Restaurant Break-Even Calculator

Enter Your Restaurant Costs

💰 Fixed Costs (Monthly)

Rent ($)

Insurance ($)

Utilities ($)

Equipment/Depreciation ($)

Other Fixed Costs ($)

👥 Labor Costs (Monthly)

Salaries & Wages ($)

Benefits & Payroll Tax ($)

📊 Variable Costs (as % of Revenue)

Food Cost (%)

Beverage Cost (%)

Credit Card Fees (%)

Other Variable Costs (%)

Break-Even Analysis

Monthly Break-Even Revenue

Total revenue needed per month

Daily Break-Even Revenue

Average revenue needed per day

Weekly Break-Even Revenue

Average revenue needed per week

Total Fixed Costs

Monthly fixed expenses

Variable Cost Percentage

Total variable costs as % of revenue

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How to Use Our Free Restaurant Break-Even Point Calculator?

This break-even point calculator determines the exact revenue you need to cover your costs and start making a profit using proven financial formulas and industry-standard metrics. Understanding your break-even point gives you a clear path to profitability and helps restaurant operators make informed decisions about pricing, cost control, and sales targets.

Use our restaurant break-even calculator by following these simple steps to calculate your break-even point accurately:

1. Enter Fixed Costs (Monthly)

Rent ($) Input your monthly lease or mortgage payment. Common fixed costs include rent, which is typically your largest fixed expense, averaging 6-10% of total sales for profitable restaurants. Examples of fixed costs include prime location rents that command higher prices but often generate proportionally higher sales volume.
Insurance ($) Include general liability, property, workers’ compensation, and specialty coverage. Fixed costs include insurance expenses that typically cost $3,000-$8,000 annually, regardless of how many customers you need to serve monthly.
Utilities ($) Enter monthly costs for electricity, gas, water, waste management, and telecommunications. Restaurant utilities are mixed costs with fixed costs components, averaging $3-5 per square foot annually, with kitchen-heavy operations requiring 20-30% more than average retail spaces.
Equipment/Depreciation ($) Include lease payments, financing costs, or depreciation for kitchen equipment, POS systems, furniture, and technology. These fixed and variable costs should be spread over 5-7 years to calculate how much revenue you need monthly.
Other Fixed Costs ($) Add permits, licenses, restaurant management software subscriptions, security systems, and recurring monthly expenses that don’t vary with sales volume.

2. Input Labor Costs (Monthly)

Salaries & Wages ($) Include all employee compensation for servers, cooks, managers, hosts, dishwashers, and prep staff. Food and labor costs typically represent 25-35% of total sales, directly impacting your bottom line and break-even analysis.
Benefits & Payroll Tax ($) Add employer contributions for Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, health benefits, and paid time off. Understanding your break-even point requires calculating these costs that typically add 20-25% to base wage costs.

3. Set Variable Costs (as % of Revenue)

Food Cost (%) Enter your cost of goods sold for all food items as a percentage of revenue. The cost of ingredients varies by concept, and knowing your break-even point helps optimize estimated margins on food:

Fast Casual: 28-32%
Casual Dining: 28-35%
Fine Dining: 28-38%
Pizza/Italian: 25-30%

Beverage Cost (%) Include all alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Variable expenses that change with sales volume, with margins on food and drinks based on:

Beer/Wine: 20-30%
Full Bar: 18-24%
Coffee/Soft Drinks: 15-25%
Non-alcoholic only: 20-28%

Credit Card Fees (%) Enter processing fees for all payment methods. Variable cost per transaction ranges from 2.5-3.5% of sales, with higher percentages for small businesses or premium card transactions.

Other Variable Costs (%) Include delivery fees, takeout packaging, marketing costs, and expenses that change based on how much you sell monthly.

Restaurant Break-Even Analysis by Concept Type

Cost Category	Fast Casual	Casual Dining	Fine Dining	Quick Service
Food Cost	28-32%	30-35%	32-38%	28-32%
Beverage Cost	20-25%	22-28%	20-30%	25-30%
Labor	25-30%	28-32%	30-35%	22-28%
Rent	6-8%	6-10%	8-12%	6-8%
Total Variable	55-65%	60-70%	65-75%	60-68%

Understanding Your Restaurant's Break-Even Point

Break-Even Point Calculation Results

Our restaurant break-even point calculator provides comprehensive financial targets to calculate the break-even point for your specific operational requirements.

Monthly Break-Even Revenue – Total sales per month needed to cover all your costs without profit or loss. The break-even point is the moment when much revenue you need equals your total expenses, typically ranging from $50,000-$300,000 depending on restaurant size and concept.
Daily Break-Even Revenue – Average daily sales targets to reach your break-even point, helping you monitor performance and calculate how many guests you need to serve daily to cover your costs.
Weekly Break-Even Revenue – Mid-term performance benchmark useful for weekly scheduling and understanding how much you need to sell to break even.

Fixed and Variable Cost Analysis

Your break-even analysis helps identify the complete operational cost framework across all business areas.

Total Fixed Costs represent expenses that remain constant regardless of sales volume, typically 35-50% of your restaurant’s break-even point. Fixed costs include rent, insurance, base salaries, and equipment costs that provide your operational foundation.
Variable Cost Percentage shows expenses that change with sales volume, ideally staying between 50-65% of revenue to maintain financial health. Higher percentages indicate potential pricing or cost control issues requiring immediate attention.
Contribution Margin (100% minus variable costs) represents the percentage of each sales dollar available to cover fixed costs and generate profit. To calculate your break-even point effectively, healthy restaurants maintain 35-50% contribution margins.

How to Calculate The Break-Even Point - The Formulas

Break-Even Point Formula

Restaurant Break-Even Point = Total Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution Margin

Contribution Margin = 1 - (Variable Costs ÷ Revenue)

Calculate Your Break-Even Point

Break-Even Revenue = Fixed Costs ÷ (1 - Variable Cost %)

Number of Guests You Need Calculation

Guests You Need to Serve = Break-Even Revenue ÷ Average Guest Check

Daily Break-Even Calculation

Daily Break-Even = Monthly Break-Even ÷ 30.4 days

Cost Per Guest = Total Costs ÷ Number of Guests

Path to Profitability Formula

Monthly Profit = Actual Revenue - Break-Even Revenue

Profit Margin = (Revenue - Break-Even) ÷ Revenue × 100

How to Optimize Break-Even Point for a Restaurant?

The most effective way to find your break-even point and make your restaurant profitable is through strategic cost management and revenue enhancement. Every restaurant needs to calculate break-even point targets between 65-75% of revenue – anything above 80% indicates your restaurant break even performance requires immediate optimization.

Cost Reduction Strategies to Lower Break-Even Point for Your Restaurant

Fixed Cost Optimization: Renegotiate lease terms, consolidate insurance policies, and invest in energy-efficient equipment. Key restaurant operators need to calculate these monthly fixed expenses and reduce them by 5-10% without impacting service quality, directly lowering what you need to sell to cover operational costs.
Variable Cost Control: Implement inventory management systems, negotiate supplier contracts, and optimize portion sizes. Restaurant break even analysis requires regular monitoring to maintain food costs within industry benchmarks while preserving quality standards and contribution margin.
Labor Cost Management: Cross-training staff and optimizing scheduling helps restaurant needs for efficiency. Calculate break-even point improvements of 8-12% through strategic staffing that reduces labor costs while maintaining service standards.

Revenue Enhancement Strategies for Restaurant Break Even Success

Average Check Optimization: Menu engineering, upselling training, and strategic pricing can increase average checks by 8-15%. Find your break-even point by calculating how higher guest spending directly improves your restaurant break even performance and reduces the volume you need to sell to cover fixed costs.
Technology Integration: Restaurant management software and online ordering systems can increase revenue by 15-25% through expanded reach and improved order accuracy. This dual benefit helps you find out when your business will start making consistent profits by reducing both costs and increasing sales volume.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlined service processes and optimized scheduling reduce labor costs while maintaining service quality. Calculate break-even point improvements of 10-20% through these efficiency gains that directly impact what your restaurant needs to achieve profitability.

Break Even Analysis for Long-Term Restaurant Success

Many restaurant expenses require careful analysis to find your break-even point accurately. Restaurant break even calculations help operators separate fixed and variable costs to better understand exactly what they need to sell to cover all operational expenses.

Key Restaurant Performance Metrics:

Calculate break-even point daily, weekly, and monthly to track progress
Monitor cost per guest to optimize pricing strategies and find your break-even point faster
Track variable cost per unit to maintain healthy contribution margins
Analyze sales targets against actual performance to ensure your restaurant profitable operations

Strategic Break-Even Monitoring: Find out when your business will start making consistent profits by using break even analysis tools regularly. Key restaurant metrics help you understand exactly what your restaurant needs to achieve sustainable profitability.

Technology-Driven Optimization: Modern restaurant management software helps you calculate break-even point more accurately and monitor performance in real-time. This technology integration helps you find your break-even point and optimize operations to make your business will start making profits sooner.

Restaurant break even success requires understanding your financial foundation through accurate break-even point calculation. Combined with strategic cost control and revenue optimization, knowing your break-even point for your restaurant creates sustainable profitability while maintaining the operational standards that drive long-term success. Use break even analysis regularly to determine exactly what you need to sell to cover all costs and achieve consistent profitability.

Restaurant Break Even Point Calculator FAQs

How to calculate break-even for a restaurant?

To calculate break-even for a restaurant, divide your total fixed costs by your contribution margin (revenue minus variable costs). Use the formula: Break-Even Revenue = Fixed Costs ÷ (1 - Variable Cost %). Include all monthly fixed costs like rent, insurance, and salaries, plus variable costs like food cost percentage and credit card fees.

How do you calculate break-even number of customers?

Calculate break-even number of customers by dividing your break-even revenue by your average check per customer. Formula: Break-Even Customers = Break-Even Revenue ÷ Average Guest Check. For example, if you need $50,000 monthly revenue and your average check is $25, you need 2,000 customers per month to break even.

How to calculate break-even point for a service business?

For service businesses, calculate break-even point using: Fixed Costs ÷ (Price per Service - Variable Cost per Service). Service businesses typically have lower variable costs than restaurants, focusing mainly on labor costs and overhead. Include rent, salaries, insurance, and equipment as fixed costs, with materials and commission as variable costs.

What is the break-even point in the hotel industry?

Hotel break-even point is calculated as: Fixed Costs ÷ (Average Daily Rate - Variable Cost per Room). Hotels measure break-even by occupied rooms needed monthly. Include property costs, staff salaries, and utilities as fixed costs, with housekeeping supplies and amenities as variable costs. Most hotels need 60-70% occupancy to break even.

What is Menubly and how does it work?

Menubly is an affordable and easy-to-use online menu and ordering platform that helps restaurants create beautiful, interactive online menus and take orders directly from customers - with zero commission fees.

When customers want to view your menu, they can scan a QR code at your restaurant table or click a link you share on social media. They'll see a mobile-friendly menu that makes it easy to browse dishes, check prices, and place orders directly with you - whether for dine-in, pickup, or takeaway.

What types of businesses can use Menubly?

Menubly is perfect for any food business that wants to modernize its menu experience with an online menu that customers can access instantly and place orders through, such as:

Restaurants (fast food, casual dining, fine dining, etc)
Cafes and coffee shops
Bars and breweries
Bakeries
Food trucks
Ghost kitchens and delivery-only brands
Juice bars and smoothie shops
Catering and event services