Business calculator

Markup Calculator

Calculate selling price, markup, gross margin, gross profit, and discount impact from your cost — with target-margin pricing, reverse cost ceilings, ecommerce landed cost after fees, quantity profit, batch product comparison, and a formula-backed XLSX workbook. Built for retailers, ecommerce sellers, wholesalers, manufacturers, restaurants, freelancers, and agencies.

Transparent assumptions Every formula shown 9 pricing modes incl. ecommerce & batch 12 currencies + custom symbol 10-sheet XLSX workbook Practical interpretation

Calculate markup Markup formulas

Verify against your own records — full formula shown.

Markup is profit divided by cost; margin is the same profit divided by the selling price — and margin is always the smaller number. To price from a markup, multiply: Price = Cost × (1 + markup). To price for a target margin, divide: Price = Cost ÷ (1 − margin). A 50 cost with a 40% markup sells at 70 (a 28.57% margin); the same cost priced for a 40% margin must sell at 83.33 (a 66.67% markup).

Basic Markup

Cost per unit (COGS)

The direct cost to buy, produce, or deliver the item.

Markup

Markup is calculated on COST. 40% on 50 prices at 70.

Units sold (optional)

Adds totals to the results.

Results

Moderate gross marginMarkup ≠ margin

Selling price

$70.00

Cost × (1 + markup).

Gross profit per unit

$20.00

Selling price − cost.

Markup

40%

Profit ÷ COST.

Gross margin

28.57%

The same profit ÷ PRICE — always smaller.

Maximum safe discount

28.57%

Before the unit turns loss-making.

Total gross profit

$2,000.00

100 units · revenue $7,000.00.

Moderate gross margin. 10–30% gross margins are common in volume businesses; check that overheads still fit inside it.

Markup ≠ margin. A 40% markup gives a 28.6% margin. If you actually want a 40% MARGIN, you need a 66.7% markup instead.

Includes your inputs, live formulas, scenario comparison, discount impact, ecommerce landed cost, and a 25-row product batch sheet — 10 sheets, generated in your browser.

Selling price breakdown

Where each unit of the price goes. The same data is on the workbook’s Summary sheet, chart-ready.

Cost $50.00Gross profit $20.00= Price $70.00

Show breakdown as a table

Selling price breakdown table
Component	Amount	% of price
Cost	$50.00	71.43%
Gross profit	$20.00	28.57%
Selling price	$70.00	100%

Markup vs margin conversion

The same profit, two denominators. Margin is always the smaller number — never mark up by your target margin.

Markup to margin conversion table
Markup	10%	15%	20%	25%	30%	40%	50%	75%	100%	150%	200%	300%
Margin	9.09%	13.04%	16.67%	20%	23.08%	28.57%	33.33%	42.86%	50%	60%	66.67%	75%

100% markup (keystone — doubling your cost) is exactly a 50% margin. Margin = Markup ÷ (1 + Markup); Markup = Margin ÷ (1 − Margin).

Pricing scenario comparison

Conservative, recommended, and premium pricing from your cost — plus what pricing at “margin = your markup number” really does, and any custom price.

Custom scenario price (optional)

Pricing scenario comparison table
Scenario	Selling price	Profit/unit	Markup	Margin	Total profit	Read
Conservative (−25% markup)	$65.00	$15.00	30%	23.08%	$1,500.00	Balanced
Recommended (current)	$70.00	$20.00	40%	28.57%	$2,000.00	Balanced
Premium (+25% markup)	$75.00	$25.00	50%	33.33%	$2,500.00	Premium pricing
Margin-matched (margin = current markup %)	$83.33	$33.33	66.67%	40%	$3,333.33	Premium pricing

Total profit uses the units from your current mode (100). The margin-matched row exists to show the price gap the markup/margin confusion creates.

Discount sensitivity

What each discount level does to your current price and cost. The workbook’s Discount Impact sheet runs the same analysis on your Discount-mode inputs out to 60%, with editable levels.

Discount sensitivity table
Discount	Price	Profit/unit	Margin	Markup	Total profit	Status
0%	$70.00	$20.00	28.57%	40%	$2,000.00	OK
5%	$66.50	$16.50	24.81%	33%	$1,650.00	OK
10%	$63.00	$13.00	20.63%	26%	$1,300.00	OK
15%	$59.50	$9.50	15.97%	19%	$950.00	OK
20%	$56.00	$6.00	10.71%	12%	$600.00	OK
25%	$52.50	$2.50	4.76%	5%	$250.00	Thin
30%	$49.00	−$1.00	-2.04%	-2%	−$100.00	Loss

Maximum discount before loss at this price and cost: 28.57%. A discount comes entirely out of profit, because the cost does not move.

Quantity impact

The current per-unit economics at different volumes. Volume multiplies profit — it never fixes a loss-making unit.

Quantity impact table
Units	Revenue	Gross profit
10	$700.00	$200.00
50	$3,500.00	$1,000.00
100	$7,000.00	$2,000.00
500	$35,000.00	$10,000.00
1,000	$70,000.00	$20,000.00

Batch product comparison

Price up to 10 products together — markup, margin, and profit per row, with the portfolio blend underneath. The workbook’s Product Batch sheet extends this to 25 formula-ready rows.

At a glance

Formula shown: Price = Cost × (1 + Markup%); Markup% = Profit ÷ Cost — margin divides the same profit by price.
Scenario support: Nine modes with target margin, reverse cost, ecommerce fees, discount sensitivity, and batch comparison.
Workbook export: 10-sheet Excel (XLSX) export
Educational estimate: Planning support from the values you enter — not professional advice.

How to read your result

Every result shows both markup and margin side by side, precisely because the two numbers are easy to confuse and expensive to mix up. Markup divides profit by cost — the natural number when you're pricing forward from a supplier invoice. Margin divides the identical profit by the selling price — the number that matters once the sale is made and you want to know how much of the revenue you actually kept. Switch to Target Margin mode if your goal was set as a margin rather than a markup: marking up by your target margin percentage always underprices, because markup multiplies while margin requires division. Watch the diagnosis badges for fee pressure and thin-margin warnings, and check the Ecommerce mode if platform, payment, or return fees apply — a healthy gross markup can quietly become a thin net margin once those come out.

Markup formulas

Selling price from markup

Price = Cost × (1 + Markup% ÷ 100)

Markup multiplies. 50 × 1.40 = 70.

Markup %

Markup% = Profit ÷ Cost × 100

Denominator is COST.

Gross margin %

Margin% = Profit ÷ Price × 100

Denominator is PRICE — always smaller.

Price from target margin

Price = Cost ÷ (1 − Margin% ÷ 100)

Margin divides. 50 ÷ 0.60 = 83.33.

Worked example

You buy a product for $50 and apply a 40% markup. Selling price = 50 × 1.40 = $70. Gross profit = $20. Gross margin = 20 ÷ 70 = 28.57% — not 40%, because margin divides by the price, not the cost.

Now suppose your target was actually a 40% margin. Then the selling price must be 50 ÷ (1 − 0.40) = $83.33, which is a 66.67% markup and $33.33 of profit per unit. The difference between $70 and $83.33 — about 16% of revenue — is what the markup/margin confusion silently costs on every sale.

At 100 units: the 40%-markup price earns $2,000 of gross profit; the 40%-margin price earns $3,333. Same product, same cost, same effort — the only difference is which denominator you priced with. The Target Margin mode shows this comparison automatically.

Assumptions

All results are gross calculations unless the Ecommerce mode's fees and allowances are entered.
Markup is applied to cost (COGS), never to the selling price; margin divides the same profit by the price.
COGS should include direct costs only — product, materials, packaging, freight. Overheads are optional and handled separately (Quantity mode).
Tax/VAT/GST collected from customers is not treated as profit and is not modelled unless you add it as a cost.
Percentage fees (platform, payment, returns) are charged on the selling price, where platforms actually charge them.
Industry benchmark conventions vary widely by category, region, and competition.

Limitations

Does not replace accounting advice, and does not know competitor prices or guarantee sales volume.
Does not automatically include taxes, refunds, chargebacks, depreciation, salaries, rent, interest, inventory shrinkage, or working capital — unless you enter them as costs.
Gross margin is not net margin: a healthy-looking markup can still leave little after operating costs.
Category "rules of thumb" (keystone, food multipliers, thin grocery markups) are conventions, not fixed rates — benchmark against your own cost base.

This is a pricing estimate, not bookkeeping. For the full revenue-to-net-profit waterfall see the profit margin calculator; for overhead coverage see the break-even calculator; for ad-spend limits see the break-even ROAS calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What is markup?

Markup is profit expressed as a percentage of COST. If an item costs 50 and sells for 70, the 20 of profit is a 40% markup. Pricing forward: Selling Price = Cost × (1 + Markup ÷ 100).

What is gross margin?

Gross margin is the same profit expressed as a percentage of the SELLING PRICE. The 50→70 sale has a 28.57% gross margin (20 ÷ 70). It tells you how much of each unit of revenue you keep after direct cost.

What is the difference between markup and margin?

The denominator. Markup divides profit by cost; margin divides the identical profit by the selling price. Because the price is the larger number, margin is always the smaller percentage — a 40% markup is a 28.57% margin.

How do I calculate required markup from a target margin?

Markup % = Margin % ÷ (100 − Margin %) × 100. A 40% target margin needs a 66.67% markup; 20% needs 25%; 50% needs 100%. Equivalently, price directly with Cost ÷ (1 − margin).

What is keystone pricing?

Keystone is a 100% markup — doubling your cost to set the retail price. A 25 cost sells for 50. Because the profit equals the cost, keystone produces exactly a 50% gross margin. It is a retail convention, not a rule.

Read the guide

For the full comparison of margin, markup, and break-even with worked examples, see Profit Margin vs Markup vs Break-Even: The Difference Explained.

Business pricing disclaimer

This markup calculator and its XLSX workbook are for education and pricing planning only. They are not financial, accounting, tax, or legal advice, and they do not know your competitors, demand, or sales volume. Results are gross calculations unless you enter ecommerce fees and allowances; taxes, refunds, chargebacks, depreciation, salaries, rent, inventory shrinkage, and working capital are not included unless you add them as costs. Tax/VAT/GST collected from customers is normally a pass-through, not profit. Verify pricing decisions with your own records or a qualified professional. Calculator Matters does not guarantee profit, sales volume, or business performance.

How we calculate · Found an error? email us

Authorship & verification

Written and maintained by Jay Sudha

Formula and examples verified on 14 June 2026
Educational estimate only

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