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Catering price calculator (per person)
For caterers: work out a price per guest from your food cost, staff hours, rentals, travel and overhead, then check your food cost percentage and what customers pay for catering in 2026.
Example filled in: a 60-guest birthday or office buffet (worked example 1 below). This tool prices catering; it doesn’t work out how much food to order.
Your cost per guest
$27.05
The lowest price to accept. Below this, the job loses money.
Market check
$40 – $65 wedding buffet, per guest
- Market range
- Your floor
- Your price per guest
Zola (updated Feb 19, 2026): wedding catering by service style. National figures; check local competitors.
Other published figures
Your price per guest
$40.00 · $2,400 for the whole event
The higher of your cost-plus price and your food-cost price, rounded up to the next $1. Service charge, gratuity and tax go on top if you charge them.
- Profit on the event$777.20
- Margin on the event32%
- Food cost, % of the price30%
How the numbers are worked out
| Food: 60 guests × $12 | $720.00 |
|---|---|
| Staff: 24 h × $20/h | $480.00 |
| Rentals and disposables | $150.00 |
| Travel: 30 mi × $0.76 | $22.80 |
| Overhead share | $250.00 |
| Event cost | $1,622.80 |
| Cost per guest | $27.05 |
| Cost-plus: event cost ÷ (1 − 20%) ÷ 60 guests | $33.81 |
| Food-cost price: $12 ÷ 30% | $40.00 |
| Price per guest (the higher, rounded up to $1) | $40.00 |
| Event total: 60 guests | $2,400.00 |
Copied
The printed quote is for your customer: it shows the price and what is included, never your costs, floor or margin. Add your business and customer details below first.
Customer quote details
How it works
The method, step by step
Market rates tell you the ceiling. Your costs tell you the floor. Every number above is an example: replace it with your own.
Event cost
Guests × food cost per guest, plus staff hours × pay, rentals and disposables, round-trip miles × cost per mile, and a share of your overhead. Count every staff hour: shopping, prep, travel, setup, service and cleanup.
Cost-plus price
Event cost ÷ (1 − margin) ÷ guests. A 20% margin means dividing by 0.80, so 20% of the price is profit.
Food-cost price
Food cost per guest ÷ your target food cost %. Toast suggests 25–30% for catering: at 30%, $12 of ingredients means $40 a guest.
Take the higher, then check
The higher of the two prices, rounded up to $1, times the guests gives the event total. Compare it with what customers pay for that service style. Most published figures are wedding prices, so other events usually run lower.
Example: replace with your own
These inputs in the calculator and the worked examples have no published source behind them. Use your own numbers.
- Food cost: $12 per guest
- Staff hours: 24 for a 60-guest buffet
- Rentals and disposables: $150
- Overhead share: $250 per event
- Your pay rate ($20 an hour), margin (20%) and food cost target (30%, inside Toast’s 25–30%) are choices, not market figures
Worked examples
3 events, priced with this calculator
Each example is worked out by the calculator above, with the same formula. Open one to see every line, then change it to your own numbers.
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Example 1
Birthday or office buffet, 60 guests
The example filled in above: 60 guests, $12 of food per guest, 24 staff hours at $20, $150 of rentals and disposables, 30 miles round trip at $0.76, a $250 overhead share, a 20% margin and a 30% food cost target. Style: buffet.
- Your cost per guest
- $27.05
- Market check
- $40–$65
- Your price per guest
- $40.00$2,400 for the whole event
- Profit on the event
- $777.20
- Margin on the event
- 32%
- Food cost, % of the price
- 30%
The food-cost price is higher than the cost-plus price here, so it sets the price. The wedding buffet range is only a rough check for a birthday or office party.
Open example 1 in the calculator -
Example 2
Plated wedding, 120 guests
120 guests, $22 of food per guest, 70 staff hours at $22, $900 of rentals, 50 miles round trip and a $500 overhead share. Same margin and food cost target.
- Your cost per guest
- $46.82
- Market check
- $65–$85
- Your price per guest
- $74.00$8,880 for the whole event
- Profit on the event
- $3,262.00
- Margin on the event
- 37%
- Food cost, % of the price
- 30%
A plated dinner needs far more staff hours, and the price lands inside Zola’s plated range.
Open example 2 in the calculator -
Example 3
Drop-off lunch, 40 guests
40 guests, $8 of food per guest, 6 staff hours (cooking, packing and delivery), $40 of disposables, 20 miles round trip and a $100 overhead share. Same margin and food cost target.
- Your cost per guest
- $14.88
- Market check
- $15–$18
- Your price per guest
- $27.00$1,080 for the whole event
- Profit on the event
- $484.80
- Margin on the event
- 45%
- Food cost, % of the price
- 30%
$27.00 a guest is above the drop-off, food only, per guest range ($15–$18). Check your hours and food cost, then what local caterers charge.
With no service staff the food-cost target sets the price. It lands above Thumbtack’s drop-off figures, which date from 2021: check what local caterers charge.
Open example 3 in the calculator
Market rates
What customers pay for catering in 2026
Most per-guest figures are wedding prices; birthdays, office lunches and drop-offs usually cost less. National estimates from cost guides and quote data, not audited statistics. Check what local caterers charge.
| What | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wedding buffet, per guest | $40–$65 | Zola |
| Wedding family style, per guest | $50–$70 | Zola |
| Wedding plated dinner, per guest | $65–$85 | Zola |
| Wedding food stations, per guest | $45–$75 | Zola |
| Wedding cocktail reception, per guest | $35–$55 | Zola |
| Wedding catering, average per guest | $80 (2026 study) | The Knot |
| Wedding catering by region, per guest | $62–$123 (2025 study) | The Knot |
| Hiring a caterer, national average per event | $974–$2,489 | Thumbtack |
| Event for 41–50 guests | $1,492 average | Thumbtack |
| Event for 91–100 guests | $2,186 average | Thumbtack |
| Drop-off, food only, per guest | $15–$18 (2021 page) | Thumbtack |
| Service charge | 18–22% of food and drink | Zola |
| Gratuity | 15–20% | Zola |
| Food cost target for catering | 25–30% of the price | Toast |
| Restaurant median food cost, 2024 | 32.0% full service, 32.4% limited service (National Restaurant Association data) | Toast |
| Restaurant cooks’ median wage | $17.98 an hour (May 2025) | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
| Waiters’ and waitresses’ median wage | $16.94 an hour (May 2025) | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |
Sources
- Zola: Cost of wedding caterers (page dated Feb 19, 2026; read Nov 8, 2026)
- The Knot: Average wedding cost (2026 Real Weddings Study) (page dated Sep 29, 2026; read Nov 8, 2026)
- The Knot: Average cost of wedding catering (2025 study) (page dated Mar 27, 2025; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Thumbtack: Catering costs (page dated Oct 28, 2026; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Thumbtack: Wedding catering cost (page dated Feb 13, 2021; old figures, used only for drop-off, where nothing newer was found; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Toast: How to Price Food to Sell (page dated Mar 24, 2025; read through a text reader; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Toast: How to calculate food cost percentage (National Restaurant Association 2024 medians) (page dated Sep 4, 2026; read Nov 8, 2026)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: restaurant cooks (35-2014), median $17.98 an hour (May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026; median read through the BLS public data API; read Nov 8, 2026)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: waiters and waitresses (35-3031), median $16.94 an hour (May 2025 estimates, released May 15, 2026; median read through the BLS public data API; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Toast: How to Run a Catering Business (page dated Nov 4, 2024; read through a text reader; read Nov 8, 2026)
- Toast: Catering Pricing: How Much To Charge For Catering (page dated Nov 4, 2024; read through a text reader; read Nov 8, 2026)
- IRS: Standard mileage rates (76 cents a mile for business use from July 1, 2026; read Nov 8, 2026)
Cost guides publish estimates from their own marketplace or listing data, not audited statistics. US figures only.
Questions
Pricing questions
How much should I charge per person for catering?
Start from your food cost per guest and your target food cost %: at 30%, $12 of ingredients means about $40 a guest. Then check the price also covers your staff hours, rentals, travel and overhead. For weddings, The Knot puts catering at about $80 a guest, and Zola gives $35–$85 depending on the service style.
What food cost percentage should a caterer aim for?
Toast’s guidance for catering is 25–30% of the price, and the 2024 restaurant median was about 32% (National Restaurant Association, via Toast). If your food share is well above that, your price is probably too low or your portions too large.
How many staff hours should I plan?
Count every hour for every person, not just service: shopping, prep, travel, setup, service and cleanup. Plated dinners need more servers than buffets, and drop-offs need the fewest. We found no published staffing ratio we could verify, so time your own events and keep notes by style and guest count.
Should I add a service charge or gratuity?
Many caterers do. Zola says service charges usually run 18–22% of food and drink, and gratuity 15–20%. Say clearly on the quote what the service charge covers and whether it goes to staff. This calculator’s price is before both.
How should I price drop-off catering?
With the same method and fewer staff hours: no service, often disposables instead of rentals. Thumbtack’s 2021 page put food-only drop-off at about $15–$18 a guest; we found nothing newer, so check local prices.
What profit margin do caterers make?
Toast’s guides disagree: one puts a typical catering return at about 7–8%, another at 10–12%. The margin in this calculator is the profit you build into each quote; slow months and unpaid work come out of it. Set it from your own books.
Do I need a license or a commercial kitchen?
Usually, yes, to cater for the public. Rules on food permits, commercial kitchens and home-based (“cottage”) food differ by state and county. Check with your local health department before you take paid events.
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