Catering Pricing Calculator
Price any event from the ground up — food, labor, rentals, and overhead, marked up to your target margin. Get a per-guest price and total quote as you type.
How to price catering the right way
Most caterers price by copying a per-head number they heard somewhere, then hope it covers the bills. It usually doesn't. Real pricing works from the bottom up: figure out what an event actually costs you, then add the profit you need to stay in business. This calculator follows that method so your quote is grounded in your numbers, not a competitor's guess.
There are four cost buckets in any catering job. Food is the easiest — your cost per guest times the head count. Labor is the one caterers routinely underprice: enter each role, the hours it works (including prep and travel, not just service), and its fully-loaded hourly rate. Rentals and equipment cover linens, tables, chafers, and anything you rent or provide for the event. Overhead is everything that isn't tied to one job — insurance, your vehicle, kitchen space, software, marketing, and your own admin time — added as a percentage so every event carries its share.
Add those four together and you have your true cost. Divide by the guest count and you have a break-even per-guest number. If you charged exactly that, you'd make nothing — which is why the last step, margin, matters most. Your target margin is the profit you keep as a share of the final price. Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). A 30% margin on a $5,000 cost means a $7,143 quote and about $2,143 of profit. Set the margin that reflects your market and service level, and the calculator marks the job up to hit it.
Service style is the single biggest driver of the final number, because it changes the labor, not just the food. A drop-off job is mostly food and a delivery fee. A buffet adds setup and a couple of attendants. A plated dinner is a labor event — servers, a longer timeline, more coordination — which is why plated per-head prices run well above buffet for the same menu. Price the labor honestly and the per-guest number sorts itself out.
Two habits separate caterers who make money from those who stay busy and broke: charge for everything (tastings, delivery, staffing, and rentals are line items, not favors), and revisit your food-cost-per-guest regularly as ingredient prices move. Use the food cost calculator to nail that number, read the full method in how to price catering per person, and see the flat plan on the pricing page.
Pricing calculator FAQ
How do you price catering per person?
Add up your true cost per event — food, labor, rentals, and a share of overhead — then divide by the guest count to get a break-even per-guest cost. Finally, mark it up to hit your target profit margin. That markup, not a copied competitor price, is what keeps you in business. This calculator does that math for you.
What profit margin should a caterer aim for?
Most independent caterers target a 25-40% margin on the total quote, depending on service style and market. Full-service plated events support higher margins than drop-off, because you are selling labor and experience, not just food. Set your target in the calculator and it prices the event to hit it.
What counts as catering overhead?
Overhead is everything not tied to a single event: insurance, vehicle and kitchen costs, software, marketing, and your own admin time. A common approach is to add a fixed percentage (often 10-20%) on top of direct event costs so every job carries its share.
How much should I charge for staff?
Charge your fully-loaded labor cost (wage plus taxes and any agency fees) times the hours each role works, then let your margin cover supervision and risk. Enter each role, its hours, and its rate; the calculator totals labor and folds it into the per-guest price.
Is this catering pricing calculator free?
Yes — it is completely free, runs in your browser, and needs no signup or email. Nothing you enter leaves your device.