CalcMenu vs ChefTec vs reciProfity (incl. CostGuard)

CalcMenu is cloud recipe management software for professional kitchens. ChefTec is back-of-house software from Culinary Software Services of Boulder, Colorado, for recipe and menu costing, inventory control, purchasing and ordering, nutritional analysis and production. reciProfity is cloud software for recipe costing, inventory control and recipe management, sold to restaurants, hotels, caterers, multi-unit groups and retail prepared-food departments. All three are listed under Recipe Costing & Menu Engineering. The main differences are in price, audience and platforms.

Key differences

  • price

    Starting prices: ChefTec at USD 2,995 one-off; reciProfity (incl. CostGuard) at USD 49 per month. The currency or billing basis differs, so they are not directly comparable. CalcMenu does not publish a starting price.

  • audience

    The audiences they list differ. Listed for one product only, for example: CalcMenu: Restaurant groups and chains; ChefTec: Independent restaurants and small chains; reciProfity (incl. CostGuard): Independent restaurants.

  • platforms

    Listed platforms: CalcMenu: Web; ChefTec: Web, Windows; reciProfity (incl. CostGuard): Web.

  • integrations

    CalcMenu names 14 integrations, ChefTec names 9 integrations and reciProfity (incl. CostGuard) names 31 integrations. 1 partner appears in every list.

Side by side

CalcMenu vs ChefTec vs reciProfity (incl. CostGuard): side-by-side comparison from published vendor information
FieldCalcMenuChefTecreciProfity (incl. CostGuard)
What it isCalcMenu is cloud recipe management software for professional kitchens.ChefTec is back-of-house software from Culinary Software Services of Boulder, Colorado, for recipe and menu costing, inventory control, purchasing and ordering, nutritional analysis and production.reciProfity is cloud software for recipe costing, inventory control and recipe management, sold to restaurants, hotels, caterers, multi-unit groups and retail prepared-food departments.
Best forRestaurant groups and chains; Hotels, resorts and catering operations; Hospitals, care homes and school catering; Kitchens that already run an ERP or POSIndependent restaurants and small chains; Caterers, hotels and clubs; Multi-unit operations (ChefTec Ultra)Independent restaurants; Multi-unit and central-kitchen operators; Retail prepared-food departments; Hotels and caterers
Pricing modelSubscriptionOne-off licenceSubscription by tier
Starting priceNot publishedUSD 2,995 one-offUSD 49 per month
Free planNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Free trialNot publishedNot publishedYes
ContractNot publishedNot publishedNot published
PlatformsWebWeb, WindowsWeb
CountriesNot publishedUnited StatesNot published
LanguagesEnglish, French, German, Italian, SpanishEnglish, French, SpanishNot published
Number of integrations14931
CertificationsNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Security practicesSSO with Microsoft Entra ID / SAML 2.0 (enterprise custom connector)Not publishedNot published
FoundedNot published1990Not published
HeadquartersNeuchâtel, SwitzerlandBoulder, United StatesNot published
OwnerNot publishedNot publishedECRS (acquired reciProfity in August 2023)
Last reviewed29 September 202629 September 202629 September 2026

Integrations

Named by all three

  • QuickBooks

Named only by CalcMenu

  • GS1 Trustbox
  • Hogashop
  • JD Edwards
  • Logimen
  • Nicelabel
  • Orgacard
  • Pistor
  • SAP
  • Saviva
  • Simphony
  • TCPOS
  • Tecost
and 1 more
  • Transgourmet

Named only by ChefTec

  • FreshPoint Produce
  • Jonas
  • Maines Paper & Food Service
  • Performance Foodservice
  • Reinhart Foodservice
  • UNFI
  • US Foods

Named only by reciProfity (incl. CostGuard)

  • Accardis
  • Aldelo
  • Cake
  • CATAPULT
  • Caterease
  • CRS
  • Digital Dining
  • Focus
  • GFS
  • Harbor Touch
  • iControl
  • Info Genesis
and 17 more
  • Lavu
  • Maitre’D
  • NCC
  • Aloha
  • Micros
  • Brink
  • Passport Accounting
  • PlateIQ
  • Posera
  • PosiTouch
  • Revel
  • Sage 100
  • Square
  • Squirrel
  • Toast
  • TouchBistro
  • Upserve

Which to choose

CalcMenu

Choose CalcMenu if you are in one of these groups: Restaurant groups and chains; Hotels, resorts and catering operations; Hospitals, care homes and school catering.

Our profile lists a weaker fit: Operators who want a POS, scheduling or front-of-house tool. CalcMenu is a back-of-house recipe and cost tool that the vendor says is designed to complement existing systems.

ChefTec

Choose ChefTec if you fit its listed audience: Independent restaurants and small chains; Caterers, hotels and clubs; Multi-unit operations (ChefTec Ultra).

reciProfity (incl. CostGuard)

Choose reciProfity (incl. CostGuard) if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Independent restaurants; Multi-unit and central-kitchen operators; Retail prepared-food departments.

Less suited to: Businesses wanting POS, scheduling or tax tools in the same product: the vendor says it does none of these and focuses on recipe costing and inventory control.

What we could not confirm

CalcMenu

  • Any price: plans are named Starter, Pro, Executive and Enterprise but no amounts are published
  • Free plan or free trial
  • Minimum contract term and renewal
  • Founding year (the vendor says only that EGS has over 30 years of experience)
  • Employee count and funding
  • Countries of sale (the vendor says over 50 but names none)
  • Native mobile apps
  • Security certifications and hosting location

ChefTec

  • Edition-by-edition price list and subscription options
  • Contract terms and renewal
  • Current feature list per edition
  • Security certifications
  • Employee count and funding
  • Whether the distributor EDI list from 2017 is still current
  • Edition price list

reciProfity (incl. CostGuard)

  • Contract term and cancellation terms
  • Whether the CostGuard desktop program is still sold or supported
  • Headquarters location and legal entity
  • Team size and funding
  • Security certifications and hosting details
  • Countries where it is sold and interface languages
  • Whether iOS or Android apps exist (the vendor says the cloud app works on phones, tablets and computers)
  • The vendor's profit and time-saving figures on its home page

Go further

CalcMenu profileChefTec profilereciProfity (incl. CostGuard) profile

Other comparisons with these products

Sources

Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.

CalcMenu, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage: positioning, FAQ, claimshttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/
  2. Feature list and plan tiershttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/features/
  3. Integrations, SmartScan, SSO, integration pricinghttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/landing-en/interfaces/
  4. Chain fit, languageshttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/industry/chains/
  5. Hospitality fithttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/industry/restaurants-hotels-catering/
  6. FoodOps add-onhttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/foodops/
  7. Partner systemshttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/partnership/
  8. Executive plan contents, supporthttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/landing-en/halfoffpromo2025_CHF/
  9. Restaurant use casehttps://www.calcmenu.com/en/landing-en/restaurants/
  10. Sectors, customer referenceshttps://discover.calcmenu.com/en/
  11. Legal entity and addresshttps://info.calcmenu.com/terms-of-service-en/

ChefTec, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage: products, editions, services, customershttps://www.cheftec.com/
  2. Company history, Boulder locationhttps://www.cheftec.com/about
  3. Indicative prices, address, languageshttps://www.cheftec.com/shopping-cart
  4. Distributor EDI integrationshttps://www.cheftec.com/edi-interface-suite-expands
  5. Modules and integrations historyhttps://www.cheftec.com/press
  6. Marketplaces and product indexhttps://www.cheftec.com/sitemap
  7. Product description and installationshttps://www.cheftec.com/download-from-the-cloud

reciProfity (incl. CostGuard), reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Home: modules, segments, claimshttps://www.reciprofity.com
  2. Tiers, prices, trial, add-onshttps://reciprofity.com/pricing/
  3. Integrations and add-onshttps://reciprofity.com/integrations/
  4. Feature listhttps://reciprofity.com/software_features/
  5. Inventory controlhttps://reciprofity.com/our-solution/inventory-control/
  6. Segmentshttps://reciprofity.com/who-is-this-for/
  7. FAQ, support hours, scopehttps://reciprofity.com/resources/faqs/
  8. History, founders, ECRS acquisitionhttps://reciprofity.com/about-us/
  9. Customer nameshttps://reciprofity.com/testimonials/