Home & Life · Free tool
Catering Cost Estimator
Full catering cost by service style, cuisine tier, and guest count. Service fees, tax, bartender included.
Updated April 2026
Estimated total
$7,562
$63 per guest — $45 base food cost
Cost breakdown
- Food & beverage (120 × $45)
- $5,400
- Service fee (20%)
- $1,080
- Sales tax (8%)
- $432
- Bartenders (2 × $325)
- $650
- Total
- $7,562
Service fees typically range 18–22%. Bartender rates vary by market ($250–$400). Add 10–15% buffer for rentals, linens, and overtime.
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What it does
Buffet vs plated vs family-style: huge price differences. Full cost breakdown including 20% service fee and 1 bartender per 75 guests.
Runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no account, no watermark. For more tools in this category see the full tools index.
Embed this tool on your siteShow snippetHide
Paste this snippet into any page. Loads on-demand (lazy), no tracking scripts, and sized to most dashboards. Replace the height to fit your layout.
<iframe src="https://freetoolarena.com/embed/catering-cost-estimator" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="Catering Cost Estimator" style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:12px;max-width:720px;"></iframe>How to use it
- Pick style + cuisine tier.
- Enter guests + bar needs.
- Read full cost.
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