SellersCalc

Pricing math

Margin vs Markup Calculator

Two percentages, one profit — and an expensive mistake when they get swapped.

Margin = profit ÷ price; markup = profit ÷ cost. A product bought for $60 and sold for $100 makes $40 — a 40% margin and a 66.7% markup, from the same sale. The mistake that costs real money: wanting a 40% margin, applying a 40% markup, and silently ending up at 28.6%. Enter cost and price to see both percentages side by side, correctly.

Margin vs Markup Calculator — your numbers

Profit margin

40.0%

Markup

66.7%

Profit

$40.00

Estimate only. Results reflect exactly the numbers you enter — verify against your own accounting before making pricing decisions.

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Worked examples

The classic pair

Cost $60.00
Selling price $100.00
Profit margin 40.0%
Markup 66.7%
Profit $40.00

40% margin = 66.7% markup. Same $40, different denominator.

Keystone pricing

Cost $50.00
Selling price $100.00
Profit margin 50.0%
Markup 100.0%
Profit $50.00

Doubling cost (100% markup) always lands exactly at 50% margin.

The difference in one line. Margin and markup measure the same profit against different bases: margin divides it by the selling price, markup divides it by the cost. Because price is always the bigger number on a profitable sale, margin is always the smaller percentage. The two definitions: margin = profit ÷ price × 100, and markup = profit ÷ cost × 100. To convert between them without a calculator, margin = markup ÷ (100 + markup) × 100 and markup = margin ÷ (100 − margin) × 100.
Margin vs markup conversion chart. Every row is one doubling of the same arithmetic — apply the markup in the left column and you end up with the margin on the right.
Markup on costResulting margin
10%9.1%
15%13.0%
20%16.7%
25%20.0%
30%23.1%
40%28.6%
50%33.3%
60%37.5%
75%42.9%
100% (keystone)50.0%
150%60.0%
200%66.7%
300%75.0%
Working backwards from a target margin. Pricing usually runs the other direction — you know the margin you need and want the markup that produces it. A 20% margin needs a 25% markup, 25% needs 33.3%, 30% needs 42.9%, 40% needs 66.7%, 50% needs 100%, 60% needs 150%, and 75% needs a 300% markup. This is the step where money quietly leaks: applying a 40% markup when you wanted a 40% margin lands you at 28.6%, missing the target by more than eleven points. The selling price calculator does it from a target margin directly.
Free margin and markup spreadsheet template. For pricing a whole catalogue rather than one product, download the margin vs markup template — a small spreadsheet with the cost, price, profit, margin and markup columns already wired up. The formulas are live, so it opens as a working calculator in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers or LibreOffice: overwrite the example rows with your own products and copy the last row down for as many SKUs as you need. It carries no platform fee rates and no assumptions of ours, only the arithmetic on this page, so it cannot go out of date.

Frequently asked questions

Why do margin and markup differ for the same sale?

Different denominators. Profit ÷ price = margin; profit ÷ cost = markup. Since price exceeds cost on any profitable sale, the markup percentage is always the larger number — 40% margin and 66.7% markup describe the identical transaction.

Which should I use to run my store?

Margin, for decisions — it is the share of revenue you keep, and it is what ad break-evens, discount math, and financial statements are built on. Markup is a convenient way to *set* prices from cost. Set with markup, manage with margin.

Is there a quick conversion table?

Markup → margin: 25% → 20%, 33% → 25%, 50% → 33.3%, 66.7% → 40%, 100% → 50%, 300% → 75%. The formula: margin = markup ÷ (100 + markup) × 100.

Can margin ever exceed 100%?

No — margin is capped below 100% because cost is always at least something. Markup has no cap: a $2 item sold for $20 is a 900% markup but a 90% margin. If someone reports a "150% margin," they are talking about markup.

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Part of the Pricing & Margins collection.