Margin Calculator

Markup vs margin — what is the difference? Both compare profit to money, but against different bases, and confusing them misprices products:

Margin is profit as a share of the selling price: Margin = (Revenue − Cost) ÷ Revenue × 100. Markup is profit as a share of the cost: Markup = (Revenue − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100.

Same sale, two numbers: buy at $60, sell at $90, and your profit is $30 — a 50% markup (30 ÷ 60) but only a 33.3% margin (30 ÷ 90). Markup is always the larger number. Common pairs: 25% markup = 20% margin, 50% markup = 33% margin, 100% markup = 50% margin.

Enter your cost and selling price, and this calculator shows all three numbers at once — profit, margin and markup — so the two percentages can never get mixed up.

Why it matters commercially: retail buyers and accountants talk margin (share of revenue — it is what P&L statements show), while many workshops and trades quote markup (share of cost — it is how you build a price from expenses). A team that hears "we need 50%" and applies it as markup when the target was margin will underprice: hitting a 50% margin on a $60 cost requires selling at $120 (100% markup), not $90.

Reference points: grocery retail runs 1–3% net margins on high volume, restaurants markup food 300%+ to gross 65–70% margins, and software gross margins often exceed 80%. To price for a target margin, use Price = Cost ÷ (1 − margin as decimal): a $40 cost priced for 35% margin is 40 ÷ 0.65 = $61.54. All math runs instantly in your browser.