredient cost of a dish and the food cost percentage you want to hit. See the menu price (including VAT) that gets you there — plus contribution margin and what a 10% price bump would do.
Per dish
Defaults work for most small shops in the EU.
Menu price (incl. VAT)
How this calculator works (same formula nouz uses)
Most cafés price from feel: glance at what the shop down the road charges, guess, round to a comfortable number. The result is a menu where some dishes earn a lot and others quietly lose money, and nobody knows which. This calculator prices the other way — from a target. You decide the food cost percentage you want a dish to run, and it works the price backwards.
Net price = ingredient cost ÷ target food cost %Menu price = net price × (1 + VAT)
Pricing from a target flips the usual order of operations. Instead of picking a price and hoping the margin lands somewhere sensible, you lock the margin first and let the price fall out of the math. Every dish then carries the food cost you chose, which means your whole menu is healthy by construction rather than by luck — and when a supplier raises a cost, you re-run the same step and know exactly how much the shelf price has to move to protect the margin.
A worked example
Using the calculator's defaults: €1,05 of ingredients, a 30% target food cost, and 10% VAT.
- Net price = 1,05 ÷ 0,30 = €3,50
- Menu price incl. VAT = 3,50 × 1,10 = €3,85
- Rounded menu price = €3,90
- Contribution per dish = 3,50 − 1,05 = €2,45
- Raise that price 10% and food cost drops to 27,3%
So €1,05 of ingredients at a 30% target wants a shelf price of €3,90 — and a modest bump would tighten the margin further with barely any effect on volume.
What a healthy number looks like
A target of 28–32% food cost is the healthy band for most café items — that is the number to type into the calculator. Drinks can carry a lower target (they are cheap to make), premium plates a higher one. Whatever you choose, two habits keep the menu healthy:
- Round up, not down. If the math lands on €3,85, round to €3,90 rather than €3,80. The higher number costs you nothing and earns more on every single sale.
- Treat small bumps seriously. Three extra cents on 50 cups a day is €4,50 a day and roughly €1.350 a year — per item.
Common mistakes
- Copying a competitor's price. Their ingredient cost, rent, and target are not yours; their price tells you nothing about your margin.
- Pricing on gut and never checking. A guessed price can sit at 40% food cost for years without anyone noticing.
- Rounding down to look friendly. The few cents you give away multiply across thousands of sales into real lost profit.
- Forgetting VAT is inside the shelf price. The target applies to net revenue, so the price must be grossed back up by VAT after you hit the target.
When to use it — and what's next
Use this whenever you add a dish, reprice a menu, or absorb a supplier increase. A 10% price move usually pulls food cost down two to three points — the difference between a healthy 30% and a tight 27% — at almost no cost in lost volume, because customers rarely notice a 30-cent change on a €3 coffee. To check an existing price rather than set a new one, flip to the food cost percentage calculator. Pricing from a target instead of from feel is the same discipline nouz brings to the rest of your café numbers.
Common questions
What food cost percentage should a cafe aim for when pricing the menu?
A target of 28-32% food cost is healthy for most cafés and is the number to enter into the calculator. Drinks can carry a lower target because they are cheap to make, while premium plates can carry a higher one. You decide the percentage you want to hit, then let the calculator work the price backwards.
How does the calculator work out a menu price from ingredient cost?
Two steps. Net price equals ingredient cost divided by your target food cost percentage, then menu price equals that net price multiplied by one plus VAT. For example, 1,05 euro of ingredients at a 30% target gives a 3,50 euro net price and a 3,85 euro shelf price at 10% VAT.
Why should I round prices up instead of down?
If the math gives a number like 3,85, rounding up to 3,90 costs you nothing and earns more on every sale, while rounding to 3,80 gives cents away thousands of times. Three extra cents on 50 cups a day adds up to about 4,50 euro a day and 1.350 euro a year, per item.
Why do small price bumps matter more than they look?
A 10% price bump usually drops food cost percentage by two to three points, the difference between a healthy 30% and a tight 27%. It costs almost nothing in lost volume because customers rarely notice a 30-cent change on a 3-euro coffee, so the whole increase falls through to contribution.
Should I just match my competitor's prices instead?
No. A competitor's price reflects their ingredient cost, rent, and target margin, none of which are yours. Copying it tells you nothing about whether the dish makes you money. Price from your own ingredient cost and target, then sense-check against the market rather than the other way round.
How often should I reprice the menu?
Reprice whenever you add a dish, when a supplier raises costs, and at least once or twice a year as a routine review. Ingredient costs drift up quietly, so a menu priced two years ago is almost certainly running a higher food cost than you think. Re-running each item through the calculator takes minutes.