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. Pricing down from the sale price 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 isn't capped at 100%.
It can go a lot higher than most people expect. A specialty retailer buying a part for $8 and pricing it at $40 is running a 400% markup: ($40 − $8) ÷ $8 = 4.00. That same $32 profit is only an 80% margin — high, but nowhere near the 400% the markup shows. The wider the gap between cost and price, the wider the gap between the two numbers.
Going the other way, if you buy coffee beans at $9 a bag and sell them at $15, the markup is ($15 − $9) ÷ $9 = $6 ÷ $9 ≈ 66.7%. Set the known value above to "Selling price," enter $9 as the cost and $15 as the price, and the calculator works the markup out from the two amounts for you.
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?" Margin answers "what fraction of the sale is profit?" Same dollars, different question.
Mixing them up is the most common pricing mistake there is. A shop owner aiming for a 50% margin who sets a 50% markup instead comes up short: a $30 cost marked up 50% sells for $45, which is only a 33.3% margin. To actually land a 50% margin, the cost needs a full 100% markup — $30 × 2 = $60. Doubling your cost is a 100% markup, but it'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 conversions.
Worked example: pricing a product from a markup target
Say a boutique buys a jacket at $42 wholesale and wants to apply a 60% markup.
Multiply the cost by one plus the markup: $42 × 1.60 = $67.20, rounded to a $67 retail price. Check the margin that price actually produces: ($67 − $42) ÷ $67 ≈ 37.3%. A 60% markup nets a margin in the high 30s, not 60% — which is the whole point of keeping both numbers on screen at once.
If the boutique's real goal was a 50% margin rather than a 60% markup, the calculation runs the other way: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin) = $42 ÷ 0.50 = $84 — about $17 higher than the markup-based price, for the same jacket. Set "Also known" to Profit margin % above and enter 50 to see this solved directly.
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% |
| 125% | 55.6% |
| 150% | 60.0% |
| 200% | 66.7% |
| 300% | 75.0% |
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.
Can markup be over 100%?
Yes — it has no ceiling, since it's measured against the cost, usually the smaller number. Buy at $8, sell at $40, and the markup is (40 − 8) ÷ 8 = 400%. Margin can't do that; measured against the price, it can never reach 100%.