What is the difference between markup and margin?

Markup is gross profit divided by cost; margin is gross profit divided by selling price. For a profitable sale, margin is the smaller percentage. At a 25% markup, the margin is 20%. The readout shows both so you can compare them.

How do I calculate markup from cost and selling price?

Subtract the cost from the price, divide by the cost, and multiply by 100. Set Solve for to Markup from price and the tool does exactly that and prints the line it used. A cost of 30 sold at 50 is a profit of 20.00, which is a markup of 66.6667% and, measured against the price instead, a margin of 40.0%.

What price do I charge to get a 30% margin?

Divide the cost by 1 minus the margin, not by adding 30% to cost. Set Solve for to Price from margin: a cost of 30 needs a price of 42.86 to keep a 30% margin, which is a markup of 42.8571%. Adding 30% to that same cost gives 39.00, and that is only a 23.0769% margin, about seven points short of what was asked for.

Is a 50% markup the same as a 50% margin?

No, and the gap is large. On a cost of 30, a 50% markup is a price of 45.00 and a margin of 33.3333%. A 50% margin on the same cost is a price of 60.00, which is a 100% markup. Enter both in turn and the readout shows the difference: same cost, same percentage asked for, fifteen units apart in price.

What is keystone pricing?

Doubling the cost. It is a 100% markup and a 50% margin, which is the clearest example of why the two words are not interchangeable. Put a cost of 30 in with a markup of 100 and the price comes out at 60.00, with a gross profit of 30.00 and a margin of 50.0%.

Can it handle selling below cost?

Yes. A cost of 100 sold at 80 gives a markup of -20% and a margin of -25%, and the result names the loss. Selling at cost gives zero for both. Cost and selling price must be positive, money cannot exceed 1,000,000,000,000, and the entered percentages must stay within the ranges shown in validation messages.

Does the result include tax, shipping or card fees?

No separate tax, shipping or fee is calculated. Enter the cost you want to compare with the selling price. The gross profit is their difference; the tool does not calculate net profit, tax owed or a card provider's charges.

Is anything I type sent anywhere?

The calculation runs locally in your browser. This page does not upload the amounts. The last figures are saved in this browser's local storage when storage is available.

Can I convert between markup and gross margin?

Yes. For markup M in percent, margin is 100 × M / (100 + M). For margin G in percent, markup is 100 × G / (100 - G). Enter a positive cost, select Price from markup or Price from margin, and read both percentages. A 100% markup produces a 50% margin.

Can I use it for retail, food, parts, materials or labor?

Yes, for a supplied cost and selling price or percentage. Use the same unit for both amounts: cost per item, serving or billed hour, for example. A cost of 80 with a 25% markup gives a price of 100, a gross profit of 20 and a margin of 20%. The calculator supplies no industry rate or recommended price.

Can I use pounds, pesos or another currency on a phone?

Yes. Use amounts in the same currency; no exchange rate is applied. The fields and mode buttons work in a mobile or desktop browser. You can enter decimal amounts, with an optional supported currency sign or thousands commas.

Does gross profit mean the amount or the percentage?

Gross profit is the selling price minus cost, in the same units as those amounts. Gross margin is that profit divided by selling price and expressed as a percentage. With a cost of 30 and a price of 50, gross profit is 20 and gross margin is 40%.

Markup Calculator

Enter cost and selling price to find the markup, or choose a markup or margin to calculate the price. The result shows all four figures together, with the arithmetic used and a conversion table. Use the same currency for both amounts.

Markup66.6667%cost 30.00 to price 50.00 · markup 66.6667% · margin 40.0%

Solve for

Cost

Price

Markup

66.6667%

Margin

40.0%

A cost of 30.00 sold at 50.00 is a markup of 66.6667% and a margin of 40.0%, a gross profit of 20.00. The price is 166.6667% of cost, and every unit sold makes 20.00 gross.

markup = (price - cost) / cost x 100 = (50.00 - 30.00) / 30.00 x 100 = 66.6667%

One of these figures repeats as a decimal, so the display rounds it: money to two places and percentages to four. The arithmetic itself keeps the full value.

Worked examples

Cost 30, price 50read the markup off a price
66.6667% markup (margin 40.0%)
Cost 30, markup 50%solve the price
45.00, margin 33.3333%
Cost 30, margin 50%solve the price
60.00, margin 50.0%

Every markup, and the margin it really is

Adding a percentage to cost is not the same as keeping that percentage of the price. This table is the conversion, computed the same way the calculator above computes it.

Markup on cost, the margin it produces, and what the price is as a multiple of cost.
Markup on cost	Margin on price	Price is cost times
10.0%	9.0909%	1.10
20.0%	16.6667%	1.20
25.0%	20.0%	1.25
30.0%	23.0769%	1.30
40.0%	28.5714%	1.40
50.0%	33.3333%	1.50
60.0%	37.5%	1.60
75.0%	42.8571%	1.75
100.0%	50.0%	2.00
150.0%	60.0%	2.50
200.0%	66.6667%	3.00

Markup and margin are the same money, divided by different things. Gross profit is the price less the cost. Divide it by the cost and you have the markup; divide the same figure by the price and you have the margin. For a profitable sale, the price is the larger number and the margin is the smaller percentage: a 50% markup is a 33.3333% margin, and doubling your cost, the keystone price, is a 100% markup and a 50% margin. If a buyer asks for 30% and means margin, adding 30% to cost leaves you about seven points short.

Accuracy. Exact arithmetic on the numbers you enter. Markup is measured against cost and margin against price, which is why the two percentages differ; both are shown so the one you meant is on screen. Every figure here is gross: the price, the cost and the profit between them, with nothing taken out for shipping, fees, overhead or tax. No currency is assumed either, so enter the figures in whatever you sell in and the percentages come out the same.

Common questions

What is the difference between markup and margin?: Markup is gross profit divided by cost; margin is gross profit divided by selling price. For a profitable sale, margin is the smaller percentage. At a 25% markup, the margin is 20%. The readout shows both so you can compare them.
How do I calculate markup from cost and selling price?: Subtract the cost from the price, divide by the cost, and multiply by 100. Set Solve for to Markup from price and the tool does exactly that and prints the line it used. A cost of 30 sold at 50 is a profit of 20.00, which is a markup of 66.6667% and, measured against the price instead, a margin of 40.0%.
What price do I charge to get a 30% margin?: Divide the cost by 1 minus the margin, not by adding 30% to cost. Set Solve for to Price from margin: a cost of 30 needs a price of 42.86 to keep a 30% margin, which is a markup of 42.8571%. Adding 30% to that same cost gives 39.00, and that is only a 23.0769% margin, about seven points short of what was asked for.
Is a 50% markup the same as a 50% margin?: No, and the gap is large. On a cost of 30, a 50% markup is a price of 45.00 and a margin of 33.3333%. A 50% margin on the same cost is a price of 60.00, which is a 100% markup. Enter both in turn and the readout shows the difference: same cost, same percentage asked for, fifteen units apart in price.
What is keystone pricing?: Doubling the cost. It is a 100% markup and a 50% margin, which is the clearest example of why the two words are not interchangeable. Put a cost of 30 in with a markup of 100 and the price comes out at 60.00, with a gross profit of 30.00 and a margin of 50.0%.
Can it handle selling below cost?: Yes. A cost of 100 sold at 80 gives a markup of -20% and a margin of -25%, and the result names the loss. Selling at cost gives zero for both. Cost and selling price must be positive, money cannot exceed 1,000,000,000,000, and the entered percentages must stay within the ranges shown in validation messages.
Does the result include tax, shipping or card fees?: No separate tax, shipping or fee is calculated. Enter the cost you want to compare with the selling price. The gross profit is their difference; the tool does not calculate net profit, tax owed or a card provider's charges.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?: The calculation runs locally in your browser. This page does not upload the amounts. The last figures are saved in this browser's local storage when storage is available.
Can I convert between markup and gross margin?: Yes. For markup M in percent, margin is 100 × M / (100 + M). For margin G in percent, markup is 100 × G / (100 - G). Enter a positive cost, select Price from markup or Price from margin, and read both percentages. A 100% markup produces a 50% margin.
Can I use it for retail, food, parts, materials or labor?: Yes, for a supplied cost and selling price or percentage. Use the same unit for both amounts: cost per item, serving or billed hour, for example. A cost of 80 with a 25% markup gives a price of 100, a gross profit of 20 and a margin of 20%. The calculator supplies no industry rate or recommended price.
Can I use pounds, pesos or another currency on a phone?: Yes. Use amounts in the same currency; no exchange rate is applied. The fields and mode buttons work in a mobile or desktop browser. You can enter decimal amounts, with an optional supported currency sign or thousands commas.
Does gross profit mean the amount or the percentage?: Gross profit is the selling price minus cost, in the same units as those amounts. Gross margin is that profit divided by selling price and expressed as a percentage. With a cost of 30 and a price of 50, gross profit is 20 and gross margin is 40%.

Exact arithmetic on the numbers you enter. Markup is measured against cost and margin against price, which is why the two percentages differ; both are shown so the one you meant is on screen.