RESTAURANT / FREE OPERATOR TOOLS
Catering Price Per Person Calculator
How much to charge for catering per person, from your food, labor and event costs plus a target margin.
Default numbers are an example, not industry data.
Formula
Food total = food × guests; direct cost = food total + labor + other; total cost = direct cost × (1 + overhead/100). Price = total cost ÷ (1 − margin/100); margin must be below 100%. Price per guest = price ÷ guests; rounded per guest rounds up to the nearest 0.50. Food cost % = food total ÷ price × 100; profit = price − total cost. Quote incl. service charge = price × (1 + service/100); divide by guests for the per-guest quote. Add sales tax per your local rules.
How it works
Multiply food cost per guest by guests, then add event labor and other direct costs. Apply the overhead allowance to that direct cost before pricing for your target margin.
The exact price and the rounded per-guest suggestion are separate outputs: service charge and profit use the exact price. Tax is not modelled. Add sales tax per your local rules.
Worked example
80 × 9.00 = 720 food. Direct cost = 720 + 660 + 340 = 1,720. Overhead 10% → 1,892.00 total cost (23.65 per guest). At a 20% margin: 1,892 ÷ 0.80 = 2,365.00, so 29.56 per guest (30.00 rounded up). Profit 473.00; food cost 30.44% of price. With an 18% service charge the quote is 2,790.70 (34.88 per guest).
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate catering cost per person?
Add food, labor and other event costs, apply your overhead allowance, then divide by one minus the target margin and by the guest count.
What's the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit divided by price; markup is profit divided by cost. A 20% margin is a 25% markup: a cost of 80 priced at 100 earns 20 profit.
Should the service charge be included in the per-person price?
State clearly whether your price includes it. This calculator shows the exact price before service charge and a separate quote including it. Add sales tax per your local rules.
How do I price staff for a catering job?
Cover every paid hour: prep, travel, setup, service and cleanup. Include applicable payroll costs in the total event labor cost.
Are my inputs saved or uploaded?
Calculations run in your browser. Inputs are not uploaded by the calculator. Sharing puts the inputs in a readable URL; anyone with that link can see them.