Tools
Free restaurant calculators compared: 6 brands checked
Six restaurant software companies offer free calculators. We checked which ask for your details first, which show the formula and which say where their targets come from.
By Felix S. Pavel · · 7 min read
Key takeaways
- We checked 8 free calculators from 6 software companies on October 10, 2026: 5 ask for at least your email before you see a result, and 3 don't.
- On their own pages, only Homebase said where its targets come from; the others gave ranges with no source, or none.
- Some do what ours don't: spreadsheets you keep, labor built role by role with overtime, a P&L template and a printable break-even sheet.
- RestaurantDoctorAI's calculators need no email, show each formula with your numbers in it, and say where their targets come from.
In this article · 6 sections
Search for a free restaurant calculator and most of what you find comes from companies that sell restaurant software. Some tools work right on the page. Others are a spreadsheet you get after you hand over your name, email and phone number. We opened 8 free calculators from 6 well-known companies on October 10, 2026, and checked each one on four things an owner cares about. Then we held our own to the same four.
How we checked
We read each tool's own page in a browser. We didn't fill in or send any form, and we didn't download any file that sits behind one. So we only say what the page itself shows. If a spreadsheet may hold more inside, we say we couldn't see it. The four questions:
- What it works out: food cost, labor cost, prime cost or break-even.
- What it asks before you see a result: nothing, an email, or a full form.
- Whether the formula is shown, so you can check the math by hand.
- Whether it gives targets, and whether it says where they come from.
Free restaurant calculators, side by side
| Company and tool | Works out | Before you see a result | Formula shown | Targets and their source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toast: Labor Cost Calculator | Labor cost, hourly and salaried (Excel file) | A form: name, email, phone, business name and role; the link comes by email | In the file, the page says; not on the page | None on the page |
| Toast: COVID-19 Restaurant Financial Toolkit | Prime cost as a share of gross sales, plus P&L, budget, balance sheet and overhead rate (Excel file) | The same five-field form | In the file; not on the page | None on the page |
| 7shifts: labor cost calculator | Labor cost and labor %, role by role, with overtime pay | Nothing: it works on the page | Yes, in its FAQ | 25–35% of revenue, called industry standards; no source named |
| 7shifts: food cost template | Food cost % (Excel file) | A form: first and last name, email, and whether you're a restaurant | Yes, in its FAQ | Ranges by type (for example 18–22% at quick service); no source named |
| Homebase: restaurant labor cost calculator | Labor cost and labor %, with overtime and double time | No email box among its inputs | Yes, in its FAQ | 25–31% quick service, 34–38% full service; sources named, not linked |
| Lightspeed: food cost calculator | A dish's cost, markup, profit per sale and price | The page asks for your business type and email first | Not on the page | None on the page |
| MarketMan: prime cost calculator | Labor, cost of goods sold from your inventory counts, and prime cost (a sheet) | A form: name, email, cell phone, restaurant, job title, locations and country | The steps are described; the formula isn't written out | Checks you against benchmarks by type; no figures or source on the page |
| SpotOn: break-even calculator | Break-even sales and guests by month, day and quarter (fillable PDF) | Nothing: the link opens the PDF | Yes, printed at the top | None |
Three of the eight work without asking who you are: 7shifts' labor calculator, Homebase's and SpotOn's break-even sheet. The other five ask for at least an email first, and three of those ask for a phone number too. That isn't a trick: these are free tools from companies that sell software, and the form is how they hear from people who might buy. Toast's, for one, says sending it signs you up for its marketing emails. Just know before you start that the form is part of the deal.
Targets are where the tools differ most. A number like “labor should be 30%” is only as good as where it came from. On these pages, Homebase is the only one that says where its ranges come from. The rest give ranges with no source, or none at all, at least on the page.
What these tools do that ours don't
Here's where each one does something RestaurantDoctorAI's calculators don't:
- A spreadsheet you keep. Toast's, 7shifts' food cost and MarketMan's files are yours to keep, change and reuse week after week. Our calculators work in the browser and don't give you a file to keep.
- Labor built up role by role. 7shifts takes each role's hours and hourly rate and works out the overtime pay for you. Homebase adds double-time hours, which matter in California and other states with daily overtime. Ours starts from the hourly pay on your payroll report, overtime already in.
- More than one statement. Toast's toolkit has a P&L, a budget and a balance sheet template. We have no templates like those.
- A sheet to print. SpotOn's PDF has a line for every bill, from rent to natural gas, and gives a quarterly figure too. Ours works by month, week and day.
- Sources named for labor targets. Homebase lists where its ranges come from, right in its FAQ.
RestaurantDoctorAI's calculators on the same four questions
We read our own code to fill this in, not our memory. Our free restaurant calculators all work on the page, with no email, no account and no sign-up. Each page shows its formula, and a “How we worked it out” line opens the same formula with your own numbers in it, so you can check it by hand.
| Calculator | Works out | Before you see a result | Formula shown | Targets and their source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime cost | Prime cost %, food and labor halves, against your type of restaurant | Nothing | Yes, with your numbers | RestaurantDoctorAI's ceilings, 57–70% by type; the page names RestaurantOwner.com and the National Restaurant Association, and says which ceilings are our own |
| Labor cost | Labor %, the hours next week's sales pay for, and sales per labor hour | Nothing | Yes, with your numbers | RestaurantDoctorAI's ranges, 25–38% by type, shown next to the National Restaurant Association's medians |
| Break-even | Sales and guests needed by month, week and day; a range if you're not sure how hourly pay behaves | Nothing | Yes, with your numbers | None: break-even is your own number |
| Food cost | One plate's cost, its food cost % and the price that hits your target | Nothing | Yes, with your numbers | RestaurantDoctorAI's food cost ranges by type; sources on the methodology page |
| Delivery app price | The app price that leaves you what the dish earns in-house | Nothing | Yes, with your numbers | None: it uses your real commission rate |
Our targets are RestaurantDoctorAI's targets, not industry rules. Where an outside source publishes a line, as RestaurantOwner.com does for prime cost at quick service and table service, ours match it. Where none does, as for fine dining and bars, the page says the number is ours. The methodology page lists every source.
In the prime cost, labor cost and break-even calculators you can tap “Remember on this device” to keep your numbers in your own browser, so they're there next time, and break-even offers to start from a month you saved in another one. Where ours falls short is in the list above: no file to keep, no role-by-role labor and no P&L template.
Which one fits the job
- To check one number now, without giving your email: 7shifts' or Homebase's labor tool, SpotOn's break-even sheet, or ours.
- To build next week's schedule role by role, with overtime pay worked out: 7shifts' labor calculator.
- To track numbers week after week in your own file, and you don't mind giving your phone number: Toast's or MarketMan's spreadsheet.
- To see whether your number is good for your type of restaurant, with the source of the target in view: our prime cost and labor cost calculators, or Homebase for labor.
Whatever you pick, the math is the same. Every formula these tools use is in our restaurant formulas guide, and the guides to prime cost, labor cost and food cost % explain what counts in each.
Free calculatorStart with the biggest one: prime cost calculatorFood, drink and labor as a share of your sales, against the target for your type of restaurant. No sign-up.This week
- Pull one week's net sales, food and drink invoices and payroll from your POS and payroll reports.
- Put them in a prime cost calculator, ours or any of the others. Write down which sales figure and which costs it used.
- If it gives a target, find out where the target comes from. If it can't tell you, treat it as a rule of thumb.
- If labor is the half running high, build next week's schedule from the hours your sales can pay for.
Felix S. Pavel, founder of RestaurantDoctorAI, built the free profit check for independent restaurants.
Sources
- Restaurant Labor Cost Calculator, Toast, No date shown; read October 10, 2026.
- The COVID-19 Restaurant Financial Toolkit, Toast, No date shown; read October 10, 2026.
- Restaurant labor cost calculator, 7shifts, No date shown; read October 10, 2026.
- Free restaurant food cost calculator for Excel, 7shifts, No date shown; read October 10, 2026.
- Restaurant Labor Cost Calculator + AI Schedule Optimizer, Homebase, No date shown; read October 10, 2026.
- Food Cost Calculator, Lightspeed, No date shown; read October 10, 2026.
- Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator, MarketMan, No date shown; read October 10, 2026.
- Restaurant Break-Even Point (BEP) Calculator, SpotOn, No date shown; read October 10, 2026.
How this post was made: drafted with AI help. Every figure and rule in it was checked against the sources above on .
General information for independent restaurant owners, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are as each source published them on the date shown; check the source for the latest.
