Margin calculator
Cost and price in, margin and markup out — both, so the two are never confused.
- Runs in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded
- No sign-up, no quotas, free to use as often as you like
How it works
Margin and markup are the most commonly mixed-up pair of numbers in small business, and mixing them up costs money. A 50% markup is a 33% margin. This shows both every time, so the mistake cannot be made quietly.
The difference, once and for all
Margin is profit divided by the selling price. Markup is profit divided by the cost. Buy at 60 and sell at 100 and you have made 40 — that is a 40% margin and a 67% markup. Both describe the same sale. Quoting one while thinking of the other is how a business prices itself into a loss.
Work from whichever number you have
Enter the price you are charging, or the margin you need to hit, or the markup you apply as a rule, and the rest follows. Pricing to hit a target margin is the calculation people most often get wrong, because dividing by the margin is not the same as multiplying by it.
Why 100% margin is impossible
Margin is capped below 100% — reaching it would mean the cost was zero. Markup has no ceiling. If a calculator ever offers you a 150% margin, it is computing markup and calling it something else.
What is not included
This works on one unit and the costs you enter. Overheads, shipping, payment fees, returns and tax all sit outside it, and all of them eat into the margin you think you have.
Margin calculator — questions
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit over price; markup is profit over cost. A 50% markup equals a 33% margin.
Can margin be more than 100%?
No. That would require the cost to be zero or negative. Markup, by contrast, has no upper limit.
How do I price for a target margin?
Enter your cost, choose margin, and type the percentage you want. The price is calculated as cost divided by one minus the margin.
Does it include tax or fees?
No. Only the cost and price you enter — overheads, shipping and payment fees are separate.
Which currency does it use?
None. The figures are plain numbers, so they work in any currency.