Markup calculator

Formula

How it works

Add the markup percentage to the cost to get the selling price. The margin is the profit as a share of that price, so it is smaller than the markup (a 35% markup gives a 25.93% margin).

Worked example

The same calculation with the default values:

• Cost 100
• Markup on cost 35 %

1. price = 100 × (1 + 35 ÷ 100) = 135
2. profit = 135 − 100 = 35
3. margin = 35 ÷ 135 × 100 = 25.925926%

Result: Selling price: 135.00 USD · Profit: 35.00 USD · Margin on the selling price: 25.93%

Common mistakes

• Entering the desired margin percentage into the markup field - a 40% margin requires roughly a 67% markup, not 40%; they are not interchangeable numbers.
• Forgetting to include all costs (shipping, packaging, payment processing fees) in "cost" before applying the markup - omitted costs silently shrink the real margin achieved.
• Applying the same markup percentage to every product regardless of how fast it sells - slow-moving stock often needs a higher margin to be worthwhile; this calculator doesn't know your turnover rate.