How Much Does Catering Cost Per Person? Worked Prices for 20, 50, and 100 Guests
Rx Catering's per-person prices run from $11.29 for assorted sandwiches to $18.95 for a holiday dinner. The kitchens in Little Rock, AR and Fayetteville, AR print the same menu at the same prices.
What catering costs per person at Rx Catering
Rx Catering has cooked for Arkansas offices, weddings, and parties since 2001, and AY Magazine named it Best Caterer in 2024. Every price in this guide comes from the Rx Catering menu as it stands in October 2026. Use it to work out what to expect to pay for your own guest count.
The catering cost per person is the number to start with. Pick a dish, multiply its per-person price by your guest count, then add trays, desserts, and drinks. Hot entrées have a 10-person minimum.
- Notice24 hours; same-day when the schedule allows
- Minimum10 people on hot entrées, holiday dinners, and the Hot Breakfast Special
- Two kitchensLittle Rock and Fayetteville, same menu and prices
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CallLittle Rock (501) 221-3929
Rx Catering NWA (479) 502-9879
| Menu item | Price per person | What comes with it |
|---|---|---|
| Assorted Sandwiches | $11.29 | Croissant, wrap, and hoagie sandwiches with chips and pickle spears |
| Box Lunch | $13.49 | A wrap sandwich, chips, a cookie, and a fruit bowl |
| The WORKS Platter | $13.49 (10 minimum) | Assorted sandwiches, chips, cookies, a fruit tray, and pickles |
| Hot entrées, first tier | $13.99 (10 minimum) | Chicken Alfredo, Spaghetti & Meatballs, or the Baked Potato Bar, with your choice of salad and bread |
| Hot entrées, second tier | $14.99 (10 minimum) | Blackened Chicken, Chicken Enchiladas, Meat Lasagna, and more, with salad, a vegetable, and bread |
| Deluxe entrées | $15.99 (10 minimum) | Chicken Parmesan, Baked Tilapia, Chicken Fajitas, and more, with salad, a vegetable, a side item, and bread |
| Deluxe entrées, top tier | $16.99 (10 minimum) | Beef Brisket, Pot Roast, Bourbon Chicken, and more, with salad, a vegetable, a side item, and bread |
| Holiday dinners | $18.95 (10 minimum) | Holiday Ham, Beef Brisket, Smoked Turkey, or Pork Tenderloin, with a holiday vegetable, a holiday side, and bread |
| Hot Breakfast Special | $13.99 (10 minimum) | Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and breakfast potatoes |
Every hot catered meal comes with plates, napkins, cutlery, and serving utensils, so there's no separate rental for those. Gluten-free hot entrées are marked GF on the catering menu.
How much does it cost to feed 20 people?
Feeding 20 people lunch from Rx Catering costs $269.80 to $309.80 on the two lunch menus below. A breakfast meeting for 20 can run under $130. Each total is menu prices only, before sales tax and delivery.
Box lunches suit a corporate catering order, because each guest's lunch comes boxed and ready to hand out. Amy W ordered them for her Little Rock office:
"The boxed lunch is a great deal for what you receive..."
How much does it cost to feed 50 people at a party?
A party for 50 guests runs $13.29 to $20.10 per person on these three Rx Catering menus, with dessert or trays in the math. The lunch with sandwiches and cookies is the lowest of the three.
Josh Taylor priced the same order with several local caterers before he booked Rx Catering. His review:
"I got estimates from over half a dozen local caterers & RX provided an extremely better rate for the exact same items and volume..."
What does a buffet for 100 guests cost?
A hot buffet for 100 guests from Rx Catering costs $1,399.00 to $1,699.00 for the entrée, salad, and bread. That's before dessert, drinks, sales tax, and delivery.
- Spaghetti & Meatballs: 100 × $13.99 = $1,399.00, with salad and bread.
- Pot Roast: 100 × $16.99 = $1,699.00, with salad, a vegetable, a side item, and bread.
- Banana pudding for everyone: 100 × $3.50 = $350.00.
For comparison, Thumbtack's catering cost guide puts the national average to hire a caterer for an event at $1,684. Most events there fall between $1,106 and $2,561. That average covers events of every size, so the per-person price is the better number to compare between caterers.
Amber Duvall's team has ordered from Rx Catering at both ends of that scale:
"We have now used this catering service for two events: a work holiday meal with 600 people and a lunch for 30 people... Their prices are competitive, offering excellent food within our budget."
A buffet wedding reception follows the same per-person math; see wedding catering for the menus couples order. The printed menu covers drop-off catering and buffet catering, where the food arrives ready to serve. Traditional catering with servers, a plated meal, or a plated dinner is a different service style. The printed menu doesn't list that catering price, so the kitchen quotes full-service catering for your type of event. Remus Chua booked Rx Catering NWA for a reception in Bentonville:
"Feeding 150+ guests can be a nightmare, but they made it affordable and seamless."
We use them for personal and professional gatherings. They're a great family owned business who give great food with exceptionally reasonable prices. They're super fast and responsive, have excellent customer service, and remain one of the few places in Little Rock that serves incredible brisket.
Marc Gray, Google review of Rx Catering's Little Rock kitchen
What a holiday dinner costs per person
Rx Catering's holiday dinners cost $18.95 per person, with a 10-person minimum. Each one comes with a holiday vegetable, a holiday side, and your choice of bread. The Holiday Ham, Beef Brisket, and Pork Tenderloin add a salad. The Smoked Turkey comes with dressing and gravy and cranberry sauce.
The full holiday menu, with every vegetable, side, bread, and salad choice, is on the catering menus page.
Party trays by size and how many they feed
Rx Catering prices party trays by size, and the menu prints how many people each size serves. A larger tray costs less per person. A small fruit tray works out to $6.30 per person ($62.99 ÷ 10), and a large one to $2.96 ($82.99 ÷ 28).
from $62.99small, serves 10
Fruit Trays
Medium $72.99, serves 22. Large $82.99, serves 28.
from $62.99small, serves 10
Veggie Trays
Medium $72.99, serves 22. Large $82.99, serves 28.
from $88.99small, serves 10-15
Cheese & Cracker Trays
Large $99.99, serves 20-25.
from $58.99small, serves 10
Breakfast Pastry Platters
Medium $78.99, serves 20. Large $88.99, serves 30.
from $40.99small, serves 15
Dessert Bar Tray
Medium $54.99, serves 20. Large $67.99, serves 25.
from $29.99small, serves 15
Gourmet Cookie Tray
Medium $39.99, serves 20. Large $49.99, serves 25.
| Tray | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit Trays | $62.99, serves 10 | $72.99, serves 22 | $82.99, serves 28 |
| Veggie Trays | $62.99, serves 10 | $72.99, serves 22 | $82.99, serves 28 |
| Cheese & Cracker Trays | $88.99, serves 10-15 | None | $99.99, serves 20-25 |
| Breakfast Pastry Platters | $58.99, serves 10 | $78.99, serves 20 | $88.99, serves 30 |
| Dessert Bar Tray | $40.99, serves 15 | $54.99, serves 20 | $67.99, serves 25 |
| Gourmet Cookie Tray | $29.99, serves 15 | $39.99, serves 20 | $49.99, serves 25 |
You can order trays from the party trays page. An appetizer spread can also be ordered by the dozen: Tortilla Pinwheels are $20.99 a dozen and Meatballs are $24.99 a dozen.
How to estimate your total catering cost
When you're planning an event, your total cost comes from four lines, and Rx Catering's menu prints three of them. Work through them in order to fit your catering budget.
- The meal: your guest count times the per-person price. Hot entrées start at 10 people.
- Trays and desserts: pick tray sizes by the serving counts above. Desserts by the person run $2.00 for cookies to $3.50 for banana pudding or cobbler.
- Drinks: canned soda and bottled water are $1.50 each. A gallon of sweet tea or lemonade is $11.00, and unsweet tea is $10.00, with ice, sweetener, and cups included.
- Tax and delivery: the menu doesn't print sales tax or a delivery charge, so ask the kitchen for both when you order.
Rx Catering asks for 24 hours' notice, and same-day delivery can be arranged if the schedule allows. The kitchens also build custom menus, so a dish or budget the menu doesn't show is worth a call.
Order from the kitchen that serves your area
Rx Catering runs two independent kitchens, and each one cooks and delivers for its own area. Both print the same menu at the same prices, so every example in this guide works in either one.
Catering cost questions
How much does it cost to feed 50 people at a party?
A BBQ Pork dinner from Rx Catering, with cookies and canned soda, feeds 50 people for $924.50, or $18.49 per person. A sandwich lunch with cookie trays costs $664.48 for 50. Both totals are before sales tax and delivery.
What is the average cost of a buffet for 100 guests?
A hot buffet for 100 guests from Rx Catering costs $1,399.00 to $1,699.00. That runs from Spaghetti & Meatballs at $13.99 per person to Pot Roast at $16.99, both with salad and bread.
How much should it cost to feed 20 people?
Box lunches from Rx Catering feed 20 people for $269.80, at $13.49 each. A hot Chicken Alfredo lunch with bottled water costs $309.80 for 20.
How much food do I need for 20 guests?
Order one serving per guest of each per-person item, and pick trays by the serving count on the Rx Catering menu. A medium fruit or veggie tray serves 22, so one covers 20 guests.
What is the cheapest way to cater for 50 people?
Assorted Sandwiches at $11.29 per person, with chips and pickle spears, feed 50 people for $564.50 at Rx Catering. Larger trays cost less per person than small ones, so order by size to fit your guest count.
Is there a minimum order for catering?
Yes. Rx Catering's hot entrées, holiday dinners, and Hot Breakfast Special have a 10-person minimum. At that minimum, a $13.99 hot lunch costs $139.90.
Is it cheaper to cater or cook for a party?
That depends on how much of the work you want to do yourself. Rx Catering's hot meals arrive cooked, with plates, napkins, cutlery, and serving utensils, starting at $13.99 per person.
Do Rx Catering's prices include tax and delivery?
The Rx Catering menu prints food prices only, without sales tax or a delivery charge. Ask the kitchen for your area when you order: (501) 221-3929 in Little Rock or (479) 502-9879 for Rx Catering NWA.
Order 24 hours ahead
See every dish and its per-person price on the Rx Catering menus page, then build your order for your guest count.
Rx Catering · 921 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock · Mon–Fri 7 AM–5 PM
Rx Catering NWA · 121 West Township Street, Fayetteville · Mon–Fri 6:30 AM–5 PM, Sat 7 AM–3 PM