Menu pricing

Menu price calculator: price a dish from what it costs you, then see what your city charges

To price a menu item, divide what the plate costs you to make by your target food cost percentage: a $4.20 plate at 30% is $14.00. Enter your numbers below. Then check that price against what independent restaurants in your city actually charge for the same dish, taken from their own posted menus.

How to price menu items: the menu pricing formula, step by step

1. Cost the plate. Add up every ingredient at the amount one serving uses, including the small things: oil, garnish, sauce, the bun, the to-go box if most orders leave in one.
2. Pick a target food cost. Many restaurants aim for roughly 25–35% across the menu. It doesn’t have to be the same for every dish; what matters is where the whole menu lands.
3. Divide. Plate cost ÷ target percentage = menu price. The calculator shows several targets at once so you can see the trade-off.
4. Check it against your city. See where your price sits next to what independents nearby charge for the same dish. Above the middle is fine if your portion, quality or location earns it; it’s a choice, not a mistake.
5. Re-cost when suppliers change. When a key ingredient goes up, run the numbers again before the next menu print, not after a month of thinner plates.

Don’t price from the city median alone

The median tells you what customers in your city are used to seeing, not what your dish costs you or what it’s worth. A restaurant with a bigger portion, better ingredients or a busier corner can sit well above it and stay full. Pricing a dish below what it costs you to make, just to match a number, loses money on every plate you sell. Start from your cost, then use the city numbers to understand where you land.

For restaurant owners

Know when the restaurants near you change their prices

MyIntelBrief watches the competitors around your restaurant — menus and prices, specials, Google reviews, hiring, new openings — and emails you a short brief on what changed and what, if anything, is worth doing about it. Your first 4 weekly briefs are free.

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How we collect the city prices

The city numbers come from the MyIntelBrief Menu Index™: the menus independent restaurants post on their own websites (no chains, no delivery-app prices), one clearly defined dish each, matched by fixed rules rather than guessed by AI. A city is shown only with at least 15 menus, and no single restaurant is ever shown or named; prices through October 24, 2026. Full method, definitions and limits · how we checked the data.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate a menu price from food cost?

Divide what the plate costs you to make by your target food cost percentage. A dish that costs $4.20 in ingredients at a 30% target is $4.20 ÷ 0.30 = $14.00. The calculator on this page does that, and shows the price at several targets side by side.

How do I calculate food cost percentage?

Food cost percentage is what a plate costs you to make divided by its menu price, times 100. A plate that costs $4.20 and sells for $14.00 has a food cost of 4.20 ÷ 14.00 = 30%. To go the other way and find a price, divide the plate cost by your target percentage.

What food cost percentage should a restaurant aim for?

Many restaurants aim for roughly 25% to 35% food cost across the menu, but it varies by dish and by concept. A cheap-to-make dish like pasta or fries can run well under it, a steak or seafood plate well over it, as long as the menu as a whole lands where you need it. Your rent, labor and portion sizes decide what works for you.

Should my price match what other restaurants charge?

Not automatically. What others charge tells you where customers' expectations sit, not what your dish costs you or what your portion, quality and location are worth. Price from your own cost first, then look at where that lands against your city's range and decide whether you are comfortable there.

Where do the city prices come from?

From the menus independent restaurants post on their own websites. We read each menu, find one clearly defined dish (for example a plain cheeseburger or a cheese slice) and take the median across every menu we found in that city. Chains are left out. A city is shown only when at least 15 menus list the dish, and we never show or name any single restaurant.

Why isn't my city or dish listed?

Either we haven't covered that city yet, or fewer than 15 independent restaurants there post a clear price for that dish online, which is too few for a fair median. We add cities and dishes over time.

What is the 30/30/30 rule for restaurants?

It is a rough rule of thumb some owners use for where each sales dollar goes: about 30% to food, 30% to labor and 30% to overhead such as rent and utilities, leaving about 10% as profit. Real numbers vary a lot by concept and location, so treat it as a quick check, not a target.

Are delivery-app prices included?

No. The prices come from restaurants' own posted menus, not from delivery apps, which often charge more for the same dish.

Pricing is one lever. If the real worry is a quiet dining room, start with what to check when business is slow, and see how we track competitor price changes week to week.