Office lunch budget calculator
Set your team size, how often you want to eat together and the amount you want to spend per person. You get a planning estimate for one lunch, a week, a month and a year, so you can take real numbers into a budget conversation.
Count the colleagues who will actually be in the office that day.
Your own planning assumption in euros. This is not a Homemade price: we quote per menu, headcount and city.
Your planning estimate
- Per lunch
- €350
- Per week
- €350
- Per month
- €1,516
- Per year
- €18,200
These figures are a planning estimate based on the numbers you entered. Monthly totals use 4.33 weeks per month. Final Homemade pricing depends on the menu, headcount, city and dietary requirements, and is shown per person in your proposal before you commit. Tax treatment of workplace meals is not included here.
How to budget for office lunch
Start from an amount per person that finance will approve, then look at what fits inside it. Two numbers carry the whole conversation: the cost of one lunch, and the monthly cost at the cadence you want. Frequency moves your monthly total far more than the menu does, so decide how often you want people eating together before you compare menus.
- Cost per lunch = budget per person multiplied by the people eating.
- Monthly cost = cost per lunch multiplied by lunches per week, multiplied by 4.33.
- Yearly cost uses 52 weeks, so trim it if your office closes for a period.
What changes the cost
The same team can land on very different numbers depending on a handful of choices.
- Headcount that actually eats, not the payroll count. On hybrid teams these differ.
- Menu style: shared platters absorb small headcount changes better than fixed individual portions.
- Frequency: a predictable weekly slot lets a kitchen plan purchasing, ad hoc orders do not.
- Dietary requirements: vegetarian and vegan sit in a shared menu naturally, while halal or specific allergens are confirmed per menu.
- City and arrival window: a narrow delivery slot in a busy centre is harder to serve than a flexible midday one.
- What comes with the food: serving items, labelling and clearing up are real costs even when they are invisible on an invoice.
A note on tax
The tax treatment of meals provided at work in the Netherlands depends on your situation and on current rules, so we do not give a figure here. Check it with your accountant or payroll adviser before you present a budget as a net cost.
Frequently asked questions
Is the default amount per person a Homemade price?
No. It is a starting point for your own planning, and you should change it to whatever your budget allows. We quote a clear price per person based on the menu, headcount, city and dietary needs.
Why does the calculator use 4.33 weeks per month?
A year has 52 weeks across 12 months, which averages 4.33 weeks per month. Using 4 understates a monthly budget by roughly eight percent.
Should I budget for everyone on the team or only those in the office?
Budget for the people who will be in the building that day. Ordering for the whole payroll is the most common cause of overspending on office lunch.
Want real menu options instead of an estimate?
Tell us your office city and team size and we will send a few menu ideas with a clear price per person. You can start with one trial lunch.
No payment required now.