Markup Calculator
Markup % = (price - cost) / cost x 100. Margin % = (price - cost) / price x 100. Price from margin = cost / (1 - margin / 100).
Three ways to ask the same pricing question
This calculator solves whichever piece is missing. If you know your cost and the markup you want, it gives the price. If you already have a price, it reads back the markup and margin inside it. If your target is a margin, it builds the price that hits it.
The cost field is always required, because both percentages describe the gap between cost and price. Without cost, neither number means anything.
Profit, markup and margin in one view
Every result shows the profit in currency plus both percentages, and that is deliberate. Most pricing arguments in small shops come down to two people using the same number for different things.
Markup is profit measured against what you paid. Margin is the same profit measured against what the customer paid. Same dollars, different base, different percentage.
The formulas and how they convert
Markup percent is profit divided by cost, times 100. Margin percent is profit divided by price, times 100. To price for a target margin, divide cost by 1 minus the margin as a decimal.
The two convert cleanly. A 50 percent markup is always a 33.33 percent margin, and a 50 percent margin requires a 100 percent markup. Margin is always the smaller number of the pair.
Pricing a 40 dollar product
Take a product that costs you 40. A 50 percent markup adds 20, so it sells at 60. On that sale the margin is 20 out of 60, which is 33.33 percent.
Now flip the goal to a 50 percent margin on the same product. The price has to be 40 divided by 0.50, which is 80. The distance between 60 and 80 is the markup-versus-margin confusion, expressed in dollars.
Where the percentages mislead
Quoting markup when the listener expects margin makes a business sound more profitable than it is. A 30 percent markup feels close to a 30 percent margin, but it is actually a 23 percent margin.
The trap runs the other way too. Setting prices with margin math but discounting with markup math erodes profit quietly, one promotion at a time.
Margins above 100 do not exist
Margin can never reach 100 percent, because that would mean the item cost nothing. As the target margin approaches 100, the required price climbs without limit, which is why the calculator stops you there.
Markup has no such ceiling. A 300 percent markup is unusual but perfectly valid math: a 10 cost selling at 40.
Markup Calculator FAQ
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Both describe the same profit, measured against different bases. Markup divides profit by cost. Margin divides it by selling price.
A 25 dollar profit on a 75 dollar cost is a 33.33 percent markup, but a 25 percent margin on the 100 dollar price.
How do I price a product for a 30 percent margin?
Divide the cost by 0.70. A product that costs 35 needs a price of 50 to leave a 30 percent margin.
Dividing by 1 minus the margin works for any target below 100 percent.
Is 100 percent markup the same as keystone pricing?
Yes. Keystone pricing, the retail habit of doubling cost, is a 100 percent markup and a 50 percent margin.
Should I include shipping and fees in the cost?
For honest numbers, yes. Use the landed cost: everything it took to get the item ready to sell, including freight, packaging and platform fees you cannot avoid.
Leaving those out inflates every percentage downstream.
Why does my accountant quote a different margin?
Accounting margins are usually measured across the whole business with overhead included, not item by item.
Both are real margins. They just answer different questions.