Cost per scoop of ice cream
Find what one scoop of ice cream costs from a store tub or a gallon of shop mix, and how much is air.
This calculator answers one question: what does a single scoop of ice cream cost? It is for home shoppers comparing tubs at the store and for small scoop shop, truck and trailer operators pricing a scoop made from mix.
The numbers under the calculator are a worked example with the default inputs. Change any input and the results update. The calculators run in your browser, and the numbers you type are not sent to our server.
Cost per Scoop
Cost per scoop
$0.37
for a #8 scoop (4 fl oz) from a $5.93 true half gallon (64 oz)
- Per 2/3 cup serving
- $0.49
- FDA reference serving
- Per fl oz
- $0.09
- Scoops per container
- 16
- Grams per scoop
- 65
- at 100% overrun
- Air in each scoop
- 50%
- Per pound
- $2.58
Overrun does not change the cost per scoop, because you buy and scoop by volume. It changes how much ice cream, and how much air, is in each scoop.
Mix cost per scoop
$0.16
for a #12 scoop (2.67 fl oz) from $12.00 of mix per gallon at 60% overrun, 5% waste
- Ice cream per gallon of mix
- 204.8 fl oz
- Scoops per gallon of mix
- 73
- Same scoop at retail
- $0.25
- national average $5.93 per half gallon (September 2026)
Against the store price
Your scoop costs $0.08 less in mix than the same scoop bought at the national average retail price. Mix cost leaves out cones, cups, labor and rent.
$0.37 per scoop, $0.49 per 2/3 cup serving. $0.16 of mix per scoop, about 73 scoops per gallon of mix.
How cost per scoop works
Home: per scoop = price ÷ container fl oz × scoop fl oz
Grams per scoop = scoop mL × 1.1 ÷ (1 + overrun ÷ 100)
Shop: per scoop = mix cost ÷ (128 × (1 + overrun ÷ 100)) × scoop fl oz ÷ (1 − waste)
Overrun = (mix weight − ice cream weight) ÷ ice cream weight × 100
Home mode starts with the container. We divide the price by the size in fluid ounces to get the cost per fluid ounce, then multiply by your scoop size. With $5.93 for a true half gallon (64 fl oz), the September 2026 average, one fluid ounce costs about $0.09. A #8 scoop (4 fl oz) then costs $0.37, and the tub holds 16 scoops. For the ice cream cost per serving, we multiply by 2/3 cup (5.33 fl oz), the FDA reference serving, which comes to $0.49.
Overrun comes next, and it does not change the cost per scoop of ice cream, because you buy and scoop by volume. It changes what is inside the scoop. We take the scoop in milliliters, multiply by a mix density of 1.1 kg per liter from the University of Guelph worked examples, and divide by 1 plus overrun over 100. At 100% (standard overrun, the preset we chose for that category), the scoop weighs about 65 g, half of it is air, and the ice cream works out to $2.58 per pound.
Shop mode starts with a gallon of mix. One gallon is 128 fl oz, and overrun adds to it: at 60% you get 204.8 fl oz of ice cream. We divide the mix cost by that yield and multiply by the scoop size. Then we divide by 1 minus your waste share to cover melting, rounded-up scoops and tub ends. With $12.00 of mix (our example, not a market price), a #12 scoop and 5% waste, that is about 73 scoops at $0.16 each. For comparison, the same scoop at the Bureau of Labor Statistics national average retail price costs $0.25.
Overrun by product category
| Category | Overrun | Fat | Total solids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super-premium (dense pints) | 25 to 50% | 15% to 18% | above 40% |
| Premium | 60 to 90% | 12% to 15% | 38% to 40% |
| Standard | 100 to 120% | 10% to 12% | 36% to 38% |
| Economy | about 120% | usually the legal minimum, such as 10% | usually the legal minimum, such as 36% |
In the US, ice cream must weigh at least 4.5 pounds per gallon (21 CFR 135.110). With a mix of 1.1 kg per liter, that caps overrun at about 104%.
Numbers the calculator uses
- A serving is 2/3 cup (5.33 fl oz), the FDA reference serving for ice cream since the 2016 label update; it was 1/2 cup before.
- Grams per scoop use a mix density of 1.1 kg per liter, the figure in the University of Guelph Ice Cream Technology e-Book worked examples.
- The overrun presets are our planning choice within Guelph's category ranges: super-premium 40%, premium 75% and standard 100%, or you type your own.
- US rules require ice cream to weigh at least 4.5 pounds per gallon (21 CFR 135.110), which at 1.1 kg per liter caps overrun near 104%.
- The national average price is the Bureau of Labor Statistics half gallon of regular ice cream, U.S. city average, at $5.93 in September 2026.
- The $12.00 per gallon mix cost in shop mode is an example figure, not a market price, so enter your own.
Questions people ask
Does overrun change the cost per scoop of ice cream?
No. You buy ice cream by volume and scoop it by volume, so overrun does not change what a scoop costs. It changes what is in the scoop: how many grams of ice cream you get, how much of the scoop is air, and the price per pound. At 100% overrun, half of each scoop is air.
What is ice cream overrun?
Overrun is the percent increase in volume of ice cream over the mix used to make it. If 1 liter of mix becomes 1.5 liters of ice cream, that is 50% overrun. The extra volume is air, which can be up to half of ice cream. Without air, ice cream would be like an ice cube.
How do I measure overrun in my own ice cream?
Weigh the same cup filled level with mix, then filled level with the ice cream. Overrun is the mix weight minus the ice cream weight, divided by the ice cream weight, times 100. In the University of Guelph example, 1,090 g of mix and 560 g of ice cream give 94.6% overrun. The tool has a box for your two weights.
Why does a smaller tub cost more per scoop?
At the same price, fewer fluid ounces means each ounce costs more. In our example, $5.93 for a true half gallon (64 fl oz) works out to $0.37 per #8 scoop. The same $5.93 for a 48 oz tub works out to $0.49 per scoop. Check the fluid ounces on the label, not just the price.
How much does a scoop cost a shop to make from mix?
It depends on your mix cost, overrun, scoop size and waste. With our example of $12.00 per gallon of mix (not a market price), 60% overrun, a #12 scoop and 5% waste, one gallon makes about 73 scoops at $0.16 each. The same scoop at the national average retail price costs $0.25.
Sources
- Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Formulation Considerations (overrun by category) H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Overrun calculations H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Freezing/Whipping of Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- 21 CFR 135.110, Ice cream and frozen custard Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)
- Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Average price of ice cream per 1/2 gallon, series APU0000710411 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Every data source the site uses is on the Sources page.