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Markup & Margin Calculator

Type any two of cost, price, or margin — the third fills in. Pin a value to lock it.

Catalog drawing: a two-crank machine pulling a tangled ball of string onto two neat spoolsCatalog No. 102 · Markup-Margin Untangler
Unit cost
$
What you pay for it
Sale price
$
What you charge
Gross margin
%
Profit as % of price
Gross profit per unit
—
Price minus cost
Markup (on cost)
—
How much you mark cost up
Markup ≠ margin. A 50% markup is only a 33% margin. A 100% markup is a 50% margin. They're calculated from different bases — markup off cost, margin off price — which is why estimates always look better in markup and bank statements always look worse in margin.

How it works

Type any two of cost, sale price, or gross margin and the third fills in, along with gross profit per unit and markup on cost.

  1. Margin = (Sale price − Unit cost) ÷ Sale price. It is profit as a percent of price. Gross profit per unit = Sale price − Unit cost.
  2. Markup = (Sale price − Unit cost) ÷ Unit cost. It is profit as a percent of cost, and it is a result only, not an input.
  3. Typing a margin fills the price: Price = Unit cost ÷ (1 − Margin). Typing a price fills the margin. Typing a cost keeps whichever of those two you changed last and fills the other.
  4. Press lock on a field to stop it from being filled. The tool fills another field instead. Filled boxes round to two decimals and Markup shows one decimal.
  5. A margin of 100% or more cannot give a price, so the price box is cleared. Markup needs a cost above zero, otherwise it shows a dash.

Questions

What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is profit ÷ cost. Margin is profit ÷ price. A cost of $50 sold at $100 earns $50, which is a 100% markup and a 50% margin. For the same profit, margin is always the smaller number.
How do I find the price for a target margin?
Enter the Unit cost and the Gross margin, and the Sale price fills in as cost ÷ (1 − margin). For example, a $70 cost and a 30% margin gives a $100 price.
Can I enter a markup instead?
No. Markup is only shown as a result. Enter the cost and the price and the tool shows the markup. The 2× markup preset loads a $50 cost and a $100 price, which shows 100%.

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