Restaurant Menu Pricing Calculator for Profitable Menus

How to Price a Restaurant Menu: The Complete Guide for Indian Restaurants

Menu pricing is one of the most critical decisions a restaurant owner makes. Price too low and you lose money on every dish. Price too high and customers don't order. The right price maximises both sales volume and profit per dish — and the restaurant menu pricing calculator above helps you find that sweet spot in under 30 seconds.

The most reliable method for how to price a restaurant menu is the food cost percentage method: set your selling price so that ingredient costs represent 25–35% of the menu price. This ensures every dish contributes 65–75% gross margin toward covering overheads and profit.

The Restaurant Menu Pricing Formula (Step-by-Step)

There are two ways to use the menu pricing formula:

1. Find Your Price: Menu Price = Ingredient Cost ÷ Target Food Cost %
2. Check Your Price: Food Cost % = (Ingredient Cost ÷ Selling Price) × 100

The menu pricing formula for restaurants can also be expressed as a markup multiplier: Selling Price = Ingredient Cost × (100 ÷ Target Food Cost %). This is sometimes called the dish cost to selling price calculator approach.

Example: Pricing Butter Chicken Using the Formula

Ingredients cost ₹140 per serving. Target food cost = 30%.

How to Use This Free Restaurant Menu Pricing Calculator

This free dish pricing calculator for restaurants has two modes:

• Find My Price: Enter your ingredient cost and target food cost % — the calculator gives you the recommended selling price instantly.
• Check My Price: Enter your ingredient cost and current selling price — the calculator checks if your food cost % is healthy and flags if you're under- or over-pricing.

It also shows your delivery pricing recommendation for Swiggy and Zomato automatically — no extra calculation needed.

Restaurant Menu Pricing Benchmarks by Restaurant Type (India)

Restaurant Type	Target Food Cost %	Markup Multiplier	Example (₹150 ingredient cost)
QSR / Fast Food	25–30%	3.3×–4×	₹500–₹600
Casual Dining	28–35%	2.85×–3.57×	₹430–₹535
Fine Dining	30–38%	2.63×–3.33×	₹395–₹500
Café / Bakery	25–32%	3.13×–4×	₹470–₹600
Cloud Kitchen	30–38%	2.63×–3.33×	₹395–₹500
Dhaba / Thali	35–42%	2.38×–2.86×	₹357–₹430

Use these as starting benchmarks for your restaurant pricing strategy in India. Fine dining can sustain higher food cost % because ticket sizes are larger. QSRs need tighter food cost control because volume is the core business model.

4 Menu Pricing Strategies for Indian Restaurants

1. Food Cost Percentage Method (Most Reliable)

The most widely used menu pricing formula for restaurants in India. Divide ingredient cost by your target food cost %. For most Indian restaurants, a 28–33% target works well. This method ensures every dish contributes a consistent gross margin regardless of ticket size.

2. Markup Multiplier Method (Fastest)

Multiply the ingredient cost by a fixed number: 3.33× for 30% food cost, 4× for 25%, 2.86× for 35%. This is the fastest method for pricing new dishes once you've set your target. It's identical to the food cost % method mathematically — just a different way to express it.

3. Contribution Margin Method (For High-Fixed-Cost Restaurants)

Set a minimum rupee gross profit per dish (e.g., every dish must contribute at least ₹200 after ingredient cost). Useful when you have accurate fixed cost per cover data and want each dish to cover a specific portion of overheads.

4. Competitive Pricing + Margin Check (Market-Aware Pricing)

Look at competitor prices for similar dishes, set a competitive price, then check food cost % using the "Check My Price" mode in our calculator above. If a competitor sells Biryani at ₹280 and your ingredient cost is ₹120, your food cost is 42.8% — dangerously high. You'd need to either reduce ingredient costs or differentiate with premium quality to justify a higher price.

How to Price Your Menu for Swiggy and Zomato Delivery

Delivery aggregators like Swiggy and Zomato charge 18–30% commission per order. To protect your margins on delivery, you must increase your delivery menu prices by 20–25% compared to dine-in. This is standard practice across Indian restaurants — the delivery pricing section in our calculator handles this automatically.

When Should You Update Your Restaurant Menu Prices?

Most restaurants should review menu prices every 3–6 months in India. Key triggers for a price review:

• Ingredient prices have increased by 10% or more
• Staff costs or rent have increased
• Your food cost % has crept above 35% on key dishes
• Competitors in your area have raised prices
• Your net profit margin has dropped below 10%

Restaurants using Loop Menu's digital QR menus can update prices instantly across dine-in and delivery without printing costs — making it practical to review prices quarterly instead of annually.

How to Calculate Menu Price for Any Dish: Practical Tips

Always use per-serving ingredient cost, not pack cost

If you buy chicken at ₹200/kg and use 200g per portion, the chicken cost per dish is ₹40 — not ₹200. This is the most common mistake restaurant owners make when calculating dish pricing for restaurants.

Include all ingredients, including garnishes and sauces

Small costs add up. A garnish of ₹5 and a sauce dollop of ₹8 on every plate = ₹13 additional cost per serving. For a restaurant selling 100 covers/day, that's ₹1,300/day or ₹39,000/month in untracked ingredient cost.

Account for wastage and breakage

Add 5–10% to your ingredient cost estimate to account for kitchen wastage, over-portioning, and plate returns. This is especially important for vegetables and proteins that have high preparation waste.

Restaurant Menu Pricing — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 3× rule for restaurant menu pricing?

The 3× rule means pricing your dish at 3 times the ingredient cost. This gives a food cost of 33%, which is within the healthy 25–35% range for Indian restaurants. It's a quick starting point for how to price food for a restaurant, but you should verify with the exact formula and compare to your competition.

How do I calculate the selling price of a dish in a restaurant?

Selling Price = Ingredient Cost per Serving ÷ Target Food Cost %. Example: ₹120 ingredient cost ÷ 0.30 (30% target) = ₹400 selling price. Use the free restaurant menu pricing calculator above — just enter ingredient cost and target %, and the price is calculated instantly.

What food cost percentage should I use to price my menu?

For most Indian restaurants, 28–32% is the ideal target for how to price a restaurant menu to generate healthy profit. QSRs should target 25–28%. Fine dining can go up to 35–38% because higher ticket prices absorb the higher food cost. The exact target depends on your rent, staff cost, and desired profit margin.

How often should I update restaurant menu prices?

Review your menu prices every 3–6 months or whenever ingredient costs change significantly (more than 10%). With digital menus like Loop Menu, price updates take seconds with no reprinting cost. Restaurants using digital menus update prices 3–4× more frequently than those using printed menus, and consistently maintain better margins.

How do I price a new restaurant menu from scratch?

Start by calculating ingredient costs for every dish. Group them by category (starters, mains, desserts, drinks). Set a target food cost % for each category. Apply the menu pricing formula: Selling Price = Ingredient Cost ÷ Target Food Cost %. Cross-check against local competitor prices. Adjust by ±10% based on your restaurant's positioning (premium vs value). Use our free restaurant menu pricing calculator to apply this formula to every dish in your menu.

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