Restaurant Break-Even Calculator
Calculate the monthly revenue or covers needed to cover all your costs. No registration required.
Fixed costs
Monthly rent for your location including charges
Wages for permanent staff + social contributions (benchmark BE/NL: 30-40% of revenue)
Fire, liability, work accidents and other insurance
POS system, reservation software, accounting and other subscriptions
Electricity, gas, water and telecom
Leasing, depreciation, marketing and other fixed expenses
Variable costs & revenue
Percentage of revenue spent on food and drink purchases (benchmark: 28-35%)
Temporary and flex staff as a percentage of revenue (benchmark: 5-15%)
Average amount spent by a guest per visit
Average number of days your restaurant is open per month
Current monthly revenue (optional)
Fill in to see how far you are from your break-even
Your break-even point
Break-even revenue / month
€ 16.121
Break-even revenue / day: € 733
More covers, fewer no-shows
With automatic confirmation emails and reminders we help prevent no-shows. More filled tables means reaching your break-even faster.
Try free for 14 daysThis calculator is based on average benchmarks for Belgian and Dutch hospitality businesses. Results are indicative and do not constitute financial advice. Amounts are shown including VAT.
Frequently asked questions about restaurant break-even
The break-even formula is: Break-even revenue = Fixed Costs / Contribution Margin Ratio. The contribution margin ratio is (1 - variable cost%). For a restaurant with €8,000 in monthly fixed costs and a variable cost of 45% (food 32% + flex staff 13%), the contribution margin is 55%. The break-even revenue is then €8,000 / 0.55 = €14,545 per month.
Fixed costs don't change with revenue: rent, fixed wages, insurance, licenses, utilities and leasing. Variable costs rise with revenue: food and beverage purchasing costs, temporary staff and packaging. In practice some costs are semi-variable (e.g. utilities), but for break-even purposes they are simplified as fixed or variable.
There are three approaches: (1) Reduce fixed costs — renegotiate your lease, optimise your staffing schedule and cut subscription costs. (2) Increase your contribution margin — adjust your prices, improve your menu mix and negotiate better purchase prices. (3) Increase revenue through more covers — improve occupancy, reduce no-shows and extend opening hours on busy days.
A restaurant with 60 seats typically has fixed costs of €10,000–€18,000 per month and a variable cost of 40–55%. This gives a break-even revenue of €18,000–€40,000 per month, depending on format, location and staffing. A quick service restaurant typically has a lower break-even than a brasserie or fine dining restaurant.
Required covers = Break-even revenue / Average spend per guest. With a break-even of €18,000 and an average spend of €35 per guest, that's 514 covers per month. With 22 opening days, that's 23–24 covers per day. Compare this with your current capacity to assess feasibility.