Catering Costs: The Complete Pricing Guide (2024)

After any event, your guests will remember three things: where they celebrated, who was there, and what they ate. Thus, when planning an event, your three primary budget categories are as follows: location and venue, number of guests, and food and catering costs.

Navigating catering prices while planning a wedding, birthday bash, or other celebration with loved ones can be daunting. You might wonder if you’re budgeting the right amount for your event, and you don’t want to run into surprise costs when you should be enjoying the celebration you’ve spent weeks, months, or even a year planning in advance. Reducing stress during the planning process will allow you to be more fully present for that baby shower or graduation celebration and enjoy the moment as much as your guests will.

How will you know what and when to order, how much food you’ll need, and what to expect from your caterers? You can use this complete pricing guide to help you plan your next unforgettable event and make sure that catering costs align with your budget and vision. After you determine your event type, food preference, number of guests, location, date, and more, you can expect a custom quote for your event from your chosen caterer. In the meantime, figure out how much you’ll spend to make your next gathering memorable and stress-free.

Table of Contents 

1. How to Determine Your Catering Costs 

2. Average Catering Costs Per Person

3. What Makes Up Your Total Catering Cost?

4. Does Event Type Impact Catering Costs?

5. Accommodating All Diets and Types of Food

6. How Do I Find a Caterer on Short Notice?

7. Pricing Pro Tips for Caterers

8. Catering Costs in 2024

1. How to Determine Your Catering Costs

Catering companies typically explain their pricing structure based on how many people you anticipate attending your event. No one wants to waste food at their event by providing too much, but a host’s nightmare would be to run out before everyone has eaten. You want guests to enjoy their meal and leave your event feeling full and happy. Talking through these guest and food estimates when searching for the right caterer to provide the right amount of food for your budget will help you feel confident about your decision.

Before you begin reaching out to caterers, however, you first need to answer some questions about your event. What’s your vision for this event? Is it casual yet elegant? Family-style or more formal? An intimate outdoor patio party or a major indoor bash like no one has ever seen? If you’re not sure where to start, let yourself begin with how you want your guests to feel when they arrive, during the event, and when they leave. That will help you decide the where, when, and what type of food to provide.

Your caterer will expect you to have some of these questions answered (though not all — they will be happy to collaborate with you!) so that they can provide you with the most accurate and useful customized quote for your budget.

These are the questions to answer to narrow down your vision and find the right caterer for you:

1. What is the purpose of your event? Who or what are you celebrating?

2. What is the tone of your event? Is it formal, casual, semi-formal, family-friendly?

3. When is your event? What time of day and during which season? Will it be a summer-time outdoor event or will you be cozy and indoors?

4. What kind of food experience do you want your guests to have? Will you be serving family-style around tables, buffet-style eat as you are, individually plated food at assigned seats, boxed or pre-made picnic, or something else?

5. What type of cuisine will you feature? Mediterranean? Korean BBQ? Food truck? Locally-sourced?

6. What kind of dietary restrictions, allergies, and preferences will you accommodate? Will vegans or vegetarians have enough options to choose from?

7. What kind of beverages will you offer? Will you be serving alcohol?

8. What kind of table settings, flatware, or dishware will you be including for your guests? Will you provide this or will your chosen caterer?

2. Average Catering Costs Per Person

Before you dive in, it’s best to have a clear understanding of typical catering costs. Catering companies generally use a per person pricing structure to determine how much food will be needed for your guest list.

Depending on what region of the country you will be hosting your event, costs can be as low as $18 per person or as high as $200 per person. Perusing these average caterings costs by zip code can help you get a better sense of what to expect for each dollar you spend.

Note that these average catering costs can shift quickly due to food prices fluctuating for restaurants and caterers, though, as of June 2024, extreme fluctuations in food price are not expected for the remainder of this year.

Now that you have a sense of what kind of event you’re planning, you can narrow down your food budget based on the type of catering needed to figure out your average catering cost.

If you’re looking for the most budget-friendly option, drop-off catering might be right for you. Drop-off catering is ideal for events with approximately 20 - 40 people. The restaurant or caterer prepares the meal off-site and drops it off for you to serve without additional labor or bar charges. The costs remain low — around $800 to feed 40 people — at an average of $12 - $20 per person. You can also order drop-off catering of full-plated dinners at approximately $50 - $125 per person.

3. What Makes Up Your Total Catering Cost?

The cost per person will be the baseline for determining how much you will need to pay your chosen caterer, but this will not be the only thing to consider. Like any other company, caterers also have additional fees to cover the cost of overhead, labor, and more.

In addition to potentially fluctuating food prices, you will need to consider menu complexity, taxes, rentals, labor, servers, bar service, location, and delivery fees.

1. Menu Complexity: Not only will plated, multi-course meals elevate your dining experience as well as your bill, gourmet ingredients, premium meats, and imported alcohol will increase your cost as well. That said, you can always get delicious and healthy options for a good price — the menu complexity comes from requesting exceptions, last minute changes, or highly specific dishes.

2. Taxes: If your city and state have sales tax, be sure to budget that as part of the cost of the catering service as well as any additional service tip. Expectations and etiquette around tipping in the catering industry varies, but there are guidelines around catering tipping in 2024 that you can follow.

3. Rentals: Tables and chairs, linens, flatware, special equipment, and whatever else you can dream up add to your overall cost, so be sure to keep these in mind as you set your budget.

4. Labor and Service Level: Full-service catering that includes traditional catering, set-up, servers, beverage service, and tear-down will increase your budget in contrast with DIY or simpler preparations. Certain types of cuisines or service styles might require unique skill sets that can raise costs. Conversely, using a simpler service style can save you up to $5,000.

5. Servers: Depending on how you want your guests fed, waitstaff overseeing serving stations, refilling platters, or formally serving in a traditional dining room might be needed. The number of servers required will vary based on your guest count and will be billed by the hour. Caterers offer various price points for every kind of budget, and for many family-style options, you or your helpers can always do this yourself.

6. Bar Service: Don’t forget to include beverages when you estimate your food costs. Some caterers offer bar service, which includes a bartender or two, or you might hire one caterer for food and another for a cocktail reception, or maybe you’re planning for BYOB. Taking all ages and preferences into consideration will help you to feel prepared so that you’re able to set guest expectations before your event.

7. Location: Will you be hosting in New York City or Lexington, Kentucky? In a ballroom you must book a year in advance or Aunt Sue’s backyard? Big cities typically come with a higher price tag while rural locations might increase delivery fees. Anticipated guest count will also affect how you choose your venue.

8. Delivery Fees: For remote locations, you might need to prepare for additional transport fees. If you’ll be foregoing these additional costs, be sure to designate a reliable person to pick up the food so that in the case of the unexpected, you won’t arrive late to host your own event.

4. Does Event Type Impact Catering Costs?

Of course! In order to determine your catering costs, you need to first determine what type of event you’re hosting. Each type of event includes pricing structures based on form as well as style.

The type of event you’re planning affects catering costs because of the expectations around quality, presentation, menu choices, and service that come with such events. These three popular event types offer examples of how the same type of catering for different events shift pricing structures. So what is the average cost for each type of event?

Wedding catering is naturally the priciest and most common type of traditional catering you’ll likely encounter. Traditional catering for a wedding costs approximately $70 per person for food-only and another $15 per person if you include drinks. Thankfully, for family-style or buffet-style wedding catering, you can find delicious budget-friendly options that allow for much lower costs per person ($20 - $40) which could make room in your budget for bar service, a special dessert, or something else entirely. The national average cost for wedding catering is approximately $4,000, with most couples spending $1,800 to $7,000.

Corporate event catering depends largely on the style or tone of the event — is it black-tie or family-casual? The more people you feed, the lower the cost per person for large-scale events.

For private events like graduation celebrations, birthdays, retirement parties, baby showers, and more, it might be worthwhile to choose a more budget-friendly option. This might require more time and attention on your end, but with thoughtful planning, it can be totally worth it.

5. Accommodating All Diets and Types of Food

There are many good reasons to accommodate food preferences, allergies, and restrictions, the main one being that as a host, you want all people to feel included and comfortable at your event. While allergies are non-negotiable and something to take very seriously, it is equally important to honor the dietary commitments of all of your guests.

Offering clarity around the menu can be a good place to start, and having vegan, vegetarian, and meat-eating options will likely accommodate most, if not all, of your guests. Groups of diners might be led by something called the “veto vote”, where they will choose the eatery that best serves the “pickiest” among them. This might be one way to help you narrow down your catering choice — simply ask, can my caterer easily accommodate  vegans and meat-eaters alike?

The mocktail — or the Zero-Proof Movement — is also becoming a popular option at bars and restaurants throughout the country. If your event will include a bar service, consider having a delicious mocktail option in addition to sparkling water or soda.

6. How Do I Find a Caterer on Short Notice?

While planning ahead is crucial to a stress-free event, sometimes opportunity knocks and you decide to throw together a last-minute party. Figuring out your food and catering needs as soon as possible will help this go smoothly and will leave you without any regrets.

Spontaneity doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, if you follow some simple steps, it can be a freeing and even thrilling experience.

1. Choose When and Where. Don’t overthink this. Choose the easiest venue with the least number of people you would need to get to sign off on the event.

2. Estimate your Guest List. Count them up. Who do you want to invite? Is this an open invitation event or strictly the guests you invite individually? Then round up the number for some wiggle room.

3. Choose your Caterer. Figure out which caterers need no more than 24-hours notice to confirm your request. These caterers are typically casual restaurants with pre-designed party platters that are used to feeding large groups as well as accommodating a wide range of dietary needs. Think of your favorite falafel shop, your favorite donut place for dessert, or some other favorite around the corner. You might be surprised at how many delicious options can meet your carpe diem needs.

4. Always Confirm. Even if a website says it can handle large orders on short notice, be sure to call to confirm if you’re making a last-minute request.

7. Pricing Pro Tips for Caterers

As a caterer, you know that inflation, rising food prices, and the predicted increase in meat prices must all play a role in setting your pricing structure. There is no simple approach because every model and market are unique. But to make sure your services remain competitive and your pricing structure is fair to the consumer and will sustain your business, we recommend that you focus on the following:

1. Communication. Consider your marketing materials and how you communicate with your customers about all of the catering costs they need to consider. Clients want transparency without clutter. Try to provide clear pricing structures with clarity around what each service includes or doesn’t include.

2. Research and Analysis.  Conduct an analysis of your niche market. It’s important to know what your competitors are offering for their services at what price points. Remember to integrate location, type of cuisine, and target audience into your research.  

3. Be Prepared to Flex.  If catering is new to your business model, or maybe you’re wanting to explore new event types, know that each event will be a learning experience that helps you to hone your prices and client communication. Try to anticipate the unexpected and remember that honest and kind communication will go a long way with your clients.  

8. Catering Costs in 2024

A joyful and memorable event always includes great food and good company. Whatever you are planning for — a once in a lifetime celebration or a last-minute birthday bash — having a clear vision and budget will make your food decisions simple and also fun. Understanding overt and hidden costs will help you to prepare for and host a meaningful celebration with the right food at the best price.