For a $10 item, it should cost no more than $2.50 to make.
RESTAURANT PROFITABILITY TOOL
3rd Party BOGO Campaign Profitability Calculator
Is your 3rd-party platform BOGO campaign acquiring customers—or quietly losing money? Enter the actual numbers to see whether each redemption pays for itself.
Built for Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub. Use the customer-facing app price and the percentage of sales that actually reaches your bank.
THE CORE IDEA
A BOGO breaks the normal relationship between revenue and food cost.
On a normal order, food cost generally rises with revenue. A BOGO changes that: your restaurant produces a second item without collecting a second item's revenue.
The platform payout already accounts for the price you gave away. The hidden cost it cannot see is the cost of making the free item. That is why this tool compares payout against the cost of producing both items rather than subtracting the free item's selling price again.
HOW THE TEST WORKS
A BOGO only works when the payout from one sold item covers the cost of making two.
Start with the percentage of the app sale that actually reaches your bank after the platform takes its fees and other deductions.
For a $10 item, it should cost no more than $2.25 to make.
Why divide by two? The customer pays for one item, but your kitchen makes two.
COMMON QUESTIONS
BOGO economics, explained simply.
Why does the calculator use platform payout percentage instead of commission?
Your platform payout percentage shows how much of the customer sale actually reached your bank after commission, promotions, marketing fees, and other deductions. That makes it more useful than the headline commission rate alone.
Why are two items included in the food cost?
A BOGO redemption means the customer pays for one item while your kitchen produces two. The platform payout is tied to the paid item, but you still incur the food cost of both items.
Why don't you subtract the free item's selling price again?
Because the platform payout already reflects the revenue you gave up. Subtracting the free item's price again would count the same lost revenue twice.
Does a loss on item costs mean I should stop the promotion?
Not necessarily. It means the BOGO is costing you a measurable amount on every redemption. That can still be worthwhile if the customer returns, adds profitable items, or has strong lifetime value—but it should be an intentional marketing expense.
NEED HELP BEYOND THE CALCULATOR?
Blender manages the delivery-platform strategy behind the numbers.
We help restaurants choose stronger promotions, improve their storefronts, manage Sponsored Listings, and grow third-party sales without blindly sacrificing margin.