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 price under the cost is a loss, not an error: a cost of 100 sold at 80 gives a markup of -20.0% and a margin of -25.0%, and the result says loss in words. Selling at cost is reported as breaking even, with both percentages at zero. The only figures refused are ones no arithmetic exists for, such as a cost of zero, which leaves markup nothing to be measured against.

Does the result include tax, shipping or card fees?

No. Every figure here is gross: the price, the cost, and the profit between them. Nothing is taken out for shipping, payment fees, overhead or tax, because those depend on where and how you sell and cannot be derived from a percentage. If you want them counted, add them into the cost before you start, and the markup and margin will then be measured against that fuller cost.

Is anything I type sent anywhere?

No. The arithmetic runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded, so a cost or a price never leaves the device. The last figures you entered are kept in this browser's own local storage so the page opens where you left it, and the Start over button above the heading forgets them.

Markup Calculator

Three questions, one row of figures: what to charge for a given markup, what markup a price you already charge is taking, and what to charge to keep a given margin. Whichever one you enter, cost, price, markup and margin all stay on screen together, because a 25% markup is a 20% margin and the two are easy to mix up when a page prints only one of them. Under the answer is the line of arithmetic it came from with your own numbers in it, and below that a table converting eleven common markups into the margins they really are. It runs in your browser, needs no account, and assumes no currency, so the percentages are the same whatever you price in.

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. Because the price is the larger number, the margin is always 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?: They are the same gross profit divided by two different figures. Markup divides it by what the item cost you; margin divides it by what you sold it for. Since the selling price is the larger number, the margin is always the smaller percentage: a 25% markup is a 20% margin, a 50% markup is a 33.3333% margin, and doubling your cost is a 100% markup but a 50% margin. This tool shows both on every result so there is no chance of reading one as the other.
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 price under the cost is a loss, not an error: a cost of 100 sold at 80 gives a markup of -20.0% and a margin of -25.0%, and the result says loss in words. Selling at cost is reported as breaking even, with both percentages at zero. The only figures refused are ones no arithmetic exists for, such as a cost of zero, which leaves markup nothing to be measured against.
Does the result include tax, shipping or card fees?: No. Every figure here is gross: the price, the cost, and the profit between them. Nothing is taken out for shipping, payment fees, overhead or tax, because those depend on where and how you sell and cannot be derived from a percentage. If you want them counted, add them into the cost before you start, and the markup and margin will then be measured against that fuller cost.
Is anything I type sent anywhere?: No. The arithmetic runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded, so a cost or a price never leaves the device. The last figures you entered are kept in this browser's own local storage so the page opens where you left it, and the Start over button above the heading forgets them.

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.