Café price list: a template to copy, display rules and average prices

Café price list 2026: is there an official list?

There is no official price list for Italian cafés and bars in 2026: each venue sets its own prices and has a duty to make them visible. The figures you find online, including those of the Italian ministry’s MIMIT Price Observatory, are averages of what was recorded in one month, neither imposed nor recommended prices.

Italian owners often look for a list from the trade body Confcommercio. In searches made on 31 October 2026 we found no national 2026 list published by FIPE-Confcommercio; if you want a local reference, ask your trade association’s local office. For espresso and cappuccino only, the averages are below and, for 56 provinces, on the page about the price of coffee in Italy.

Café price list template: a table to copy

A good café price list template has a few items per group, two price columns if table service costs more, and a line for extras. Copy the table into Word, Excel or whatever you use, delete what you don’t sell and write your own prices in place of the dots.

The items are an example to adapt, not a required list. We leave the prices empty on purpose: they depend on costs, area and service, and the only public data we report covers espresso and cappuccino.

Do cafés have to display a price list? What the rules say

In Italy the duty to display a price list comes from article 180 of the regulation implementing the public-security act, which Normattiva shows as in force: public establishment operators must keep on display in the premises, in a place visible to the public, the licence, the authorisation and «la tariffa dei prezzi», the price tariff. The same article also mentions the list of alcoholic drinks on sale.

For goods sold at retail, article 14 of Legislative Decree 114/1998 applies too: products displayed in the window or on the counter must show the selling price clearly and legibly, by a sign or another suitable means. That can cover, for example, packaged goods you sell to take away.

In the UK the reference is different: The Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003, as originally made, requires prices that are clearly legible, shown at or near the entrance for eating areas and where the customer chooses in take-away areas, with VAT included. We read the original version, so check the current text.

Italian regions and municipalities can add their own rules, and the size of a fine depends on the rule applied, so we don’t state it here. This guide is not legal advice: for your venue, ask the municipality, your trade association or your adviser.

Can a café price list be on a QR code only?

Keeping a café’s prices only on a digital menu behind a QR code is a risky choice: the Italian rule speaks of a tariff displayed «in a place visible to the public». In 2022 the press reported a bar in central Florence fined 1,000 euros by the municipal police because the price of a decaf was only on the QR menu.

That is one case reported by a newspaper, not a general rule. The cautious choice is simple: a clearly printed list near the till, and the QR as an extra for people sitting at a table or reading in another language.

What to put on a café price list: 7 checks before you print

A well-made café price list tells customers what they will pay before they order, and that is what prevents arguments at the till. The price to write is the final one, VAT included, as in the Italian Consumer Code’s definition of «selling price»; for the VAT rate to apply, ask your accountant.

• Final prices, in euros, with no asterisks that change the bill.
• Counter and table shown separately if the price differs, with any supplement written plainly.
• Extras such as plant milk, cream, extra portions and anything else you charge for separately.
• Allergens: on the list, or on a sign pointing to the staff and to written documentation that is easy to find.
• Alcoholic drinks listed, as article 180 above asks.
• Large print, in a place visible before ordering, not behind the coffee machine.
• The same prices at the till: when you change the list, update the register straight away.

Café prices: average espresso and cappuccino prices in big Italian cities

In August 2026 an espresso at the bar cost on average 1.24 euros in Rome, 1.25 in Milan and Naples, 1.37 in Bologna and 1.38 in Turin, according to the MIMIT Price Observatory on Istat data. Cappuccino ranged from 1.45 euros in Rome to 2.02 in Naples.

Use them for orientation, not as a price to copy: MIMIT warns that quotes can refer to different products and outlets, and advises against comparing cities and months. August was the latest month published when we read the data, on 9 October 2026; for the other items on the list this source, in the data we read, gives no figure to report.

How to make a café price list in 5 steps

To make a café price list, start from the cost of each item, not from the price next door: your neighbour may have very different rent or service. Five steps and a spreadsheet are enough.

1. Work out the cost of each item

   Raw ingredients, milk, sugar, takeaway cup: what a single serving costs you. Staff and rent are covered by the margin, so keep them separate.

2. Decide how much the cost should weigh

   Divide the cost by the share you want it to be of the price. No percentage suits everyone: it depends on your venue and your accountant.

3. Look at your area

   Read the lists displayed near you and the averages for your province, to see where you stand. Decide alone: don’t agree prices with other bars.

4. Write a few clear items

   Group them as in the template, with counter and table separate if needed, and print them in type that people in the queue can read.

5. Set a date to check again

   Review your costs at regular intervals and whenever a supplier changes, so increases don’t all arrive at once.

When to raise the prices on your list and how to tell customers

Raising the prices on a café list is normal when costs go up: across the 53 Italian provinces with data for both August 2021 and August 2026, the simple average for an espresso goes from about 1.05 to about 1.29 euros. That is our indication, not a measure of inflation, because the bars surveyed can change over time.

Change the displayed list and the till on the same day, and touch a few items at a time. It is worth telling regulars in person, before they notice on the receipt. A loyalty card doesn’t cancel a price rise, but it gives people who come back often one more reason to stay: how to set one up is in the guide to the loyalty card for cafés, and to see whether customers stay there is the customer retention rate.

Price list and loyalty card: what is the free coffee worth if prices change?

On a stamp card with «ten coffees paid, the eleventh free» the reward is worth one tenth of the list price for each coffee paid, and it rises with the list. Your real cost doesn’t change, though, because it is still the dose, milk and labour: a higher list price doesn’t make the reward dearer for you.

Points cards need more care: with a «one point per euro» rule, a higher list price earns points faster, and rewards arrive sooner. When you raise prices, check your thresholds with the reward cost calculator; the difference between the two formats is in the guide to stamps vs points.

Iterum and your café price list: what it does and doesn’t do

Iterum (by FIDUS) doesn’t create your price list and doesn’t read the till: it is a digital loyalty card that works next to your list and your register. If you want points tied to receipts, you need a system integrated with the till: the differences are in the guide to loyalty card POS integration.

What it does at the counter is simple. You choose a stamp card, from 1 to 20 boxes, or a points card where you decide what a point is worth; the customer scans the QR and has the card on the phone without downloading an app; staff confirm each visit from the «Al banco» counter app and can undo a wrong entry within 10 minutes.

From the panel you download print materials, such as the QR sign in A5 or A4 and the counter card, to put next to your price list. With messages you can announce a new reward to customers who have accepted your offers. Try it with the 7-day free trial: you pay 0 € today, a payment card is required and the chosen plan continues after the trial unless you cancel.

Sources and method

Texts read on 31 October 2026: Royal Decree 635 of 6 May 1940, article 180, on Normattiva; Legislative Decree 114 of 31 March 1998, article 14; Legislative Decree 206 of 6 September 2005, article 13; Legislative Decree 231 of 15 December 2017, article 19; The Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003, as made; Money.it on the Florence case, 18 May 2022.

Espresso and cappuccino prices: MIMIT Price and Tariff Observatory, survey archive, read on 9 October 2026; on 31 October the site did not respond and we could not check for a more recent month. Averages and differences are our simple calculations.

The template, the items and the costs are our own examples, not data from real bars. The summaries of the rules are ours and do not replace the official text. The information about Iterum describes the product on 31 October 2026 and does not promise extra customers.