About Mobile Food Math

What we do

Starting a mobile food business is mostly a numbers problem before it is a cooking problem. How much does it really cost to launch? What should each menu item be priced at? How many servings a day do you need to break even? Mobile Food Math turns those questions into free, no-signup calculators and plain-English guides.

What you'll find here

• Calculators — startup cost, menu pricing, break-even, and profit tools you can run in your browser, with vehicle-specific versions for coffee, taco, BBQ, pizza, and ice cream operations.
• Guides — research notes on equipment, insurance, commissary costs, permits, and city-by-city licensing for the U.S. mobile food industry.
• Comparisons — truck vs. trailer vs. cart, and city vs. city, so you can weigh the trade-offs with real cost ranges instead of guesses.

Who maintains this site

Mobile Food Math is an independent research and calculation project. It is not operated by a food truck, restaurant, licensing agency, accounting firm, insurer, or equipment vendor. We do not claim firsthand food-truck operating experience or professional legal, tax, or financial credentials. The value of the site should come from sources you can inspect, assumptions you can change, and calculations you can reproduce — not from an implied expert title.

How we build our numbers

Our estimates are planning models built from the line items shown on each page, public agency requirements, published fee schedules, and publicly available price observations. We express them as ranges rather than a single "magic" figure. When a government agency publishes a fee or requirement, the relevant guide should identify and link that source. Uncited figures should be treated as editable scenario assumptions, not verified market averages. Every calculator result is an estimate, not a quote. Verify prices, regulations, and taxes with your city, suppliers, and licensed professionals before committing money.

Research standards

For local permits and regulations, we prioritize city, county, state, and federal sources. For cost and profit examples, we aim to show the line items and assumptions behind the calculation instead of presenting an estimate as a guaranteed result. Publication on this site does not mean an independent food-truck operator or licensed professional reviewed the page.

• Each guide displays its publication date and, when revised, its latest review date.
• Official requirements and published fees are linked in the source box where available.
• Material corrections are applied when an agency changes a rule or a reader identifies a verifiable error; the page's updated date changes when its substance changes.

Use of AI tools

AI tools may assist with research organization, outlines, drafting, and consistency checks. They are not treated as a source. Fees, regulations, formulas, and other decision-relevant claims must be checked against the sources named on the page or clearly labeled as planning assumptions. We do not use AI assistance as a substitute for local verification.

Corrections and source updates

If you find an outdated fee, broken agency link, calculation error, or statement that is not supported by its cited source, email us with the page URL and the best available primary source. We review verifiable corrections and update the affected page rather than silently preserving a known error. Use the contact page to report an issue.

Independence

Mobile Food Math is an independent publisher. We are not a broker, lender, insurer, or equipment vendor, and the tools are free to use. The site is supported by advertising and may, in the future, include affiliate links — these never change the cost ranges or recommendations we publish.

Get in touch

Spotted a number that looks off, or want to suggest a tool or city we should cover? We read every message — see the contact page. You can also review how we handle data in our privacy policy.