Pour Cost & Margin Calculator
Plug in your keg cost, keg size, pour size, and pour price to see your pour cost percentage, profit per pour, and total revenue per keg.
Pour cost rule of thumb
- Under 20%: Excellent. Strong margin, room to invest in better beer or staff.
- 20–25%: Healthy. Industry standard for craft taprooms.
- 26–30%: Tight. Watch spillage, comps, and consider a small price bump.
- 30%+: Re-price the pour, renegotiate the keg, or audit shrinkage.
Pour cost % is just cost ÷ price. The math here also accounts for spillage by reducing usable ounces before computing pours per keg. Doesn't include labor, rent, or overhead — that's a separate prime-cost calculation.
Pour Cost FAQ
What's a "pour cost"?
Pour cost is the cost of the beer in a single pour as a percentage of the pour's menu price. If a 16 oz pour costs you $1.45 to pour and you sell it for $7, your pour cost is 20.7%.
What's a "good" pour cost percentage?
For draft beer in craft taprooms, 20–25% is the typical healthy range. High-margin operations push under 20%; once you climb past 30%, you're usually leaving money on the table or losing beer to spillage and comps.
Should I include CO₂, cups, and labor in cost?
For pour cost specifically, no — pour cost is just liquid cost vs. liquid revenue. CO₂, cleaning, glassware, and labor belong in your prime cost(cost of goods + labor / total sales), which is a separate metric, usually targeted at 60–65% of revenue.
How accurate are the "pours per keg" numbers?
The calculator uses standard keg volumes (1/2 BBL = 1984 oz, 1/6 BBL = 661 oz, etc.) minus your spillage estimate. Real pours per keg vary with foam quality, line length, glass shape, and staff training. Most taprooms see 92–96% yield on a clean system.
Run the numbers, then run the menu
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