October 15, 2025

How Much Should Restaurants Spend on Marketing in 2025?

In today’s restaurant world, the difference between a packed dining room and empty tables often comes down to one thing: how smartly you invest in marketing.
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Published on
November 18, 2025
Key takeaways
  • Most restaurants spend 3–6% of gross revenue on marketing.
  • Digital marketing now takes up 60–80% of the typical budget.
  • Top-performing restaurants invest in tracking ROI and automating routine tasks.
  • Underinvesting means missing out on new diners and repeat business.

Introduction

If you’re running a restaurant in 2025, you already know: the game has changed. Diners discover, compare, and book online—often before they’ve even seen your menu. But while everyone talks about “doing more marketing,” hardly anyone answers the real question:

How much should you actually spend on restaurant marketing?

Let’s break it down with real benchmarks, actionable tips, and a free template to help you plan your spend (and maximize your ROI).

Why Your Marketing Budget Matters

Your marketing budget isn’t just a line item—it’s your ticket to visibility, bookings, and repeat guests. In 2025, the right budget means:

  • Showing up where diners search: Google, Maps, Instagram, TikTok, and review sites.
  • Standing out from the crowd: With quality content, ads, and a profile that pops.
  • Competing with chains and delivery apps: Who are investing more than ever in digital.

Winging it or cutting corners? That’s a recipe for empty tables.

Average Restaurant Marketing Budgets (Benchmarks)

Industry Averages

  • Independent restaurants: 3–6% of gross sales
  • Multi-location groups/chains: 2–5% (but higher for new locations or launches)

Digital vs. Traditional Split

  • Digital: 60–80% (Google, Meta, TikTok, email, website, SEO, GBP, etc.)
  • Traditional: 20–40% (print, events, sponsorships)

Example Calculation

  • €1,000,000 annual revenue × 5% = €50,000/year or ~€4,200/month

Pro tip: New restaurants or those in competitive areas may need to spend more up front to build awareness.

What Should Be in Your Marketing Budget?

Here’s what top-performing restaurants include:

Don’t forget: Budget for both ongoing activities (like ads and posts) and one-off investments (like a new website or professional photo shoot).

Frequently asked questions

Why now?

Restaurants already trust Mobal to keep their listings accurate across Google and Apple. The website was the one part of their online presence still managed separately, with a different tool and a different login. Now it's part of the same system.

Why does this matter for my restaurant?

Every hour your site shows the wrong hours or an old menu is an hour a customer can be misled or turned away. And every evening spent editing a website is an evening away from the kitchen. Restaurant Websites removes both.

What can I add to my site?

Customers can buy gift cards directly on the site and book a table through an added widget like TableOnline. An ordering button links out to your provider, such as Wolt. Your location details, menu, hours, and special hours stay in sync with your Google and Apple listings.

Which languages does it support?

Choose from eight supported languages (English, Finnish, Swedish, Estonian, Russian, French, Spanish, and German) at launch and add translated versions of your site with a few clicks. More languages on request.

What if I want a custom design?

Restaurant Websites gives you a strong base built specifically for restaurants: the pages, layouts, and search foundations designed to help guests find and use your site. You can apply your own branding, colours, images, and pages on top.

Can I keep my domain if I move from another builder?

Yes. You hand over your domain and keep it.

What does it cost?

€29 per website per month, as an add-on. You can build and preview a site free in the demo before committing.

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