ChefTec vs Recipe Cost Calculator

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. Recipe Cost Calculator is subscription software for costing recipes and tracking ingredient prices. 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; Recipe Cost Calculator at USD 24.17 per month, billed annually. The currency or billing basis differs, so they are not directly comparable.

  • audience

    Audience differs between the profiles. Listed by one product alone: ChefTec: Independent restaurants and small chains; Recipe Cost Calculator: Restaurants and food trucks that need recipe costing.

  • platforms

    They do not run on the same platforms. ChefTec: Web, Windows; Recipe Cost Calculator: Web, iOS, Android.

  • company background

    By founding year, ChefTec (1990) and Recipe Cost Calculator (2012). ChefTec is based in Boulder, United States and Recipe Cost Calculator in Canada.

Side by side

ChefTec vs Recipe Cost Calculator: side-by-side comparison from published vendor information
FieldChefTecRecipe Cost Calculator
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.Recipe Cost Calculator is subscription software for costing recipes and tracking ingredient prices.
Best forIndependent restaurants and small chains; Caterers, hotels and clubs; Multi-unit operations (ChefTec Ultra)Restaurants and food trucks that need recipe costing; Bakeries, caterers and small manufacturers; Producers that need lot traceability or nutrition labels
Pricing modelOne-off licenceSubscription per account
Starting priceUSD 2,995 one-offUSD 24.17 per month, billed annually
Free planNot publishedNot published
Free trialNot publishedYes
ContractNot publishedMonthly or annual billing cycle
PlatformsWeb, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android
CountriesUnited StatesNot published
LanguagesEnglish, French, SpanishNot published
Number of integrations9Not published
CertificationsNot publishedNot published
Security practicesNot publishedNot published
Founded19902012
HeadquartersBoulder, United StatesCanada
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 Recipe Cost Calculator

Recipe Cost Calculator 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).

Recipe Cost Calculator

Choose Recipe Cost Calculator if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Restaurants and food trucks that need recipe costing; Bakeries, caterers and small manufacturers; Producers that need lot traceability or nutrition labels.

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

Recipe Cost Calculator

  • Third-party integrations (accounting, POS, suppliers)
  • Countries where it is sold and interface languages
  • Headquarters city, founders and team size
  • Security certifications and hosting
  • Whether a free plan exists (the site says 'sign up for free')

Sources

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