Markup Calculator — Cost, Price, Markup % and Margin
Markup from cost and price — plus the selling price for a target markup, and a markup ↔ margin converter, so you price up from cost without confusing the two.
Markup from cost and price
Selling price for a target markup
Convert markup ↔ margin
Markup is profit measured against cost
Buy something for £60 and sell it for £100 and you have made £40. As a percentage of what you paid — the cost — that £40 is a 66.67% markup. As a percentage of what the customer pays — the selling price — the same £40 is a 40% margin. Markup is the pricing-up number a shopkeeper reaches for; margin is the profitability number an accountant reports. They describe one amount of money, and the only difference is which figure goes on the bottom of the division.
The four calculations
| Question | Method | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Markup from cost and price | (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100 | (100 − 60) ÷ 60 = 66.67% |
| Margin from cost and price | (price − cost) ÷ price × 100 | (100 − 60) ÷ 100 = 40% |
| Price for a target markup | cost × (1 + markup ÷ 100) | 60 × 1.50 = £90 |
| Markup ↔ margin | margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup) | 66.67% markup = 40% margin |
Markup ↔ margin reference table
| Markup % | Equivalent margin % |
|---|---|
| 10% | 9.0909% |
| 20% | 16.6667% |
| 25% | 20% |
| 33.33% | 24.9981% |
| 50% | 33.3333% |
| 66.67% | 40.0012% |
| 75% | 42.8571% |
| 100% | 50% |
| 150% | 60% |
| 200% | 66.6667% |
Why markup has no ceiling but margin does
Markup is profit over cost, and cost has no upper bound relative to profit — you can charge ten times what you paid, a 900% markup, if the market allows it. Margin is profit over the selling price, and the selling price includes the cost, so margin can never reach 100%: that would need the cost to be zero. As a markup grows without limit its equivalent margin simply approaches 100%, which is what the reference table shows as the numbers get large.
Which one should you quote?
Use markup when you are pricing up from what you paid — it maps directly onto "add 50% on top of cost". Use margin when you are judging profitability or talking to an accountant, because gross margin is the figure that relates profit to the revenue you actually book. When a supplier says "we work on 60 points", ask which base they mean: a 60% markup is a 37.5% margin, and pricing a product on the wrong one is an easy way to lose money on every sale.
Frequently asked questions
What is markup?
Markup is the profit expressed as a percentage of the cost — what you paid for the item. Buy something for £60 and sell it for £100 and the profit is £40, which against the £60 cost is a 66.67% markup. It is the number a shopkeeper uses when pricing up from a wholesale cost: "I add 66% on top of cost".
How do I calculate markup?
Subtract the cost from the selling price to get the profit, then divide the profit by the cost and multiply by 100. A product bought for £60 and sold for £100 has a markup of (100 − 60) ÷ 60 × 100 = 66.67%.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
They are the same profit measured against different bases. Markup divides the profit by the cost; margin divides it by the selling price. The £40 profit above is a 66.67% markup but only a 40% margin. Markup is always the larger number for the same money, and quoting the wrong one changes the price you end up charging.
How do I work out the selling price from a markup?
Multiply the cost by (1 + markup ÷ 100). For a 50% markup on a £40 cost: 40 × 1.50 = £60. That is the second calculator on this page. Unlike margin, markup has no upper limit — you can mark an item up by 500% if the market will bear it.
How do I convert markup to margin?
A 50% markup is a 33.3% margin, because a 50% markup turns a £1 cost into a £1.50 price, and £0.50 profit on a £1.50 price is a third. The rule of thumb: margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). The converter at the bottom does it in both directions.
Is anything sent to a server?
No. Every calculation runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Go deeper
Longer explanations of the problems this tool solves:
Everything runs in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded.