Margin and Markup Calculator
Cost and price in, margin and markup out — or set the margin you want and get the price. The two percentages differ, and mixing them up costs money.
- Profit
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- Margin
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- Markup
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Fast, easy and free — your answer appears as you type, and whatever you enter stays on your device.
Enter cost and price to see profit, margin and markup side by side — or set the margin or markup you want and get the selling price. The two percentages describe the same sale differently, and confusing them is one of the most expensive habits in small business.
How to use it
- Pick what you knowCost and price, or cost plus the margin or markup you are aiming for.
- Read all threeProfit in money, margin as a share of price, markup as a share of cost — always shown together.
- Price from a targetIn the margin and markup modes, the selling price is the headline answer.
One sale, two percentages
Margin and markup measure the identical gap between cost and price from opposite ends, and the vocabulary trap is that both get called "profit percent". Accountants and retailers speak margin, because it relates profit to revenue. Trades and wholesalers often speak markup, because pricing starts from cost. Neither is wrong — but a conversation where each side assumes the other's meaning produces prices that are wrong by design.
The rule of thumb for converting in your head: markup is always the bigger number, and the gap widens fast. 20% margin ↔ 25% markup. 50% margin ↔ 100% markup.
Pricing backwards, correctly
Real pricing usually runs backwards from a target: you know your cost and the margin the business needs, and want the price. The dangerous shortcut is multiplying cost by the margin percentage — that produces a markup, and a price quietly below target. The correct move divides: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). This tool's margin mode does exactly that, shows all three figures for the result, and leaves an audit trail of the working under the answer, so the next person can see which convention priced the item.
Cost data never leaves your device — no server, no storage, no lead generation.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Same profit, different denominator. Margin divides profit by the selling price; markup divides it by the cost. Buy at 60, sell at 100: profit 40, margin 40%, markup 66.7%. The numbers diverge more the higher they go — 50% margin equals 100% markup.
Why does mixing them up cost money?
Because applying a margin target as if it were markup underprices. A shop wanting 50% margin that adds 50% markup to a 60 cost sells at 90 instead of 120 — a third of the intended profit gone, silently, on every sale. It is the classic small-business pricing error, and the reason this tool always displays both.
How do I price for a target margin?
Divide cost by one-minus-margin: for 40% margin on a 60 cost, 60 ÷ 0.6 = 100. Never multiply cost by the margin — that is the markup move. The margin mode does the division for you.
Why can margin never reach 100%?
A 100% margin means the entire price is profit — a cost of zero. Ask for it and the arithmetic divides by zero, which is why the tool declines politely instead. Markup has no such ceiling: 300% markup is a normal jewellery figure.
Is this gross or net margin?
Gross — price against direct cost, before rent, wages and everything else. Net margin comes from the whole profit-and-loss, not from one sale, so no per-item calculator can honestly claim it.
Are my numbers kept?
No — cost prices are commercially sensitive, and nothing here leaves your device.