Food-cost & margin calculator
The same pricing engine CaterKit runs in production — not a rule of thumb. Enter what a portion costs you; get the price that actually covers labor, overhead, and your margin.
Suggested price per portion
$20.00
Margin
30%
Food-cost percentage
50%
Most caterers land between 28–35% food cost.With labor and overhead, each portion really costs you $14.00.
That price doesn't cover your labor and overhead — you're paying to cater this.
Get exact costs from YOUR recipes
This is one dish, by hand. CaterKit photographs your whole menu, costs every recipe from your ingredients, and prices the quote for you — free to start.
How this calculator works
Price = cost × (1 + labor% + overhead%) ÷ (1 − target margin), rounded up to the cent — the exact formula CaterKit uses to suggest prices in the product, imported from the same code. Food-cost percentage is raw ingredient cost as a share of price (the classic 28–35% rule). Planning a whole event? Try the price-per-person calculator.