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Menu Pricing Calculator
Work the payout formula backwards: find the break-even price and the margin-safe price for any dish on a delivery app.
- Recommended price
- Break-even price
- Expected profit
Your cost per order
What it costs you to make and pack one order.
Platform terms
GST on commission is fixed at 18% and added automatically.
Your margin
Recommended price
₹333.76
The price that keeps exactly a 20% margin
What ₹333.76 earns per order
Scenario mode
What if costs or terms change?
Scenario mode
Move the sliders to test a change. Your inputs stay as they are.
| Metric | Current | Scenario | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total cost | ₹130 | ₹130 | ₹0 |
| Break-even price | ₹221 | ₹221 | ₹0 |
| Recommended price | ₹334 | ₹334 | ₹0 |
| Expected profit | ₹67 | ₹67 | ₹0 |
Green means better for your restaurant, red means worse. Estimates only.
Pricing insights
The discount raises your menu price
Without the 10% discount, the same margin needs only ₹285.71 instead of ₹333.76. Keep discounts for slow hours or first orders.
You keep 59% of each rupee of price
That's what's left of the selling price after discount, commission + 18% GST, and ads. It's the number every price is divided by.
Never list below break-even
At ₹220.53 this dish earns ₹0 after deductions and costs. Any lower and every order loses money.
Estimates based on the numbers you entered. Not a guarantee of results.
Formula
How the numbers are calculated
- Total cost
- Dish cost + Labour + Packaging cost
- factor
- (1 − Discount) × (1 − Ads − 1.18 × Commission) − Margin
- Break-even price
- Total cost ÷ factor, with Margin = 0
- Recommended price
- Total cost ÷ factor at your margin (exact, not rounded)
- If factor ≤ 0
- No price can cover costs at this margin
Learn
Understanding menu pricing
What is this?
A way to set delivery-app prices from your real cost per order instead of copying competitors or guessing.
How it works
It runs the Online Payout formula backwards. For every rupee of selling price, the discount comes off first, then commission plus 18% GST on it, then ads. What's left is the factor. Dividing your total cost by it gives the price. GST the customer pays on food isn't counted, because the platform collects and pays it.
Why it matters
Dine-in prices copied onto delivery apps often lose money once discounts, commission, GST and ads are taken out. Pricing from cost fixes that.
Worked example
Dish ₹100 + Labour ₹15 + Packaging ₹15 = ₹130. With 10% discount, 25% commission and 5% ads, factor = 0.9 × (1 − 0.05 − 1.18 × 0.25) = 0.5895. Break-even = ₹130 ÷ 0.5895 = ₹220.53. For a 20% margin: ₹130 ÷ 0.3895 = ₹333.76. At ₹333.76 the payout is ₹196.75 and profit ₹66.75 (20%).
Common mistakes
- Forgetting labour or packaging in the total cost.
- Mixing up your packaging cost with the packaging charge to the customer.
- Running a big discount on a dish priced for no discount.
Ways to improve
- Re-cost dishes whenever supplier prices change.
- Check the Online Payout calculator to confirm the profit at your final price.
- Keep discounts for slow hours so peak-hour prices stay profitable.
Reference ranges are indicative, drawn from common industry practice. The right numbers for your outlet depend on format, city, cuisine and pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Is the price rounded?
No. The calculator shows the exact price. If you round it for your menu, round up, so you stay at or above your margin.
Why is GST on commission fixed at 18%?
Platforms charge 18% GST on their commission. It isn't something you choose, so it's built in to avoid mistakes.
What if it says no price can cover costs?
Your discount, commission and ads leave too little of each rupee to cover cost plus margin. Lower the discount, ads or margin.
What is the break-even price?
The price at which the dish earns ₹0 after all deductions and costs. Selling below it loses money on every order.
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