Food truck profit calculator
See whether your food truck actually makes money before the month ends. Enter your average ticket, how many customers you serve a day, your food cost, labor, and fixed costs — we’ll estimate your monthly revenue, total costs, net profit, and margin.
Your average ticket per customer.
Orders served on a typical day.
Service days, e.g. 22.
Usually 28–35%.
Total monthly wages, including yourself.
Spot/commissary fees, truck payment, fuel, permits, insurance.
Results
Net profit
$11,904.00
per month
Revenue
$27,720.00
per month
Profit margin
42.9%
Total costs
$15,816.00
per month
How to estimate food truck profit
Food truck profit comes down to unit economics: how much each order brings in, how often the window is busy, and what it costs to keep the truck running. Start with monthly revenue — average order value × customers per day × days open. Subtract the three cost buckets that eat into it: food (a percentage of revenue, usually 28–35%), labor (your monthly wage bill), and fixed costs (commissary or spot fees, truck payment, fuel, permits, and insurance). What’s left is your estimated net profit, and dividing that by revenue gives your profit margin. This is a planning estimate, not accounting advice — your real numbers will move with seasonality, waste, taxes, and one-off repairs, so treat the result as a directional baseline, not a tax document.
The formula
Revenue = Avg order × Customers/day × Days · Total costs = (Revenue × Food cost %) + Labor + Fixed · Net profit = Revenue − Total costs · Margin % = Net profit ÷ Revenue × 100
Numbers working? Speed up your service window with a QR menu.
Put your food truck menu on a Scanmie QR code so customers browse and order from the truck while they wait — fewer questions at the window, faster lines, and prices you can change in seconds without reprinting.
Food truck profit FAQ
- What is a good profit margin for a food truck?
- Many food trucks run a net profit margin in the 6–15% range once food, labor, and fixed costs are covered, though a high-volume truck with tight food cost can do better. The biggest levers are average order value, daily customer count, and keeping food cost in the 28–35% band — small gains on each compound quickly.
- What counts as a fixed cost for a food truck?
- Fixed costs are the monthly expenses you pay whether or not you sell anything: commissary kitchen rent or vending spot fees, your truck or trailer payment, fuel and generator costs, business permits and health licenses, and insurance. Roll these into the single ‘monthly fixed costs’ field so the estimate captures your true overhead.
- How do I increase my food truck’s profit?
- Work the three inputs that drive the model. Raise average order value with combos, sides, and drinks; lift customers per day by booking better locations and events and cutting wait time at the window; and protect margin by holding food cost near target through portioning and supplier negotiation. Reducing fixed costs — sharing a commissary or refinancing the truck — helps too.
- Is this calculator accurate enough to plan with?
- It gives a solid directional estimate for a typical month, which is ideal for sanity-checking a concept, comparing locations, or testing a price change. It does not replace bookkeeping: it excludes taxes, owner draw, loan interest split, waste, and seasonal swings. Use it to set targets, then reconcile against your actual sales and expenses each month.