Catering pricing & quoting articles
Real numbers, no email wall. Every piece gives you the answer even if you never click — then shows you how to land your own with the same free calculators our product runs.
How much to charge for catering for 50 guests
What to charge to cater for 50 people, by service style, with the food-cost math worked out so your quote actually pays you.
Food cost percentage for caterers: the 28–35% rule
What food cost percentage caterers should target, how to calculate it per plate, and how to fix a quote when the number comes out too high.
How to price a taco bar for 100
A full taco bar for 100 guests, itemized — proteins, sides, toppings, consumables, labor — with the margin math so your quote pays you.
What a $2,500 catering job actually costs
A $2,500 catering job, broken down line by line — food, labor, and the hidden costs that decide whether you kept $900 or $370.
Catering price per person, by service style
What to charge per person for catering, by service style — drop-off, buffet, and plated — with the food-cost math behind each range.
Catering quote template that wins jobs
The anatomy of a catering quote that gets accepted — what to put on it, what to leave off, and the line-by-line template to copy.
Catering labor cost: the % solo caterers forget
How to set a labor percentage for catering, why your own hours count, and how to fold labor into a quote so the price actually pays you.
Deposit policies that stop no-shows
How much deposit to take for catering, when it's due, and the exact policy wording that stops no-shows without scaring off good clients.
BBQ catering prices: what to charge per person
What to charge per person for BBQ catering, by service style and menu, with the meat quantities and food-cost math to build your own number.
Catering for 50: the complete shopping list
A complete, aggregated catering shopping list for 50 guests — real quantities in purchase units, plus how to scale it to any headcount.
Looking for a number for a specific headcount? See how much catering costs for 25–200 guests. Comparing your options? Read the pricing guides or the honest comparisons.