Free markup and margin calculator
Enter a cost, then any one of price, markup percent or margin percent, and the other three fill in live. It is the quickest way to see why a 150 percent markup is only a 60 percent margin, and to price from whichever number you already have. No account, no sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Your inputs
per unit
What the unit costs you, landed.
Profit as a percentage of cost.
Your numbers
$100.00price
$60.00 profit on a $40.00 cost
- Markup
- 150.0%
- Margin
- 60.0%
profit / cost
profit / price
- Cost
- $40.00
- Profit
- $60.00
- Price
- $100.00
Markup and margin describe the same profit against different bases, so markup is always the larger number. A 50.0% markup is a 33.3% margin. Figures are illustrative.
How to use the calculator
Start with your cost per unit, the landed figure you actually pay. Then pick the one number you already know, price, markup or margin, and type it in. The result panel fills in the rest at once, including the profit per unit and both the markup and the margin side by side.
The two percentages are the point of the tool. They describe the same profit, so they move together, but they are never equal. If you set prices from supplier cost you are probably thinking in markup. If you report to a lender or compare against other sellers you are usually thinking in margin. For the method behind the second number, read gross margin vs net margin.
Enter your cost
Use the landed cost per unit, including freight and import fees, so the resulting price covers what you actually paid.
Pick one input
Switch between price, markup and margin. Whichever you choose, the calculator derives the other two from your cost.
Read markup and margin
The panel shows both percentages together, so the gap between them stops being a surprise at the end of the month.
Price with intent
Work back from the margin you need, and the calculator tells you the price and the markup that reach it.
The markup and margin formulas
Profit is the same in both: price minus cost. The two percentages only differ in what they divide that profit by. Markup divides by cost, margin divides by price.
Take a unit that costs $40 and sells for $100. The profit is $60. As a markup that is 60 divided by 40, or 150 percent. As a margin it is 60 divided by 100, or 60 percent. Same sale, two very different numbers, which is exactly why the two get mixed up. Those figures are illustrative; type your own above. For the plain-language definitions, see the profit and finance glossary.
Which number should you price from?
Markup is the natural tool when you buy to resell, because it starts from the cost in front of you. Margin is the natural tool when you set a profit target, because it is the share of each sale you keep. Trouble starts when the two get swapped. A business aiming for a 40 percent margin that applies a 40 percent markup instead quietly lands near a 29 percent margin and wonders where the money went.
The safe habit is to decide your target in margin, then let the calculator give you the price and the markup that reach it. If you are building prices from the ground up, how to price a product works through the costs that belong in the cost figure before you ever apply a percentage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Both measure the same profit, but against a different base. Markup is profit as a percentage of cost. Margin is profit as a percentage of price. Because price is always larger than cost, the markup percentage is always larger than the margin percentage for the same sale.
How do you calculate markup?
Subtract cost from price to get profit, divide that profit by the cost, then multiply by 100. For example, a product that costs $40 and sells for $100 has $60 of profit, which is a 150 percent markup because 60 divided by 40 is 1.5.
How do you calculate margin?
Subtract cost from price to get profit, divide that profit by the price, then multiply by 100. The same $40 product selling for $100 has a 60 percent margin because 60 divided by 100 is 0.6. The calculator above runs both numbers for you as you type.
Why is markup always higher than margin?
Markup divides profit by the smaller number, the cost, while margin divides the same profit by the larger number, the price. Dividing by a smaller base gives a bigger percentage. A 50 percent markup is a 33.3 percent margin, and a 100 percent markup is a 50 percent margin.
Is this markup and margin calculator free?
Yes. The calculator runs entirely in your browser, needs no account and costs nothing. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. If you want this math run automatically on your real sales and costs every month, that is what TrueProfit does.
Run this math on your real numbers
The calculator is a quick estimate on one unit. TrueProfit imports your sales and costs, then shows your true profit, markup and margin by product and by month, automatically. Free to start, Pro is $19 a month and Business is $49 a month.
Free to start, no credit card.