Catering Price Calculator
Type in the job you are pricing and watch the whole quote build itself: the total, what each guest really costs, the deposit to collect today, and the balance due before the event.
From BookedPlate, the quote page for caterers and food trucks. This calculator is free to use. BookedPlate is the quote page that runs this math for every guest, takes the deposit, and follows up for you.
Estimated total
$1,016.50
$20.33 per person, all in
- Food$900.00
- Add-ons$0.00
- Delivery fee$50.00
- Tax$66.50
Estimate only. Your price, your call: adjust until it fits the job.
Skip the manual version. This calculator, on your own page, for every guest. BookedPlate runs this math the moment a guest picks a date, then takes the deposit and follows up for you.
Free for 14 days. First 25 caterers lock in $29 a month (regular $39). Cancel anytime.
How to price a catering job
Start with the plate. Your per-person price is doing more work than any other number on the quote: it has to carry the groceries, your hours in the kitchen and on site, rentals and serving gear, disposables, and the drive. If your time and rentals are not inside the per-person price, they are coming out of your pocket, so build them in before you quote anyone.
From there the math runs in a fixed order, the same order this calculator uses. Food first: your per-person price times the headcount. Add-ons next, priced flat or per person the way they cost you. Then the delivery fee. Then tax, charged on the food, add-ons, and delivery together. That is the total your guest sees.
The deposit comes off that total, not off the food alone. Collect it when the guest books, because that is the moment the date starts costing you: every other inquiry for that Saturday gets a no.
What caterers commonly charge per person
These are the ranges working caterers commonly charge. They move with your city, your food costs, and how much staffing the job needs, so treat them as a sanity check on your own price, never as a rule.
| Style of service | Per person |
|---|---|
| Drop-off BBQ or taco bar | $12 to $20 |
| Drop-off sandwiches and deli trays | $13 to $22 |
| Hot buffet, dropped off | $16 to $26 |
| Buffet with staff on site | $22 to $38 |
| Family-style wedding dinner | $30 to $50 |
| Plated wedding dinner | $45 to $85 |
Full-service jobs with rentals, bartenders, and a long night on site go higher. If your number sits far under the range for your style, your per-person price is probably missing your time.
Three pricing mistakes that cost bookings
A lump sum with no breakdown
One bare number asks the guest to trust you blind. Guests say yes to quotes they can check line by line, and the breakdown is what lets them.
Tax and delivery show up at the end
A total that grows on the final invoice feels like a trick, even when it is honest. Put both in the first estimate and the price never moves again.
No deposit, so the date was never held
Agreeing on a price holds nothing. Until a deposit lands, that Saturday is still open, and a guest who paid nothing loses nothing by vanishing.
See every line a complete quote needs in the free catering quote template, and decide the deposit with how much deposit a caterer should charge.
Questions caterers ask about pricing
What belongs in my per-person price?
More than the food. Your per-person price has to carry the groceries, your hours cooking and serving, rentals and serving gear, disposables, and the gas to get there. Price the plate so all of that is inside it, then let delivery and tax sit on top where every guest can see them.
How does the math change with a bigger headcount?
Per-person items scale on their own: 100 guests at $18 is twice the food of 50. The flat pieces, like your delivery fee, spread thinner as the guest count grows, which is why the all-in per-person number drops on bigger jobs. A minimum order protects you on the small ones.
Should tax be inside the price or added on top?
Either can work, but say which one on the quote. Most caterers add it on top, the way this calculator does, charged on the food, add-ons, and delivery. Guests accept tax they can see. What costs bookings is tax appearing for the first time on the final invoice.
How much of the total should I collect as a deposit?
A percentage of the full total, commonly 20 to 50 percent, collected when the guest books, not the week of the event. The deposit is what holds the date. The deposit guide on this site walks through the range and a fair policy you can copy.
Do add-ons get charged per person or as one flat fee?
Both, depending on the add-on. Food a guest eats, like a dessert bar or a second entree, usually prices per person. One-time things, like rentals, staffing, or a coffee setup for the room, usually price flat. Charge it the way it costs you.
Your guests could run this math themselves.
On your BookedPlate page they pick a date and a menu, see this exact total, pay the deposit, and your calendar blocks the date. You just cook.
Free for 14 days, then $29 to $39 a month. BookedPlate takes no cut of your deposits.