Last updated on October 13, 2026

Markup Calculator

Calculator mode

Currency

Cost

Selling price

Markup %

Markup amount

Direct product costs

Add shipping, packaging, and other direct costs so markup is applied to total landed product cost, not only purchase price.

Shipping / freight

Packaging

Other direct costs

Set a list price (or cost + target markup) and a discount to see final price, effective markup, and effective margin.

Discount % off list price

Convert between markup and margin

Markup % → margin

Margin % → markup

Products

Each row can use its own cost and markup %. Totals sum cost, price, and profit across products.

Markup percentage

50.00%

Markup %

50.00%

Markup amount

$30.00

Selling price

$90.00

Cost

$60.00

Profit

$30.00

Margin % (from price)

33.33%

Cost % of price

66.67%

List price (before discount)

—

Effective markup after discount

—

From markup

—

From margin

—

Product results

Product	Cost	Markup %	Price	Profit

Calculation steps

Markup is profit ÷ cost. Margin is profit ÷ selling price. A 50% markup is not a 50% margin—for cost $60 and price $90, markup is 50% but margin is only 33.3%.

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How to Use the Markup Calculator

Enter cost and selling price to compute markup, or set a target markup to find the selling price. Review profit and margin, add product costs or a discount if needed, and test multiple products at once.

1. Choose the mode that matches what you know: Pick the mode that fits your situation. Cost & price → markup if you already know both numbers. Cost + markup % → price or Cost + markup $ → price if you know the markup you want. Price + markup % → cost if you are working backward from a price. Product total cost if shipping, packaging, and other direct costs need to be included. Discounted markup if you are planning a promotion. Markup ↔ margin for a straight percentage conversion. Multiple products for a catalogue.
2. Enter cost and price or markup: In the Basic mode, enter the cost of the product (what you paid for it, landed) and the selling price (what you charge the customer). The calculator returns the markup amount, the markup percentage, the implied margin, and the cost as a percentage of revenue — all updating live as you type.
3. Read the markup and margin together: Markup and margin appear side by side so you can see how they relate for your specific numbers. Markup is profit divided by cost, margin is profit divided by price, and markup is always the higher of the two. A short note explains the relationship in plain English using your actual inputs.
4. Add product costs or a discount if needed: If shipping, packaging, or other direct costs apply, switch to Product total cost mode and enter each one — the markup is applied to the total landed cost, not the purchase price alone. If you are planning a promotion, switch to Discounted markup mode and enter the discount percentage — the calculator shows list price, net price, effective markup, and effective margin.
5. Convert markup to margin or back if needed: The Markup ↔ margin mode converts between the two percentages directly. Enter a markup percentage to see the equivalent margin, or enter a margin percentage to see the equivalent markup. Useful when you have been given one and need to express the sale in terms of the other.
6. Test a catalogue of products: For a multi-product business, use the Multiple products mode. Enter each product with its own cost and markup percentage, and the calculator reports the resulting price and profit per product plus the blended markup and margin across the whole list. That is the number that reflects what the catalogue actually earns.

What Is Markup?

Markup is the amount added to a product's cost to reach its selling price, expressed as a percentage of cost. Cost $60, sell $90 → markup amount $30, markup % 50%. Margin is the flip side: profit as a share of the selling price, not the cost. The two are not interchangeable — the same $30 profit is a 50% markup but only a 33.33% margin.

The Markup Formula

Markup amount = Selling price − Cost

Markup % = (Markup amount ÷ Cost) × 100

Rearranged, the same formula gives the other two directions: Selling price = Cost × (1 + Markup % ÷ 100) and Cost = Selling price ÷ (1 + Markup % ÷ 100). All three are supported by this calculator.

Worked Example

Cost $60, price $90:

Markup amount = 90 − 60 = $30
Markup % = (30 ÷ 60) × 100 = 50%
Margin % = (30 ÷ 90) × 100 = 33.33%
Cost % of price = (60 ÷ 90) × 100 = 66.67%

The same sale is a 50% markup and a 33.33% margin — the single most common source of pricing errors.

Markup vs Margin

Markup answers: how much am I adding on top of cost? Margin answers: what share of the selling price is profit? Because cost is smaller than price (assuming profit), markup is always the higher percentage. A 100% markup is a 50% margin. A 50% markup is a 33.33% margin.

Convert between them with percentages as decimals:

Margin = Markup ÷ (1 + Markup)
Markup = Margin ÷ (1 − Margin)

The Markup ↔ margin mode does both conversions at once.

Product Markup With Direct Costs

The cost you mark up is rarely just the purchase price. Shipping, packaging, and other direct costs land in the same bucket — they were incurred because you sold that unit, and if the selling price does not recover them, they come out of profit. Marking up a $60 purchase price when the true landed cost is $72 produces a price that looks profitable but is not. The Product total cost mode adds those costs before applying the markup.

Discounted Markup

A discount reduces the price the customer pays while the cost stays the same, so effective markup drops by more than the discount itself. On a $60 cost priced at $90 (50% markup), a 10% discount brings the price to $81 — a $21 profit and a 35% effective markup. That is a 15-point drop from a 10% discount. The Discounted markup mode isolates this so you can see the list price, net price, effective markup, and effective margin side by side.

Multiple Products

For a catalogue, the interesting number is the blended markup — total profit ÷ total cost, weighted by how much of each product you sell. That is not the simple average of the individual markups; a low-volume, high-markup product barely moves the blended number while a high-volume, low-markup product dominates it. The Multiple products mode reports both the per-product rows and the blended totals.

Limitations

Markup alone does not determine profitability. A product can carry a high markup and still generate low net profit once operating expenses, marketplace fees, payment processing, advertising, taxes, returns, and overhead are subtracted. This calculator handles the pricing side of the transaction. Use the Margin Calculator when you need the business-level gross, operating, and net margin view.

Markup Calculator – Markup Percentage, Formula & Selling Price

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between markup and margin?

Markup is profit divided by cost; margin is profit divided by selling price. A $30 profit on a $60 cost is a 50% markup, but the same $30 profit on a $90 price is only a 33.33% margin. Markup is always higher than margin for the same transaction, because cost is a smaller number than price.

Q: Is a 50% markup the same as a 50% margin?

No. A 50% markup on a $60 cost gives a $90 price, which is only a 33.33% margin. A 100% markup is a 50% margin. They are two different percentages of the same profit, and confusing them is one of the most common pricing mistakes.

Q: How do I convert markup to margin?

Margin = Markup ÷ (1 + Markup), with both percentages as decimals. A 50% markup (0.50) becomes 0.50 ÷ 1.50 = 33.33% margin. The Markup ↔ margin mode does this conversion automatically.

Q: How do I convert margin to markup?

Markup = Margin ÷ (1 − Margin), with both percentages as decimals. A 33.33% margin (0.3333) becomes 0.3333 ÷ 0.6667 = 50% markup. The Markup ↔ margin mode does both conversions at once.

Q: Should shipping and packaging be included in the cost?

Yes, if those are costs you pay. Marking up a purchase price when the true landed cost is higher produces a selling price that looks profitable on paper but is not, once the extra costs are paid. The Product total cost mode adds shipping, packaging, and other direct costs before applying the markup.

Q: How does a discount affect markup?

A discount reduces the price the customer pays while the cost stays the same, so effective markup drops by more than the discount itself. On a $60 cost priced at $90 (a 50% markup), a 10% discount brings the price to $81, which is a 35% effective markup — a 15-point drop from a 10% discount.

Q: Can I calculate markup for multiple products at once?

Yes. The Multiple products mode lets you add any number of products, each with its own cost and markup percentage, and reports the resulting price and profit per product. The blended markup at the bottom is total profit divided by total cost across the list, weighted by product volume — not a simple average of the individual markups.

Q: What is a good markup percentage?

It depends entirely on the industry. Grocery typically runs 10% to 15%, general retail and e-commerce 50% to 100%, clothing 100% to 200%, jewelry and luxury 200% to 500%, and software often 1,000% or more because the marginal cost per unit is nearly zero. The right question is whether the markup covers the business costs the product has to carry once you account for how many units will actually sell.

Q: Why is markup always higher than margin?

Because markup divides profit by cost and margin divides the same profit by price. Cost is smaller than price when you are selling at a profit, so the denominator for markup is smaller — which makes the percentage larger. On a $60 cost and $90 price, profit is $30 in both cases, but $30 ÷ $60 = 50% markup while $30 ÷ $90 = 33.33% margin.

Q: Can markup be negative?

Yes. If you sell a product for less than its cost, the markup is negative. A $60 cost sold at $50 gives a −16.67% markup. This happens during clearance sales, liquidations, or when a product is sold as a loss leader. The calculator accepts negative markup values and shows them clearly.