GP margin calculator for food and drinks
Gross profit (GP) % is the selling price without VAT, minus what the dish or drink cost you, divided by that net price. A pint sold at £5.20 including 20% VAT is £4.33 net; if it costs you £1.45, GP is £2.88, or 66.5%.
Work out the gross profit on any dish or drink in seconds. Everything stays in your browser: nothing is sent or saved.
Enter a price and a cost.
How GP is worked out
GP % = (net selling price − cost) ÷ net selling price × 100
- Take VAT off the menu price. At 20%, divide by 1.2: a £14.50 dish is £12.08 net.
- Take off what the dish costs you: £12.08 − £4.10 = £7.98 gross profit.
- Divide by the net price: £7.98 ÷ £12.08 = 66.1% GP.
A worked example for a pint
A pint sells at £5.20. Net of VAT that's £4.33. If a keg works out at £1.45 a pint after line cleaning and wastage, GP is £2.88 a pint, or 66.5%. Raise the price to £5.40 and GP goes to 68.8%: small price moves make a big difference on high-volume lines.
Keeping GP where it should be
GP drifts when supplier prices rise, portions creep up, or waste goes unrecorded. The fixes are dull but they work: cost every dish when you write the menu, re-cost when a supplier puts prices up, weigh portions, and log waste every shift. The menu price calculator works backwards from a target GP to the price you should charge.
ShiftComplete keeps the daily routine that protects GP on your team's phones: delivery checks, stock rotation and waste logged as checklist items with names and times, plus labour cost while you build the rota. See how to calculate GP on drinks for wet sales.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I take VAT off before working out GP?
Because VAT isn't yours: you collect it and pay it to HMRC. If you work GP out on the price including VAT, every dish looks more profitable than it is. Most food and drink sold in pubs, restaurants and cafés is standard-rated at 20%, so the net price is the menu price divided by 1.2. Some cold takeaway food is zero-rated; check with your accountant.
What's the difference between GP % and mark-up?
GP % is profit as a share of the selling price. Mark-up is profit as a share of the cost. A dish costing £3 sold for £10 net has a GP of 70% but a mark-up of 233%. Hospitality usually talks in GP %, so that's what this calculator shows first.
What should I include in the cost?
Everything that goes on the plate or in the glass: ingredients, garnish, sauce, the portion of bread or chips, and a small allowance for waste. For draught drinks, use the cost per pint after allowing for line cleaning and spillage. Labour isn't included in GP; track it separately as labour cost %.
What GP should a pub or restaurant aim for?
There's no official figure. Operators commonly talk about targets in the 60s to 70s percent for food and wet sales, but the right number depends on your prices, your rent and your wage bill. Work out your actual GP by product and compare it with your own target.
Sources
Checked 26 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.