Break-Even Calculator for Food Truck

If you're running — or thinking about starting — a food truck, your break-even analysis looks fundamentally different from a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Your fixed costs are significantly lower: no long-term lease at $5,000–$10,000/month, no buildout costs, no dining room furniture. But your revenue is also less predictable. Weather kills a Tuesday lunch shift. A rained-out festival erases a weekend you planned around. That volatility means knowing your daily break-even number is more important than almost any other metric. Most food trucks have fixed monthly costs in the $3,000–$6,000 range: commissary kitchen rental ($500–$1,500/month), truck payment or lease, insurance, permits ($1,000–$5,000/year depending on your city), fuel ($300–$500/month), and your phone/POS system. Your variable costs are straightforward — food cost should run 28–35% of revenue. With the average food truck pulling $500–$2,000 per day depending on location and events, your daily break-even might be as low as $300 or as high as $800. This calculator lets you plug in your actual numbers and find that threshold. Once you know it, you can make smarter decisions about which events to book, which lunch spots to rotate through, and how many days per week you need to operate to cover your nut.