Free tool
Enter how you buy an ingredient and instantly see cost per oz, per lb, per gram, per cup, and more. Compare package sizes to find the best value.
Cost / lb
$0.450
from $4.50 purchase
Cost / g
$0.0010
base unit cost
Recipe Usage
$0.225
8 oz (ounce)
8 oz (ounce) of All-Purpose Flour costs
$0.225
$0.225
for 8 oz (ounce) of All-Purpose Flour
Bought: 10 lb (pound) for $4.50
20 recipe uses per package
Track ingredient prices over time
Save ingredients, monitor supplier price changes, and keep your recipes costed accurately.
Start free with DishCostHow it works
Restaurants buy ingredients in bulk but use them in small amounts. Knowing your cost per unit lets you price recipes accurately and spot savings.
Type in the ingredient name, how much you bought (e.g. 10 lb), and what you paid. This is the information on your supplier invoice.
The calculator converts your bulk price into cost per oz, per lb, per gram, per kg — or per cup, tbsp, tsp if you bought by volume. Every unit in the same measurement family is shown.
Add a second package size to see which is the better deal. Or enter how much you use in a recipe to see exactly what that ingredient costs you per dish.
The formula
Cost Per Unit = Purchase Price ÷ Purchase Quantity (in target units)
Tips
FAQ
Divide the total purchase price by the total weight in ounces. The formula: Cost per Ounce = Purchase Price ÷ Total Ounces.
For example, a 10 lb bag of flour costs $4.50. That's 160 oz, so the cost per ounce is $4.50 ÷ 160 = $0.028/oz. This calculator does the conversion automatically for every unit in the same measurement family.
Not in this calculator. Converting between weight and volume requires knowing the ingredient's density, which varies widely — 1 cup of flour weighs 120g but 1 cup of sugar weighs 200g. Honey, oil, and butter all have different densities too.
Use our recipe converter for density-aware conversions between weight and volume units.
Click "Add package to compare" and enter the second package's price, quantity, and unit. The calculator shows the cost per base unit for each package and highlights the better deal, including exactly how much you save.
For example, a 25 lb bag of flour at $8.50 ($0.34/lb) vs a 50 lb bag at $14.00 ($0.28/lb) — the larger bag saves you 17.6% per pound. But only buy the larger size if you'll use it before it loses quality.
The calculator supports three measurement families:
Weight: lb, oz, kg, g
Volume: gallon, quart, pint, cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, liter, milliliter
Count: each, dozen
It converts within the same family — weight to weight, volume to volume, count to count. For cross-family conversions (like pounds to cups), use our recipe converter.
The food cost calculator costs an entire recipe with multiple ingredients and calculates food cost percentage. This tool focuses on a single ingredient — breaking down a bulk purchase price into per-unit costs.
Use this tool first to find your per-unit costs, then plug those numbers into the food cost calculator to cost full recipes. Think of it as step one in the recipe costing workflow.
Per-unit cost is the foundation of recipe costing. If you don't know what an ounce of chicken or a tablespoon of olive oil costs, you can't accurately price your menu.
Even small errors compound fast. If you're off by $0.05 per oz on chicken and each plate uses 6 oz, that's $0.30 per plate. Across 200 covers a day, that's $60/day or $21,900/year — from a single ingredient miscalculation. Learn the full formula in our guide on the food cost percentage formula.
Always cost ingredients at edible portion, not as-purchased weight. A whole salmon at $12/lb yields about 60% usable meat after removing the head, bones, and skin — making your real cost $20/lb of usable product.
The formula: Edible Portion Cost = Purchase Price ÷ Yield %. Common yield percentages: whole chicken 65%, bone-in beef 75%, fresh shrimp (shell-on) 50%, leafy greens 70-80%. Factor this in before plugging costs into our recipe cost calculator.
Not always. Larger packages usually have a lower per-unit cost, but three factors can make bulk a bad deal:
1. Spoilage: If you can't use 50 lbs of lettuce before it wilts, the waste wipes out your savings.
2. Storage cost: Freezer and dry storage space have real costs — rent per square foot adds up.
3. Cash flow: Tying up $500 in one ingredient means less cash for other purchases.
Use this calculator to find the per-unit savings, then weigh those savings against spoilage risk and storage capacity. For high-volume, shelf-stable items (flour, sugar, oil), bulk almost always wins.
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Try it freeThis calculator gives you a snapshot. DishCost gives you the full picture — save every recipe, track ingredient prices over time, and get alerts when your costs change.
Start free with DishCost