Restaurant cost management software for independent operators — track ingredient costs, build recipes, and price your menu with real food cost percentages and margin data.
No credit card required · No contracts, cancel anytime · Works with any POS
How PlateCost works
PlateCost is built to mirror how operators actually work: load current costs, build dishes, see the real plate math, then act on the recommendations.
Enter supplier prices, pack sizes, and units once so your base costs stay grounded in what you actually buy.
Turn those ingredients into prep recipes and menu items with yields, portions, and selling prices in the same workflow.
PlateCost calculates cost per serving, food cost %, and margin per serving so you can see the real number behind every item.
Use margin signals, benchmarking, and profit tools to decide what to reprice, promote, simplify, or watch next.
What's inside
From raw ingredients to plated dishes — every dollar tracked automatically.
Enter any ingredient by lb, oz, kg, or unit. Cost per unit and per oz calculate instantly.
Build every dish from your ingredient list. Food cost and gross margin appear in real time.
Supplier raised prices? Update any ingredient directly — all recipe costs recalculate automatically.
See your entire menu's food cost %, gross margin, and per-dish performance side by side.
Set a target food cost % per dish. The margin bar turns amber as you approach your target, and red when you're clearly over — before it shows up in your profit and loss.
Set your recipe yield and PlateCost automatically breaks total ingredient cost down to cost per serving.
No POS integration required. PlateCost runs on your own numbers — not your point-of-sale system — so any setup works.
32–38%
Average food cost % at independent restaurants
28–30%
Target food cost % for a healthy operation
4–8%
Margin improvement possible with accurate cost tracking
Industry averages for independent restaurants. Most operators don't know where they land until it's too late.
Product proof — example workflow
No vague promises. These are the day-one decisions the product is built to support: updating ingredient costs, checking menu margins, and seeing whether the month is still on track.
Step 1
Update ingredient costs
Log the new case price, unit, and supplier once. PlateCost recalculates the base cost automatically so every recipe stays current.
Step 2
Check menu margin before service
See food cost %, margin per serving, and target status on the same screen before a dish drifts into low-margin territory.
Step 3
Spot monthly pressure early
Compare revenue, prime cost, and net profit in one dashboard view so you know whether pricing, waste, or purchasing needs attention.
What you can verify in a free account
Start on Starter, build a real dish, and see the exact food cost % and margin per serving before you pay for anything.
Load your own numbers
Starter starts empty, so you can enter your ingredient prices, recipes, and menu items without digging through demo clutter.
See the core math for free
Food cost %, margin per serving, and plate cost per serving are available before you ever hit an upgrade screen.
Upgrade only when the operation needs more
Pro adds menu engineering, profit tracking, Price Optimizer, export / print, and weekly digest email. Scale adds Waste Estimator, Purchases — invoice and purchase logging, Menu Simplifier, and historical cost snapshots.
Preview figures below are representative examples to show the workflow — your account starts empty so you can load your own costs, recipes, and menu prices.
Who PlateCost is for
These are representative operator scenarios based on the most common use cases we hear: tighter margins, faster weekly updates, and more confident pricing and purchasing decisions.
For restaurants that need ingredient updates, recipe costs, and menu pricing in one workflow instead of juggling spreadsheet tabs.
Best fit
Operators who want fast repricing and clear food cost visibility on core sellers.
For kitchen leads who need supplier price changes to flow through recipes and menu items without manual recalculation.
Best fit
Teams that want a tighter weekly costing routine before service and ordering.
For operators who need stronger visibility into menu performance, waste pressure, invoice logging, and month-level profitability.
Best fit
Leadership teams that want clearer signals on what to reprice, promote, simplify, or investigate next.
See plate cost, food cost %, and margin per serving together so high-pressure menu items stand out earlier.
Keep ingredient cost changes, recipe math, and menu numbers in the same system instead of cleaning up spreadsheet drift every week.
Use menu engineering, profit tracking, and purchasing visibility to decide what needs attention next across the kitchen and office.
Pricing
Every plan, every limit, and every dollar is published below. Start free on Starter, upgrade yourself to Pro when you need the full operating decision layer, and step up to Scale when purchasing visibility matters — no quote required.
Self-serve, every tier
What you see is what you pay — billed monthly, cancel anytime. Starter stays free; Pro and Scale upgrade in under a minute, no sales call needed.
Starter
No credit card required
For operators getting the core math in place before paying for advanced analysis.
Pro
Billed monthly · Cancel anytime
For operators who need the full decision layer across menu engineering and profit tracking.
Scale
Billed monthly · Cancel anytime
For operators who want purchasing visibility, historical reporting, and the strongest operating toolkit.
Scroll sideways to see all columns
| Limits & features | Starter | Pro | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingredients | 25 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Recipes | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Menu items | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Menu engineering labels | Not included | Included | Included |
| Export + print | Not included | Included | Included |
| Weekly digest email | Not included | Included | Included |
| Waste Estimator | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Purchases — invoice and purchase logging | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Historical cost snapshots | Not included | Not included | Included |
Free Starter plan · Public pricing · No contracts, cancel anytime
Start free with your own numbers, or sign in if you already have an account.
Free Starter plan · No credit card required · Upgrade anytime