About the Food Truck Profit Calculator
This food truck profit calculator turns a few everyday numbers — service days, customers per day and average ticket — into a monthly profit and loss for a mobile food business. It subtracts food and packaging cost, card processing and event fees, staff wages with payroll burden, fuel and propane, and the fixed monthly costs every truck carries: commissary rent, the truck loan or lease, insurance, permits and licenses, maintenance and software.
Alongside monthly profit you get the profit margin, the number of customers you need each service day to break even, a seasonal annual estimate and how many months it takes to earn back your startup investment. It is aimed at people writing a food truck business plan, owners checking whether a new location or menu price works, and lenders sanity-checking a projection.
Profit here is owner earnings before income tax and before paying yourself: the staff count should exclude you if you work the truck unpaid. In months the truck is parked, fixed costs such as the loan, insurance and commissary usually keep running, and the annual figure accounts for that.
With the default inputs, the monthly profit (operating month) is $9,090.80. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the food truck profit calculator
- 1Enter how many days a month you serve, customers per day and the average ticket.
- 2Set food and packaging cost, card fees and any event or location fee as a % of sales.
- 3Enter paid staff per shift, shift length, hourly wage and payroll burden.
- 4Add daily fuel and propane, then your monthly fixed costs and yearly permits.
- 5Set operating months and startup cash to see annual profit and payback.
Formula and method
Monthly sales are service days D × customers per day C × average ticket T. Food and packaging, card fees and event fees are treated as percentages of sales. Labor is paid staff × hours × wage, grossed up for payroll taxes and benefits, for every service day; fuel and propane are also a per-day cost. Fixed costs — commissary, truck payment, insurance, maintenance, other overhead and one-twelfth of yearly permits — are charged every month.
Break-even customers per day divides the daily labor, fuel and share of fixed costs by the contribution each customer leaves after food, card and event fees. The annual estimate multiplies monthly profit by the operating months and subtracts fixed costs for the months the truck is parked; payback divides startup cash by the resulting average monthly profit.
- D
- Service days per month
- C
- Customers per service day
- T
- Average ticket per customer
- burden%
- Payroll taxes and benefits as a % of wages
Worked examples
Year-round truck, 100 customers a day
22 days × 100 customers × $14 gives $30,800 in sales. Food (30%) is $9,240, two staff for 9 hours at $17 plus 10% burden cost $7,405, fuel $990, card fees $924 and fixed costs $3,150. Monthly profit is about $9,091, and the truck breaks even at roughly 56 customers a day.
Seasonal truck working festivals
Festivals bring 180 customers a day at $15 for 16 days, or $43,200 a month, but organizers take 15%. After food, fees, labor ($5,385.60), fuel ($720) and fixed costs, each operating month earns about $13,208. Over 7 open months less 5 months of parked fixed costs the year nets about $76,709, and the high event fee pushes break-even up to about 74 customers a day.
Slow location that loses money
With only 45 customers at $12, sales are $11,880 a month. Labor and fixed costs alone exceed $10,500, so the truck loses about $3,586 a month. Each customer leaves $8.04 after food and card fees, so roughly 66 customers a day are needed just to break even.
Frequently asked questions
How much profit does a food truck make?+
It depends almost entirely on volume, ticket size and how well food and labor are controlled. In this calculator’s default scenario — 100 customers a day at a $14 ticket, 22 days a month — the truck clears about $9,100 a month, but at 45 customers it loses money. Profit here is before an owner salary, so subtract what you would pay yourself to judge the true return.
What food cost percentage should a food truck aim for?+
Most food trucks aim for food and packaging cost between about 25% and 35% of sales. Simple, high-volume menus such as tacos or coffee sit at the low end; premium proteins and specialty items push it higher. Price menu items from plate cost to stay on target.
How many customers does a food truck need to break even?+
Divide your daily labor, fuel and share of monthly fixed costs by the profit each customer leaves after food and fees. With the default costs here that is about 56 customers per service day; a high event fee or a smaller ticket pushes it up quickly, so check your own numbers.
What are the biggest ongoing costs of a food truck?+
Food and packaging and labor together are usually the largest, followed by the truck loan or lease, commissary kitchen fees, fuel and propane, insurance, and permits. Event fees can also be significant when festivals or venues take a share of sales.
Do I include my own wage in the staff cost?+
Only if you plan to pay yourself an hourly wage through payroll. If you work the truck and take whatever is left, leave yourself out of the staff count, and treat the profit as what is available for your pay, taxes and savings.
Results are estimates for educational purposes and are not financial advice. Rates, fees and terms vary — confirm with your lender or a licensed advisor before making decisions.