Food Truck vs Restaurant Cost Calculator
Compare Food Truck and Restaurant Costs Before You Commit
Opening a food business is a big financial decision. Many entrepreneurs debate whether to start with a comparatively lean food truck or invest in a full brick-and-mortar restaurant. Each option has different startup costs, ongoing expenses, and profit potential. This calculator helps you compare those financial trade-offs over any number of months so you can see which route may be a better fit for your budget, risk tolerance, and growth plans.
Use the tool above to enter your estimated startup costs, monthly operating costs, and monthly revenue for both a food truck and a restaurant. The calculator then estimates total profit (or loss) over your chosen timeframe. The goal is not to predict the future perfectly, but to give you a clear, side-by-side view of how the two business models might perform financially under consistent assumptions.
How the Calculator Works
The calculator compares the total net profit for each concept over a period of t months. You provide:
- Startup cost for a food truck and for a restaurant (one-time costs)
- Monthly operating cost for each (ongoing expenses)
- Monthly revenue you expect each option to generate
- Number of months you want to analyze
For each option, the tool calculates:
- Total revenue over the period
- Total operating cost over the period
- Net profit (or net loss) after startup costs
The basic idea is:
- Total revenue = monthly revenue × number of months
- Total operating cost = monthly operating cost × number of months
- Net profit = total revenue − startup cost − total operating cost
Formulas Used in the Comparison
To keep things transparent, here are the exact formulas behind the scenes.
Let:
- t = number of months you are analyzing
- Sft = food truck startup cost
- Oft = food truck monthly operating cost
- Rft = food truck monthly revenue
- Sr = restaurant startup cost
- Or = restaurant monthly operating cost
- Rr = restaurant monthly revenue
The net profit for the food truck, Pft, is:
In plain language:
Pft = (food truck monthly revenue × months) − food truck startup cost − (food truck monthly operating cost × months)
The restaurant net profit, Pr, follows the same pattern:
Or in words:
Pr = (restaurant monthly revenue × months) − restaurant startup cost − (restaurant monthly operating cost × months)
Interpreting Your Results
After you click the calculate button, the tool will show the net profit (or loss) for each option over your chosen timeframe. Here is how to read those numbers:
- Positive net profit: Over the selected months, the business has covered its startup cost and operating expenses and generated surplus income. A higher positive value generally indicates better financial performance.
- Net loss (negative profit): The venture has not yet paid back its startup cost and/or is losing money given the revenue and expenses you entered. A smaller loss (closer to zero) is better than a larger loss.
- Break-even point: The moment cumulative profit turns from negative to zero or positive. This simple calculator does not compute the exact break-even month, but you can experiment by changing the number of months until the net profit becomes positive. The smallest number of months where net profit is at or above zero is your approximate payback period.
When comparing the food truck and restaurant outputs:
- If both are profitable, the one with the higher profit over the same period is financially stronger under your assumptions.
- If one is profitable and the other is losing money, the profitable option is financially safer in the short term.
- If both lose money, consider adjusting your revenue assumptions, reducing costs, or extending the analysis period to see how sensitive the results are to different scenarios.
Worked Example
The default values in the calculator illustrate a typical comparison between a single food truck and a small full-service restaurant. Suppose you enter the following:
- Food truck startup cost: $75,000
- Food truck monthly operating cost: $10,000
- Food truck monthly revenue: $15,000
- Restaurant startup cost: $250,000
- Restaurant monthly operating cost: $30,000
- Restaurant monthly revenue: $45,000
- Months to analyze: 24
Food truck calculation
Over 24 months:
- Total revenue = $15,000 × 24 = $360,000
- Total operating cost = $10,000 × 24 = $240,000
- Startup cost = $75,000
Net profit:
$360,000 − $75,000 − $240,000 = $45,000
Under these assumptions, the food truck earns $45,000 over two years after covering startup and operating expenses.
Restaurant calculation
Over the same 24 months:
- Total revenue = $45,000 × 24 = $1,080,000
- Total operating cost = $30,000 × 24 = $720,000
- Startup cost = $250,000
Net profit:
$1,080,000 − $250,000 − $720,000 = $110,000
In this simplified example, the restaurant produces $110,000 in net profit over two years, which is higher than the food truck’s $45,000.
However, the restaurant also requires much more startup capital and carries higher fixed monthly costs. If revenue falls short for a few months, the restaurant’s larger overhead could quickly erode profit, while the food truck’s lower costs may make it more resilient.
Typical Cost Ranges
Your real-world numbers will depend heavily on your city, concept, and size. The following broad ranges can help you sanity-check the amounts you enter in the calculator:
| Cost category | Food truck (approximate) | Restaurant (approximate) |
|---|---|---|
| Startup cost | $50,000 – $150,000 for a used or new truck, equipment, permits, and initial inventory | $200,000 – $1,000,000+ for build-out, equipment, design, and opening inventory |
| Monthly operating cost | $7,000 – $20,000 including labor, food, fuel, commissary fees, insurance, and maintenance | $25,000 – $100,000+ including rent or mortgage, utilities, labor, food, licenses, insurance, and marketing |
| Monthly revenue | $10,000 – $60,000, depending on schedule, location, and menu pricing | $40,000 – $200,000+, depending on size, average check, and table turns |
| Payback period | Often 12–48 months if consistently profitable | Often 36–84 months or more due to higher startup investment |
These ranges are illustrative only. Always research your own market and concept before relying on any specific numbers.
Assumptions and Limitations
This calculator is intentionally simple. It is designed for quick comparisons, not detailed financial forecasting. Keep these assumptions and limitations in mind when interpreting your results:
- Constant monthly revenue and expenses: The tool assumes your monthly revenue and operating costs stay the same for every month in the analysis period. It does not model seasonality, growth, or one-time spikes in sales or costs.
- No financing costs: Interest on loans, credit card debt, equipment leases, and other financing charges are not included. If you plan to borrow money, your true costs will be higher.
- No taxes or depreciation: Income taxes, sales tax, payroll tax, and asset depreciation are excluded. The results show a simplified pre-tax profit, not after-tax cash flow.
- No staffing or capacity changes: The model assumes your labor and other operating costs scale smoothly with your monthly number, without step changes from hiring extra staff or expanding space.
- No inflation or price changes: It assumes today’s prices for food, labor, fuel, and rent remain constant, and that your menu prices do not change over time.
- Single truck and single location: The comparison is based on one food truck versus one restaurant. Multi-unit operators or franchise models involve more complex dynamics.
- Not financial or legal advice: The output is for educational and planning purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional advice from an accountant, financial planner, or attorney who understands your specific situation.
Because of these simplifications, you should treat the results as a rough guide and explore multiple scenarios by adjusting your inputs.
Using the Calculator for Scenario Planning
To get the most value from this tool, try testing several what-if scenarios rather than relying on a single run:
- Best case: Increase monthly revenue and reduce operating costs to reflect strong demand and efficient operations.
- Worst case: Lower monthly revenue and increase operating costs to understand how much stress your business can withstand.
- Break-even exploration: Adjust the number of months up or down until net profit crosses from negative to positive to estimate a payback period.
- Growth path: Test how results change if you start with a food truck and later open a restaurant, by running separate calculations for each phase.
This kind of scenario planning will help you gauge risk, choose an appropriate emergency fund, and set realistic expectations for how long it may take before you see a return on your investment.
Next Steps
Once you are comfortable with the numbers from this calculator, consider building a more detailed financial plan that breaks down specific line items such as rent, utilities, labor, food cost percentage, and marketing. Pairing a high-level comparison like this with a granular budget will give you a much clearer picture of whether a food truck, a restaurant, or a staged path between the two is the right move for you.