Private Chef Service Price Calculator — Price Per Visit and Per Guest

What should you charge for this private dinner or meal-prep visit?

Enter the guests, the hours and your costs. You get a cost-plus price, the price per guest, what your current quote earns you per hour, and how the price moves with the size of the table. A per-person rate hides that shopping, travel and cleanup do not shrink for a small table.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The example is made up. A planning estimate, not a contract or an estimate of record.

1. The table

Guests at the table (or portions)

Courses or dishes per guest

Groceries per guest ($, at cost)

Grocery markup (%)

Guests with dietary needs (%)

Dietary needs make prep this much longer (%)

2. Hours and travel

Shopping and sourcing (hours)

Prep minutes per guest per course

Cooking and service (hours)

Cleanup (hours)

Travel (hours, both ways)

Miles driven

Mileage cost ($ per mile)

3. Pay and overhead

Your hourly pay ($)

Assistants on site

Assistant pay ($ per hour)

Equipment, packaging, software ($ per visit)

Liability insurance ($ per visit)

Visits per month at this price

4. Margin and your current quote

Profit wanted above your pay (% of the price)

Minimum charge ($)

What you quote today ($, optional)

Enter the table and your costs, or load the example, then click Price this visit.

The arithmetic, and what it leaves out

Prep time is guests times courses times your minutes per guest per course, stretched by the dietary share you type. Chef hours are shopping, prep, cooking, cleanup and travel.
Cost is chef hours times your hourly pay, plus assistants for the on-site hours, groceries at cost, mileage, equipment and insurance.
The price is cost, less the grocery markup, divided by one minus your profit share, plus the markup. It is never below your minimum charge.
The current-quote line shows what you earn per chef hour at today's price after every cost but your own pay.
Not modelled: sales tax, tips, rented or special-order equipment beyond the overhead you enter, permit or cottage-food fees, cancellation terms, and your own income tax.

Common questions

How do I price a private chef service?

List every hour of the visit, not just the cooking: shopping, prep, cooking, cleanup and the drive. Multiply by your hourly pay, add groceries, mileage, equipment and insurance, then divide by one minus the profit you want above your own pay. Add a grocery markup if you shop for the client. The result is a price you can defend line by line.

Why is a per-person rate a bad way to price a small dinner?

Shopping, travel and cleanup cost almost the same for two guests as for six. A flat per-person rate that works for a table of eight undercharges a table of two. The table below shows the price per guest falling as the table grows, which is what a fair quote looks like.

How much should a private chef mark up groceries?

Many chefs charge cost plus 10 to 20 percent for shopping and carrying the receipt float, or bill groceries at cost and charge the time separately. Either is fine if the quote says which. Enter your markup and it is shown as its own line.

Do dietary restrictions change the price?

Allergy-safe, vegan, kosher or low-FODMAP cooking usually means separate prep, clean tools and more label reading. Enter the share of guests affected and how much longer prep takes and the time is added.

What does this leave out?

Sales tax, tips, special-order or rental equipment beyond the overhead you enter, staffing beyond the assistants you type, cottage-food or health-permit fees, client cancellation terms, and your own income tax. It is a quoting aid, not an estimate of record.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts. The share link keeps your numbers in the link itself, which you choose whether to send.