keencalculator
  1. Home
  2. Business & Sales
  3. Markup Calculator

Markup Calculator

Markup is what you add on top of cost to set a selling price, expressed as a percentage of the cost. Enter cost and markup to get the price, or work backwards from a price. The equivalent profit margin is always shown alongside, because the two are easy to confuse.

Quick examples
$
%

Markup is profit as a share of cost, so it can be above 100%.

Your numbers stay in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Selling price$75.00
Markup
50%
Profit margin
33.33%
Profit
$25.00
Cost
$50.00
What the selling price is made of
  • Cost
  • Profit

Saved setups

Save a set of inputs you reuse — your usual rate, your loan, your room sizes — and load it back in one tap.

    Your recent calculations

    Results you calculate here are kept on this device so you can come back to them.

      Formula

      Selling price = cost × (1 + markup ÷ 100)
      Markup % = (selling price − cost) ÷ cost × 100
      Cost = selling price ÷ (1 + markup ÷ 100)
      Margin % = (selling price − cost) ÷ selling price × 100

      How to use it

      1. Choose which two numbers you know: cost and markup, cost and price, or price and markup.
      2. Enter them.
      3. Read the selling price and profit.
      4. Check the margin beside it — that is the share of each sale you actually keep.

      Worked examples

      A 50% markup on an item that costs $50

      Selling price
      $75.00
      Profit
      $25.00
      Profit margin
      33.33%

      The markup on an item bought for $40 and sold for $100

      Markup
      150%
      Profit margin
      60%
      Profit
      $60.00

      The cost behind a $120 price that carries a 20% markup

      Cost
      $100.00
      Profit
      $20.00
      Profit margin
      16.67%

      Markup is not margin

      Markup measures profit against what you paid; margin measures the same profit against what the customer pays. Because the selling price is the bigger number, the margin is always smaller than the markup.

      A 50% markup on a $50 item gives a $75 price and $25 profit. That $25 is 50% of the cost but only 33.33% of the price. If someone says they “make 50%”, ask which one they mean.

      A 100% markup — doubling the cost, known as keystone pricing — is a 50% margin. No markup, however large, produces a 100% margin.

      Typical markups

      Grocers often work on 15–35% over cost, clothing and gift retailers commonly double the wholesale price (100%), jewelry and furniture frequently go higher, and restaurants typically price dishes at about three times ingredient cost (200% markup) because food is only one of their costs.

      A markup has to cover overheads as well as leave a profit, so the right figure depends on your rent, wages and sales volume, not just on what competitors charge.

      Questions people ask

      How do I calculate a 30% markup?

      Multiply the cost by 1.30. A $40 item becomes $52, a profit of $12.

      What margin does a 50% markup give?

      33.33%. On a $50 cost the price is $75, and the $25 profit is one third of that price.

      What markup do I need for a 50% margin?

      100%. To keep half of the selling price as profit you have to double the cost.

      How do I find the markup from cost and price?

      Subtract cost from price and divide by cost. Bought for $40 and sold for $100: $60 ÷ $40 = 1.5, a 150% markup.

      Related calculators

      Profit Margin CalculatorMargin, markup and profit from cost and price — or solve for either.Wholesale Price CalculatorWholesale and retail prices from your cost, with both margins.Profit CalculatorGross, operating and net profit with all three margins.Discount CalculatorSale price and savings, with a stacked second discount and tax.Sales Tax CalculatorAdd sales tax to a price, or back it out of a total.