Markup Percentage Calculator

Calculate selling price from cost and markup, or reverse the math to find cost, profit, markup percentage, and profit margin. This online markup calculator is built for retail, ecommerce, wholesale, and service pricing.

Quick formula
Markup % = (Selling price - Cost) / Cost x 100

Markup Calculator

Real-time
Choose the missing value. The calculator updates the related markup, margin, and profit fields.
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Selling price
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Markup
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Profit
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Margin
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Selling price breakdown

Detailed Markup Results

Markup calculator formula, selling price calculator, and markup vs margin conversion.
Cost
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The amount you pay to make, buy, or deliver the item before markup.

Selling price
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The price charged to the customer before discounts, tax, or shipping.

Gross profit
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Selling price minus cost, before overhead and operating expenses.

Markup percentage
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Profit as a percentage of cost.

Profit margin
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Profit as a percentage of selling price.

Formula used

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Pricing notes

    Markup Examples

    Load a common pricing scenario and see how cost, price, markup, margin, and profit move together.

    Retail item with 50% markup

    A product costs $40 and is priced with a 50% markup, producing a $60 selling price.

    Wholesale 30% margin check

    A $70 cost and $100 price creates a 42.86% markup, but the gross margin is 30%.

    Service job quote

    A service with $125 estimated cost and 60% markup creates a $200 quote before tax.

    Discount below cost

    A sale price below cost shows negative markup and negative margin, which is useful for clearance decisions.

    How to Use This Online Markup Calculator

    The fastest workflow is to choose the missing value first, then enter the known cost, price, markup, margin, or profit fields.

    1

    Choose what to solve

    Select selling price, cost, markup percentage, profit margin, or profit from the dropdown.

    2

    Enter the known values

    For a simple markup percentage calculator, enter cost and markup to get selling price.

    3

    Compare markup and margin

    Review both percentages because markup uses cost as the base while margin uses selling price.

    4

    Check the pricing note

    Use the result as a gross estimate, then account for tax, fees, discounts, freight, and overhead.

    Markup Calculator Formula

    Markup is a cost-based pricing formula. Margin is a revenue-based profitability formula. Mixing them up is one of the most common pricing mistakes.

    Markup percentage

    Markup % = (Selling price - Cost) / Cost x 100

    Use this when you want profit measured against what the item cost you.

    Selling price from markup

    Selling price = Cost x (1 + Markup % / 100)

    For example, $40 cost with 50% markup becomes $60 selling price.

    Profit margin

    Margin % = (Selling price - Cost) / Selling price x 100

    Margin is lower than markup for profitable sales because selling price is the larger base.

    Cost from price and markup

    Cost = Selling price / (1 + Markup % / 100)

    Use reverse markup when a target selling price is known and you need the implied cost.

    Profit

    Profit = Selling price - Cost

    This is gross profit before overhead, marketplace fees, refunds, and taxes.

    Markup vs Margin

    Markup and margin both describe profit, but they answer different questions. This table keeps the difference clear.

    Question Markup Margin
    Base number Cost Selling price
    Formula Profit / Cost Profit / Selling price
    Best for Setting a price from known cost Measuring profitability after price is known
    Example $40 cost, $20 profit = 50% markup $60 price, $20 profit = 33.33% margin

    When to Use a Markup Percentage Calculator

    This tool is most useful when price decisions need to be fast, repeatable, and easy to explain.

    Retail pricing

    Estimate shelf price from purchase cost and target markup before planning sales or discounts.

    Ecommerce products

    Compare cost, selling price, and gross profit before adding marketplace fees, shipping, and return costs.

    Wholesale quotes

    Reverse a target price to see whether the implied cost and markup still leave enough margin.

    Service estimates

    Turn labor, material, and subcontractor costs into a quote with a clear gross profit target.

    Markup Calculator FAQ

    Answers to common questions about markup percentage, selling price, profit margin, and reverse markup.

    Subtract cost from selling price to get profit, divide that profit by cost, then multiply by 100. The formula is markup percentage = (selling price - cost) / cost x 100.

    Markup measures profit against cost. Margin measures profit against selling price. A $40 cost sold for $60 has 50% markup but 33.33% margin.

    Multiply cost by 1 plus the markup percentage as a decimal. For example, $40 cost with 50% markup is $40 x 1.5 = $60 selling price.

    Yes. Negative markup means the selling price is below cost. That may happen during clearance or loss-leader promotions, but it should be intentional because it creates a gross loss.

    No. It calculates gross markup from the values you enter. Add taxes, shipping, payment fees, marketplace commissions, and overhead separately when setting a final customer price.

    There is no universal ecommerce markup. Start with landed cost, competitor prices, marketplace fees, fulfillment cost, return risk, and target margin, then test whether customers accept the final price.

    Margin uses selling price as the denominator, while markup uses cost. Because selling price is higher than cost in a profitable sale, the margin percentage is usually lower.

    Ready to calculate markup percentage?

    Enter your cost and target markup, compare the resulting margin, and adjust the price until the gross profit works.

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