Markup calculator.
Turn a cost and a markup percentage into a selling price. See the profit and the profit margin too, so you can price with confidence and never confuse markup with margin again.
Cost and markup
LiveMarkup is the percentage added to your cost. The margin, shown on the right, is the profit as a share of the selling price.
Selling price
$150.00
cost plus 50% markup
A pricing estimate, not financial advice; taxes and fees are not included. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is stored.
How it works
From cost to price
Markup is the amount you add to your cost, written as a percentage of that cost. The calculator multiplies your cost by one plus the markup to get the selling price, then shows the profit and the profit margin, which is the profit as a share of that price.
A $100 item with a 50% markup sells for $150, a $50 profit. That same $50 is only a 33.3% margin, because margin is measured against the price, not the cost. That gap is where most pricing mistakes hide.
Reference
Markup to margin.
The same price expressed two ways. A markup is always a bigger number than the margin it produces.
| Markup | Profit margin |
|---|---|
| 10% | 9.09% |
| 15% | 13.04% |
| 20% | 16.67% |
| 25% | 20.00% |
| 30% | 23.08% |
| 40% | 28.57% |
| 50% | 33.33% |
| 75% | 42.86% |
| 100% | 50.00% |
The full guide
The complete markup guide.
What markup is, how it differs from margin, and how to set a price that actually covers your costs.
What is markup?
Markup is how much you add to the cost of a product to set its selling price, expressed as a percentage of the cost. If an item costs you $100 and you add 50%, the markup is $50 and the price is $150. It is the simplest way to price, because you start from what you paid and add a slice on top.
Markup is always measured against cost, which is what separates it from margin and is the source of most pricing confusion.
Markup versus margin
Markup and margin describe the same profit from two angles. Markup is the profit as a percentage of the cost; margin is the profit as a percentage of the selling price. Because the price is larger than the cost, the margin is always the smaller number. A 50% markup is only a 33.3% margin, and a 100% markup is a 50% margin.
Mixing them up is expensive. Aiming for a 40% margin but applying a 40% markup leaves you short, so always be clear which one a supplier or report means. The table above lines them up side by side.
How to calculate markup
To find a selling price, multiply your cost by one plus the markup as a decimal: cost times 1.5 for a 50% markup. To find the markup percentage from a known cost and price, subtract the cost from the price, divide by the cost, and multiply by 100. So a $100 cost and a $150 price is a 50% markup.
The profit is simply the price minus the cost, and the margin is that profit divided by the price.
Choosing the right markup
A workable markup has to cover more than the item itself. It needs to pay for overheads like rent, wages, packaging and payment fees, and still leave a profit. Different industries sit at very different levels: groceries run on thin markups and high volume, while jewellery or software can carry very high ones.
Start from the margin you need to run the business, then work back to the markup that delivers it, rather than picking a markup at random.
Common pricing mistakes
The classic errors are confusing markup with margin, marking up only the product cost while ignoring overheads, and discounting without checking what it does to the margin. A 20% discount on a product with a 30% margin wipes out most of the profit.
Price from your real costs and your target margin, review it as costs change, and use the calculator to check the numbers before you commit.
The formula
Cost up,
margin out.
Markup is a slice added to your cost. Margin is that same profit measured against the price, which is why it is always the smaller figure.
Try the sales tax calculator ›# Selling price
price = cost × (1 + markup/100)
# profit and margin
profit = price − cost
margin = profit / price × 100
# worked example
100 × 1.5 = 150 → $50 profit, 33.3% marginQuestions
Markup questions.
How do I calculate markup?
+
Add the markup percentage to your cost. Multiply the cost by one plus the markup as a decimal, so a $100 cost with a 50% markup is 100 times 1.5, which is a $150 selling price and a $50 profit.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
+
Markup is profit as a percentage of cost; margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. Since the price is higher than the cost, the margin is always smaller. A 50% markup equals a 33.3% margin.
How do I convert markup to margin?
+
Divide the markup by one plus the markup. A 50% markup is 0.5 divided by 1.5, which is 0.333, or a 33.3% margin. The table on this page lists common values.
What is a good markup percentage?
+
It depends on your industry and costs. A good markup covers your overheads and still leaves a profit. Retail often runs 50% or more, while high-volume groceries run much lower. Work back from the margin your business needs.
Is this markup calculator free and private?
+
Yes. It is completely free with no sign-up, and every calculation runs locally in your browser, so nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
About the developer
Jean Borg
Jean builds and maintains every calculator on freecalculators.pro from Malta, with a focus on tools that are fast, free and show their working. The markup calculator uses the standard pricing formulas and is provided for general business use, not financial advice.