For independent restaurants
Know exactly what every dish costs you.
You're eyeballing ingredient costs and guessing your margins. DishCost calculates your food cost % on every recipe, tracks price changes, and tells you which dishes are losing you money.
Recipes
24
Ingredients
87
Avg Food Cost
29.4%
Food Cost Distribution
The problem
You're running a restaurant, not a software project.
Most food cost tools are built for chains with IT departments. You need answers tonight, not a 3-week onboarding.
I just eyeball it and hope for the best.
Most independent operators track food cost in their head or a spreadsheet — if at all. That’s money leaving every single plate.
MarketMan wanted $199/mo. xtraCHEF only works with Toast.
Enterprise tools built for chains, priced for chains. There was nothing in the middle — until now.
I tried to cancel and they wanted 60-day notice.
That’s a real quote from a real restaurant operator. DishCost is month-to-month. Cancel in 30 seconds from your settings.
Setup took 3 weeks and I still didn’t understand it.
DishCost has one job: enter a recipe, see your food cost %. You’ll have your first result in under a minute.
How it works
From zero to knowing your margins in 60 seconds.
01
Add your ingredients
Enter each ingredient with its price per unit. Chicken thighs, kosher salt, olive oil — whatever goes in the dish.
02
Build your recipe
Combine ingredients with quantities per serving. DishCost calculates your total cost and cost per serving instantly.
03
See your food cost %
Set your menu price and get your food cost percentage immediately. Green = healthy. Amber = watch it. Red = losing money.
The product
See exactly where your money goes.
Dashboard
Recipes
24
3 without menu price
Ingredients
87
Avg Food Cost %
29.4%
Target: 28\u201332%
Food Cost Distribution
Your entire menu, ranked by food cost. Spot the problem dishes instantly.
Beef Short Rib
4 servings · $38.00 menu price
Total Cost
$47.20
Cost / Serving
$11.80
Food Cost %
31.1%
Profit / Serving
$26.20
Cost Breakdown
Every ingredient accounted for. Adjust quantities, see costs update instantly.
Features
Everything you need. Nothing you don't.
Built for single-location restaurants, priced like it.
Real-time food cost %
Every recipe gets an instant food cost percentage. Color-coded so you see at a glance which dishes make money and which ones are draining it. Update an ingredient price and every affected recipe recalculates automatically.
Food Cost %
28.4%
Target: 28\u201332%
Price change tracking
When your beef supplier raises prices, DishCost recalculates every affected recipe immediately. No manual updates. You'll see exactly which dishes got more expensive and by how much.
Full menu overview
See every dish ranked by food cost percentage. The distribution bar shows your menu health at a glance — how many dishes are healthy, how many need attention, and which ones are losing you money.
Menu Health
Pricing
Simple, honest pricing
MarketMan is $199/mo. xtraCHEF requires Toast. We built this for the independent restaurant with no IT department and no appetite for overpriced software.
For restaurant owners tracking their first 50 recipes.
- 50 saved recipes
- Ingredient price history
- CSV export
- Email support
For operators who want every dish accounted for.
- Unlimited recipes
- Cost change alerts
- PDF & CSV export
- Menu cost dashboard
- Priority support
Less than the cost of one mispriced dish per month.
No setup fee. No annual contracts. Cancel anytime.
Not ready to commit? Try the free calculator — no account needed.
Compare
Everything MarketMan charges $199/mo for. We charge $39.
Same recipe costing. None of the enterprise bloat.
Your margins won't fix themselves at midnight.
You already know which dishes feel expensive to make. DishCost tells you exactly which ones are losing you money — and by how much. Enter your first recipe in 60 seconds.