Free gross profit (GP) calculator
Enter what a portion costs you and what you charge for it. You’ll get gross profit in pounds, GP%, food cost % and the price you’d need to charge to hit your target GP. No sign-up, nothing saved.
Results
73.3%
Gross profit percentage
- Gross profit per portion
- £8.80
- Food cost percentage
- 26.7%
- Price excluding VAT
- £12.00
- Price needed for 70% GP
- £10.67
Prices are treated as VAT-exclusive. Switch VAT on above if your menu prices include it.
How the calculation works
Gross profit is the money left from a sale once the ingredients are paid for, before labour, rent and everything else. VAT never counts towards it, so the selling price is taken net of VAT first:
- Net price = selling price ÷ 1.20 (only if your price includes 20% VAT)
- Gross profit = net price − ingredient cost per portion
- GP% = gross profit ÷ net price × 100
- Food cost % = ingredient cost ÷ net price × 100
Working the other way, the price you need for a target GP is: ingredient cost ÷ (1 − target GP%). A £3.20 plate cost at a 70% target needs a £10.67 net price, or £12.80 with VAT added.
Getting the plate cost right
A GP figure is only as good as the cost you feed it. Use the price you actually paid per unit, divide the batch cost by the real yield rather than the theoretical one, and allow for trim and wastage on items like fish and beef. If you’re costing several dishes, add each one to the menu list above to see the average across them.
From a calculator to a costed menu
A calculator is fine for one dish. Once ingredient prices move, every dish that uses them needs redoing. Which is where a spreadsheet quietly goes out of date. In Chef’s Helper each recipe holds its own ingredient costs and yield, menu items pull their cost per portion straight from the linked recipe, and menu costing flags anything below your target GP.
Common questions
How do you calculate GP% on a dish?
Take the selling price excluding VAT, subtract the ingredient cost of one portion, then divide that gross profit by the net selling price and multiply by 100. A £12.00 dish (excluding VAT) costing £3.20 to plate has £8.80 gross profit and a GP of 73.3%.
What is a good GP% for a restaurant dish?
Many UK kitchens work to roughly 65–75% GP on food, with drinks often higher. The right figure depends on your style of service, wastage and labour, so use your own target rather than a rule of thumb. The calculator lets you set one.
Does GP include VAT?
No. VAT is not yours to keep, so gross profit is worked out on the selling price with VAT removed. If your menu prices include 20% VAT, switch the VAT toggle on and the calculator strips it before working out GP.
What is the difference between GP% and food cost %?
They are two views of the same figure. Food cost percentage is the ingredient cost as a share of the net selling price; GP% is what is left. A dish with a 27% food cost has a 73% GP.
Do I need an account to use this calculator?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser and nothing is saved or sent anywhere. If you want costed recipes and menus that update themselves, Chef’s Helper has a 14-day free trial with no card required.