Markup Calculator
Enter your cost and a markup % to get the selling price, gross profit, and the margin that markup actually produces — markup and margin side by side. Or switch the known value to solve the markup from a price. Want to work from the sale price down instead? Use the profit margin calculator.
Selling price
$0
How to calculate markup
Markup is your gross profit as a share of the cost: markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost. To price up from cost, multiply by one plus the markup: price = cost × (1 + markup). A $30 item with a 50% markup sells for $30 × 1.50 = $45, a $15 profit. Markup is the answer to "how much did I add on top of what I paid?" — and unlike margin, it can go well above 100%.
Going the other way, if you buy at $30 and sell at $45, the markup is $15 ÷ $30 = 50%. Set the known value above to "Selling price" and the calculator works the markup out from the two amounts.
Markup vs margin — why the markup looks bigger
Markup and margin are the same profit measured against different bases. Markup is profit ÷ cost; margin is profit ÷ price. That $15 on a $30 cost / $45 price is a 50% markup but only a 33.3% margin. The cost is the smaller number, so dividing by it gives the bigger percentage — which is why a markup always looks larger than the margin it delivers.
- Markup answers: how much did I add on top of cost? (profit ÷ cost)
- Margin answers: what fraction of the sale is profit? (profit ÷ price)
This matters when you price to a goal. Doubling your cost is a 100% markup, but that's only a 50% margin — not 100%. To hit a target margin, convert it first: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). The table below does the common ones.
Markup to margin — quick conversion
The margin each markup actually produces (margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup)):
| Markup | Resulting margin |
|---|---|
| 10% | 9.1% |
| 15% | 13.0% |
| 20% | 16.7% |
| 25% | 20.0% |
| 30% | 23.1% |
| 40% | 28.6% |
| 50% | 33.3% |
| 75% | 42.9% |
| 100% | 50.0% |
Reverse of this — margin to markup — is on the profit margin calculator.
Common questions
How do you calculate markup?
Markup = (selling price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. To price up: price = cost × (1 + markup). A $30 item at 50% markup sells for $45 ($15 profit). Markup is measured against the cost.
What's the difference between markup and margin?
Same profit, different base. Markup is profit ÷ cost; margin is profit ÷ price. A 50% markup on $30 gives a $45 price and a $15 profit — a 33.3% margin. Markup is always the larger percentage.
What markup gives a 50% margin?
A 100% markup. Convert a target margin with markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin): 50% margin needs 100% markup, 40% needs 66.7%, 25% needs 33.3%. Doubling cost is a 50% margin, not 100%.
How do I find markup from cost and price?
Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost. Buy at $30, sell at $45: $15 ÷ $30 = 50%. Set "Also known" to Selling price to compute it from the two amounts.