Recipe costing
Know the margin on each dish.
See ingredient line costs, cost per serving, food cost percentage, suggested price, and profit per serving on one screen.
Recipe costing software
Know what every dish costs before it costs you margin.
DishCost calculates food cost percentage for every recipe and updates your menu when ingredient prices change. Built for independent restaurants. $39/mo. Cancel anytime.
See the numbers
Recipe and menu costing in one place.
No sales demo. These are the screens you use to cost recipes and check your menu.
Menu costing
Find the dishes that need attention.
The menu overview ranks every recipe by food cost. A distribution bar separates healthy dishes from recipes with high costs or missing prices.
Menu engineering
Use sales and margin together.
Add weekly orders to sort dishes into Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles, and Dogs. Then decide what to promote, reprice, or cut.
Spreadsheet or software?
Keep the spreadsheet until it becomes the work.
A spreadsheet still works when…
- You have a short menu with few shared prep items.
- One person owns the formulas and updates prices regularly.
- You only need a cost snapshot now and then.
Costing software earns its keep when…
- An ingredient price change touches several recipes.
- Sauces, doughs, and stocks are shared across the menu.
- You need to find bad margins before the monthly P&L.
Already have an ingredient sheet? Import the CSV instead of typing it again. For a neutral breakdown of the options, read our recipe costing software guide.
Food costing
The costing tools a working kitchen needs.
Nothing to install. No POS required.
Recipe builder with instant costing
Add ingredients and quantities, then see the total cost and cost per serving as you build. No formulas or cell references.
Automatic food cost %
Set your menu price and DishCost shows your food cost percentage. Set a target percentage and you'll also see the price needed to reach it.
Price change updates
Change an ingredient price once and every recipe using it recalculates. Price alerts show which dishes moved and by how much.
Prep items and sub-recipes
Define sauces, doughs, and stocks once. Use them in other recipes and let their costs flow through automatically.
Bulk CSV import
Bring in an existing ingredient spreadsheet or upload new prices in bulk. A downloadable template shows the format.
Distributor order guide import
Upload a Sysco, US Foods, BEK, or other vendor CSV. Map the columns once, then refresh prices by SKU on each upload. Pro plan.
Compare
Focused restaurant costing software, without the enterprise bill.
DishCost is $39/mo and month-to-month.
DishCost
MarketMan
xtraCHEF
Spreadsheets
Monthly cost
$39/mo
$199/mo
$149+/mo
Free
Setup
Self-serve
Guided onboarding
Toast onboarding
Build it yourself
Contracts
Cancel anytime
Annual plans
Toast contract
None
POS required
No
No
Toast only
No
Recipe cost updates
Automatic
Automatic
Automatic
Manual
Bulk CSV import
Yes
Via onboarding
Via invoice scan
N/A
Order guide import
Yes (Pro)
Vendor portal
Invoice OCR
Manual
Pricing
$39 a month. No setup fee.
No annual contract. Cancel from your settings whenever you need to.
Pro
$39 /mo
For operators who want every dish accounted for.
- Unlimited recipes
- Menu engineering matrix
- Cost change alerts
- PDF & CSV export
- Menu cost dashboard
- Priority support
Less than the cost of one mispriced dish per month.
Not ready to commit? Try the free calculator — no account needed.
Questions
Recipe costing software FAQ
What is recipe costing software?
Recipe costing software calculates the ingredient cost, cost per serving, and food cost percentage for each dish. When an ingredient price changes, affected recipes recalculate without rebuilding spreadsheet formulas.
Is recipe costing software the same as inventory software?
No. Recipe costing tells you what a dish should cost to make. Inventory software counts stock, tracks purchases, and measures actual usage. DishCost focuses on recipes, ingredient prices, and menu margins rather than full inventory management.
Can I import my existing spreadsheet?
Yes. DishCost Pro imports ingredient names, prices, package quantities, and units from CSV. You can also re-upload a file to update existing ingredient prices in bulk.
Do recipes update when an ingredient price changes?
Yes. Update the ingredient once and DishCost recalculates every recipe and prep item that uses it, including dishes that use that prep item.
Does DishCost support prep items and sub-recipes?
Yes. Create a sauce, dough, stock, or other batch as a prep item, then use it as an ingredient in multiple recipes. Its cost flows through to each dish.
Do I need a POS integration?
No. DishCost works without a POS. Enter menu prices to calculate food cost, and add weekly order counts if you want to use the menu engineering matrix.
How much does DishCost cost?
DishCost Pro is $39 per month with no setup fee or annual contract. You can cancel from your settings. You can also try the food cost calculator without an account.
Cost one recipe. Check the margin.
Start with the dish you sell most. You'll see its cost per serving and food cost percentage before you decide whether DishCost is worth paying for.