Beer Profit Calculator

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Whether you run a bar, a brewpub, or a beer stand, the question is the same: how much do you actually make per serving? The math looks simple, cost versus price, but real profit hides in the details: margin versus markup, wastage and line loss, and the fixed costs that turn gross profit into net profit.

The Beer Profit Calculator below has two modes. Per serving computes profit per pint or bottle, margin %, markup %, and gross and net profit with a wastage adjustment and an optional keg-cost helper. Whole business solves the classic three-way equation: enter any two of total revenue, total costs, and profit to find the third.

Beer Profit Calculator

Per-serving profit with wastage and fixed costs, or whole-business revenue, cost, and profit solving.

Keg helper: enter the keg cost and servings per keg to set the cost per serving.

Derive from a keg instead
Foam, over-pouring, and line loss reduce sellable servings.
Rent, wages, utilities for the same period as servings sold.

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Profit per serving

Healthy margin
Profit margin–
Markup on cost–
Sellable servings (after wastage)–
Gross profit–
Net profit (after fixed costs)–
On this page

How beer profit is calculated

Per serving mode:

  • Profit per serving = selling price − cost per serving
  • Profit margin % = profit ÷ selling price × 100 (the share of the price that is profit)
  • Markup % = profit ÷ cost × 100 (how much you added on top of cost)
  • Sellable servings = servings sold × (1 − wastage %), because foam, over-pouring, and line loss mean a keg never yields its theoretical count
  • Gross profit = sellable servings × profit per serving
  • Net profit = gross profit − fixed costs (rent, wages, utilities for the same period)

Margin and markup are not the same thing, and mixing them up is the classic pricing mistake. A 71% margin sounds enormous until you realize it equals a 250% markup, which is completely normal for draft beer in a bar.

Whole business mode solves revenue − costs = profit for whichever of the three you leave blank, then reports the margin and a profitability verdict.

Worked example

A bar buys a keg for $180 yielding 105 pints, sells each pint for $6, and loses 5% to wastage:

  • Cost per pint: $180 ÷ 105 = $1.71
  • Profit per pint: $6 − $1.71 = $4.29
  • Margin: $4.29 ÷ $6 × 100 = 71.43% (excellent: above 40%)
  • Markup: $4.2857 ÷ $1.7143 × 100 = 250.00% (unrounded figures; $4.29 ÷ $1.71 = 250.88%)
  • Sellable pints: 105 × 0.95 = 99.75
  • Gross profit: 99.75 × $4.29 = $427.50

Use the keg helper with $180 and 105 servings, enter $6 and 105 servings sold with 5% wastage, and you will get the same result.

What competitors miss

The per-pint calculators stop at unit profit and never mention margin, markup, wastage, or fixed costs, so their "profit" is really just gross contribution. The margin-only tools give you a health color with no dollar totals. And the whole-business solvers are generic profit math wearing a beer label. This page does the full job: per-serving economics with a wastage adjustment (the valueforvenues angle the others skip), fixed costs to reach true net profit, a color-coded margin health read, and the whole-business solver for the bigger picture.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good profit margin on beer?

For craft beer, 20 to 40% margin is typical and healthy; above 40% is excellent. Bars selling draft beer commonly see 60 to 75% margins on a per-pint basis, which corresponds to markups of 150 to 300%.

What is the difference between margin and markup?

Margin is profit as a share of the selling price; markup is profit as a share of the cost. A pint costing $1.71 and selling for $6 has a 71.43% margin and a 250% markup. They describe the same profit from opposite ends.

How many pints are in a keg?

A standard 50-liter (13.2-gallon) keg yields about 105 sixteen-ounce pints in theory. In practice, foam and line loss reduce that, which is why the calculator has a wastage input. A US half-barrel (15.5 gallons) yields about 124 pints theoretically.

Should fixed costs be included in the cost per serving?

Keep them separate. Put only the beer cost in cost per serving, then enter rent, wages, and utilities as fixed costs for the period. That gives you both gross profit (beer economics) and net profit (business economics).

Why is my actual profit lower than the calculator says?

The usual culprits are draught wastage, over-pouring, and stock loss between delivery and the glass. Measure your actual yield per keg for a few weeks and put that number in the wastage field.

Does this work for bottles and cans?

Yes. Enter the cost per bottle or can and the selling price per bottle or can. The same margin, markup, and profit math applies to any serving type.

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