Food & recipes

Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator

Combine cost of goods sold and labor into a share of restaurant revenue.

No sign-upBrowser-only calculationsFormula & methodology

Example result

Prime cost percentage63.33%

Prime cost: 38,000
Revenue remaining: 22,000

Use one reporting period. Rent, utilities, depreciation and financing are outside prime cost.

Understand the result

How to calculate it

Prime cost % = (cost of goods + labor) ÷ sales × 100

Use one reporting period. Rent, utilities, depreciation and financing are outside prime cost.

Worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a market benchmark. Select “Reset to example” to reproduce it in the calculator.

Food and beverage cost of goods: 18,000 currency units
Labor including payroll burden: 20,000 currency units
Sales excluding tax: 60,000 currency units

Prime cost percentage: 63.33%

Common questions

Restaurant Prime Cost FAQ

Does a lower prime cost guarantee profitability?

No. Prime cost excludes important overhead. Track both prime cost and the full operating statement.

What does this calculation leave out?

Use one reporting period. Rent, utilities, depreciation and financing are outside prime cost.

Are my inputs saved or sent to a server?

Calculations run in your browser. We do not send your inputs or results to our server or analytics. A comparison stays in this tab until it is refreshed. A CSV is saved only when you choose to download it. See our privacy policy for ordinary hosting and optional analytics data.

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