ChefTec vs ratatool

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. Ratatool is cloud software for costing recipes and menus in restaurants, bakeries, caterers, hotels and dark kitchens. Both are listed under Recipe Costing & Menu Engineering. Where the profiles show a difference, it is in price, audience and platforms.

Key differences

  • price

    Starting prices: ChefTec at USD 2,995 one-off; ratatool at USD 24 per month, billed annually. The currency or billing basis differs, so they are not directly comparable.

  • audience

    Not every audience is shared. Entries that only one product lists: ChefTec: Independent restaurants and small chains; ratatool: Restaurants and kitchens replacing spreadsheets for food costing.

  • platforms

    They do not run on the same platforms. ChefTec: Web, Windows; ratatool: Web.

  • company background

    ChefTec is based in Boulder, United States and ratatool in Paris, France.

Side by side

ChefTec vs ratatool: side-by-side comparison from published vendor information
FieldChefTecratatool
What it isChefTec 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.Ratatool is cloud software for costing recipes and menus in restaurants, bakeries, caterers, hotels and dark kitchens.
Best forIndependent restaurants and small chains; Caterers, hotels and clubs; Multi-unit operations (ChefTec Ultra)Restaurants and kitchens replacing spreadsheets for food costing; Bakeries, caterers, hotels and dark kitchens; Small operators who want to try before paying
Pricing modelOne-off licenceSubscription per account, with a free plan
Starting priceUSD 2,995 one-offUSD 24 per month, billed annually
Free planNot publishedYes
Free trialNot publishedNot published
ContractNot publishedNone stated; can cancel at any time
PlatformsWeb, WindowsWeb
CountriesUnited StatesNot published
LanguagesEnglish, French, SpanishEnglish, French
Number of integrations9Not published
CertificationsNot publishedNot published
Security practicesNot publishedPayments handled by Stripe; no card data stored by the vendor
Founded1990Not published
HeadquartersBoulder, United StatesParis, France
OwnerNot publishedNot published
Last reviewed29 September 202629 September 2026

Integrations

No partner appears in every list.

Named only by ChefTec

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

Named only by ratatool

ratatool does not name any integrations in the material we reviewed.

Which to choose

ChefTec

Choose ChefTec if you are in one of these groups: Independent restaurants and small chains; Caterers, hotels and clubs; Multi-unit operations (ChefTec Ultra).

ratatool

Choose ratatool if you fit its listed audience: Restaurants and kitchens replacing spreadsheets for food costing; Bakeries, caterers, hotels and dark kitchens; Small operators who want to try before paying.

What we could not confirm

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

ratatool

  • Founding year, founders, employee count and funding
  • Named customers
  • Named integrations with POS, accounting or suppliers
  • Countries where it is sold
  • Security certifications
  • Whether native mobile apps exist
  • Current starting price (a figure of USD 24 could not be confirmed, so none is shown)

Go further

ChefTec profileratatool 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.

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

ratatool, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage featureshttps://www.ratatool.com/
  2. Plans and pricinghttps://www.ratatool.com/pricing
  3. Feature detailhttps://www.ratatool.com/overview
  4. Legal entityhttps://www.ratatool.com/termsconditions