Prime cost is food and beverage cost plus labor cost.

Why is 60% often used?

It is a common operator planning line because those two cost buckets usually need to stay around that level to leave room for the rest of the business.

Does this replace labor and food cost tracking?

No. It combines them into one high-level control metric, but you still need to manage each one directly.

Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator

See how much of sales is going to food and labor, how expensive every extra point of prime cost is, and what sales level supports a safer target.

IndustryUseful for food and drink businesses with tickets, bookings, or covers.Monthly salesTotal monthly food and drink sales.Monthly COGSFood, beverage, and packaging cost sold in the month.Monthly labor costHourly payroll, salaries, payroll taxes, and other labor cost in the month.Target prime cost percentUse 60% if you want a common restaurant planning line.

Result

Prime cost percent

61.6%

Labor percent

31.6%

COGS percent

30%

Each extra point costs

$950

Sales needed at target

$97,500

Planning guide

Compare your prime cost percentage to the planning range we use for restaurant or cafe.

Benchmark range: 55% to 65%Your result: 61.6%

Restaurant operators often use a prime cost near 60% as a planning line because food and labor are the two largest controllable costs.

Source: Toast, Restaurant prime cost guide (April 2026)

What this means

Prime cost looks workable

Your prime cost is not above the operator range used here

Your current prime cost is 61.6%. That means food and labor together are taking $58,500 out of every month before rent and other overhead are paid.

Every extra point of prime cost is worth about $950 per month at this sales level. To hold prime cost near 60%, you need about $97,500 in sales if cost dollars stay the same.

Want help improving this number?

If prime cost stays high, the leak is usually labor efficiency, menu pricing, portion control, or demand that is too uneven for the staffing model.

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Planning guide

Restaurant prime cost range used in this calculator

This calculator uses a restaurant-specific operator range because prime cost is one of the clearest restaurant health metrics.

Prime cost combines food and labor, the two largest controllable restaurant costs. The point is not perfection. It is knowing how expensive drift becomes.

IndustryUseful for food and drink businesses with tickets, bookings, or covers.

Restaurant or cafe

Useful for food and drink businesses with tickets, bookings, or covers.

Benchmark range: 55% to 65%

Restaurant operators often use a prime cost near 60% as a planning line because food and labor are the two largest controllable costs.

Source: Toast, Restaurant prime cost guide (April 2026)

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Calculator guide

How to use this restaurant prime cost calculator

This calculator shows what share of sales is going to food and labor, and how much extra revenue is needed if that cost mix gets too heavy.

Why prime cost matters

Prime cost brings the two biggest controllable restaurant costs into one number.

That makes it one of the fastest ways to judge whether the operating model is getting too expensive.

How to improve prime cost

The main levers are menu pricing, portion control, labor efficiency, and sales volume that is strong enough for the staffing level.

Even a one-point change is expensive, which is why the calculator shows the dollar leakage per point.