Catering Cost Calculator for India
Scale any recipe from 4 servings to 100, 250, or 1000 guests — with exact ingredient amounts and cost per plate.
Scale Factor by Guest Count
| Guests | Scale Factor (from 4) | Rice (from 2 cups) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 guests | 2.5× | 5 cups (925g) |
| 25 guests | 6.25× | 12.5 cups (2.3kg) |
| 50 guests | 12.5× | 25 cups (4.6kg) |
| 100 guests | 25× | 50 cups (9.3kg) |
| 250 guests | 62.5× | 125 cups (23kg) |
Based on 1 cup basmati rice = 185g. The tool scales up to 1000 servings.
Why Scaling with Volume is Risky
Spices and salt scale linearly, but cooking liquids and fat may need a slightly lower factor for very large batches. The tool gives exact linear amounts; for 100+ guests, test a 10-guest pilot batch first.
Scale to Any Guest Count
Use the slider up to 1000 servings and get every ingredient in grams, cups, tbsp — plus the total ingredient cost.
Open Catering Scaler →Catering Cost Per Plate by City Tier
| City / Tier | Veg per plate |
|---|---|
| Tier-1 (Mumbai / Delhi / Bengaluru / Hyderabad) | ₹1,200 – ₹1,800 |
| Tier-2 (Lucknow / Pune / Ahmedabad / Kolkata) | ₹800 – ₹1,200 |
| Tier-3 (smaller cities) | ₹500 – ₹800 |
| Non-veg replacement | +30 – 40% on those dishes |
Indicative ranges from Indian wedding catering benchmarks (2024–25), including live counters.
Ingredient-accurate dish pricing
Price each dish from its real recipe with the Wedding Food Cost Calculator, get party quantities with the Food Quantity Calculator, or track margins with the Food Cost Calculator.
Catering Cost — FAQ
How much does catering cost per plate in India?
Catering typically costs ₹500–1,800 per plate depending on city tier: Tier-1 metros ₹1,200–1,800, Tier-2 ₹800–1,200, Tier-3 ₹500–800. Non-veg dishes add 30–40% to those items. This excludes labour and profit — confirm with your vendor.
How many grams of food per guest?
Plan 250–300g main course, 100g rice or biryani, 1–2 breads, 2–3 starter pieces and 100g dessert per guest. Our catering scaler converts this to exact quantities for any guest count.
How do I calculate catering cost for 100 guests?
Multiply your per-plate cost by 100 guests, then add a 10–15% buffer for seconds. At ₹800/plate, 100 guests cost about ₹88,000 with a 10% buffer. Use the wedding menu calculator for ingredient-accurate per-dish pricing.
Is a live counter more expensive?
Live counters usually add 10–20% to the food budget because portions are over-prepared and there is more waste. Add a 15–20% buffer in the calculator to be safe.
What is the difference between a catering calculator and a wedding food calculator?
A catering calculator estimates cost per plate and total from benchmarks. Our wedding food cost calculator prices each dish from its real recipe ingredients at ₹/kg, so you get per-dish quantities and costs, not a guess.