Free cocktail costing tool: a connected recipe and menu tool
By Jack Hawkins · Updated
Cost your cocktail menu in a free browser tool: enter pack prices once, connect them to recipe quantities and compare each drink's cost, pour cost and contribution. This replaces a downloadable spreadsheet with an editable bar list, recipe lines and menu summary on the page. VAT basis, weekly volume and target flags remain visible.
Start with the bar list
The first table holds the ingredients you actually buy. Give each ingredient a unique name, a usable pack size in millilitres and its cost excluding reclaimable VAT. A 70cl bottle is 700ml; a 75cl vermouth bottle is 750ml. Check pack quantity before copying invoice values into the tool.
The derived ingredient unit cost is pack price divided by usable ml. Every recipe line using that exact ingredient name reads the same current cost, so changing one supplier price recalculates all linked drinks. The tool is not connected to supplier invoices automatically; you control the price and date behind each update.
Write recipe lines in millilitres
The second table connects a drink name, ingredient name and recipe quantity. Add as many lines as the recipe needs, rather than forcing a complex build into a fixed eight-ingredient limit. Names must match the bar list and menu inputs; unknown names produce a clear error rather than a zero-cost ingredient.
For a house Negroni, use separate lines for gin, sweet vermouth and bitter aperitif. At 25ml each, a £22/700ml gin contributes £0.7857, a £12/750ml vermouth £0.40 and a £15/700ml aperitif £0.5357. That illustrative ingredient total is £1.7214 before separately entered garnish or other extras.
Add the menu inputs
The third table holds each unique drink, selling price, extra cost per serve, period serves and target pour cost percentage. Extras are for costs not already represented in recipe lines, such as a separately costed garnish or preparation. Do not add a juice batch here if it is already an ingredient line.
Choose whether selling prices include VAT. At 20%, a £12 menu price becomes £10 net revenue. With the Negroni above and 15p extras, recipe cost is £1.8714, pour cost 18.71% and ingredient contribution £8.1286 per serve. At 100 serves that becomes approximately £812.86 contribution before other operating costs.
Read the computed menu summary
| Result | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Recipe cost | All matched ingredient-line costs plus extras |
| Net selling price | Entered selling price converted using the selected basis |
| Pour cost | Recipe cost divided by net selling price |
| Contribution per serve | Net selling price minus recipe cost |
| Period contribution | Contribution per serve multiplied by entered serves |
| Target flag | Within target, amber above target, red above 30% pour cost |
The summary ranks by total contribution at entered volume. A high per-serve contribution with ten weekly orders can still contribute less than a lower per-serve return with hundreds of orders. Keep both views in the discussion instead of declaring one percentage the whole menu decision.
Use target flags as prompts
The red threshold above 30% and each entered target are working review rules, not a national standard. Amber means the measured recipe percentage exceeds the chosen target; it does not mean the drink must be removed. A premium product or deliberately accessible price may justify a different target.
A drink below target also needs review if demand is weak, waste is high or service is slow. Ingredient contribution excludes labour and overheads. Use the menu engineering matrix for popularity and contribution, then the weekly review tool to connect the menu with the whole period.
Cost juice, syrups and house preparation
Enter a prepared batch as one ingredient with its complete batch cost and usable yield. If a £6 fruit purchase yields 600ml usable juice, cost is 1p per ml. A 20ml recipe line costs 20p. Record measured yield rather than assuming a national citrus multiplier.
For spoilage, either reduce usable yield appropriately or include a separately modelled cost, keeping the method consistent and avoiding duplication. A batch discarded after the count still belongs in actual usage and logged waste. The costing tool models the recipe; it does not replace the stock reconciliation needed to measure actual depletion.
Build and compare your menu on the page
Add ingredients, drinks and recipe lines directly in the editable tables. Replace or remove the illustrative rows before assessing your own menu. Ingredient names and drink names are case-sensitive matching keys: use exactly the same spelling in each connected table so every recipe reads the intended current cost.
Calculate to see recipe costs, pour cost, contribution and target flags below the tables. After changing a price or recipe, calculate again to update every linked drink. Keep the page open while comparing scenarios; refreshing restores the example. Check one change at a time so you can identify what caused the difference.
Make supplier changes visible
Keep invoice and recipe dates with your operating records. Update current costs for forward pricing, while retaining historical cost assumptions for comparisons. A current-price recipe applied to last month's sales is a current-cost sensitivity view, not necessarily the profit actually earned then.
For a supplier change, note the current contribution and target flag, update the bar-list cost and calculate again to see which drinks move above target. Change price or recipe separately so the source of the difference remains clear. The cocktail pricing guide explains why a target menu price and a whole-venue break-even decision are different.
FAQ
Is this a spreadsheet download? No. It is an on-page browser tool with editable connected tables. Enter your ingredients, match the recipe lines to each drink and calculate the menu summary immediately below. You can compare changes without maintaining spreadsheet formulas or managing separate files.
Does one price update affect every recipe? Yes. Recipe lines matching the ingredient name use the current bar-list cost. Unknown or duplicate keys are flagged rather than silently accepted.
Can I cost more than one drink? Yes. Add drinks and their recipe lines directly in the tables. Each drink needs at least one matched recipe line and a positive selling price. Review shared ingredient spellings before calculating so the result includes every intended ingredient.
What does the contribution number exclude? It is ingredient contribution before labour and other operating costs not represented in the recipe. It should not be labelled final net profit.
Method and assumptions
Example prices, yields and volumes are illustrative. VAT treatment follows the selected basis; costs should exclude recoverable input VAT where relevant. The tool runs on this page and does not automatically upload or save inputs.
Last reviewed 19 October 2026.