Free tool · P6 unit economics
Restaurant prime cost calculator
The single most important number in restaurant unit economics. Plug in revenue, food cost and labour. Get prime cost % and the band it sits in — instantly. Free, no signup.
Inputs
The formula
prime_cost = CoGS + total_labour
total_labour = hourly_wages + salaried + statutory_benefits
prime_cost % = prime_cost / revenue × 100Why this number matters more than EBITDA
Rent, utilities, marketing — these are all knobs you can dial up or down on a quarterly basis. Prime cost is the daily operating reality. A restaurant running 70% prime cost cannot turn a healthy net margin regardless of how cheap the rent is. A restaurant running 55% prime cost has room to absorb a bad month, a rent renegotiation gone sideways, or an aggregator commission hike. Full unit economics guide.
Where this fits
- Food cost % benchmarks — what your CoGS slice should look like by format
- Labour cost % benchmarks — your labour slice by format and seat count
- CoGS vs prime cost — what each metric tells you, and how to track both
- Breakeven analysis — once prime cost is healthy, find your minimum cover count