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Margin vs Markup Calculator

Convert between margin and markup instantly. Enter either to see the other — plus selling price, profit, and a reference table. Free calculator.

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Ready to calculate

Enter your cost and markup or margin above to see your selling price and profit.

Quick Conversion Reference

Markup %Margin %
20%16.67%
25%20%
33.33%25%
50%33.33%
75%42.86%
100%50%
150%60%
200%66.67%

How to Use This Calculator

  1. Enter your product cost — what you paid or what it costs to produce.
  2. Choose your mode: enter a markup % (cost → price) or a margin % (price → profit %).
  3. See the conversion instantly — the other value auto-calculates along with selling price and profit.
  4. Use the reference table below to see common markup/margin equivalents at a glance.

Margin vs Markup — What’s the Difference?

Both measure profitability, but they use different denominators:

The Formulas

From Markup:

Selling Price = Cost × (1 + Markup% ÷ 100)
Margin % = Markup% ÷ (100 + Markup%) × 100

From Margin:

Selling Price = Cost ÷ (1 − Margin% ÷ 100)
Markup % = Margin% ÷ (100 − Margin%) × 100

Example: Cost = $50, applying 50% markup:

  • Selling Price = $50 × 1.50 = $75
  • Profit = $75 − $50 = $25
  • Markup = 50% (profit ÷ cost)
  • Margin = $25 ÷ $75 = 33.3% (profit ÷ selling price)

Same numbers, different story: 50% markup ≠ 50% margin.

Why This Matters for Pricing

If a buyer says “I need 40% margin,” and you’re thinking in markup terms, you might offer 40% markup — which actually gives them only 28.6% margin. This mismatch causes real business problems.

MarkupMargin
DenominatorCostSelling Price
FormulaProfit ÷ CostProfit ÷ Price
Always higher?YesNo (always lower)
Used byPurchasing, salesFinance, accounting
Can exceed 100%?YesNo (max 99.99%)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is margin always lower than markup?
Yes — for any given price and cost, the margin percentage is always lower than the markup percentage. This is because margin uses selling price as the denominator (larger number) while markup uses cost (smaller number). The only exception is at 0%, where they're equal.
Use what your context requires. Finance and accounting teams typically prefer margin because it aligns with P&L thinking (profit as % of revenue). Sales and purchasing teams often use markup because it's applied to cost to set prices. Know which you're talking about to avoid confusion.
Grocery: 25–30% margin (33–43% markup). Clothing: 50–60% margin (100–150% markup). Electronics: 25–40% margin (33–67% markup). Jewelry: 50–60%+ margin (100–150%+ markup). These vary widely based on category, channel, and competitive dynamics.
Yes, absolutely. A 100% markup means you're selling at 2× cost (50% margin). 200% markup = 3× cost (66.7% margin). Restaurant food commonly uses 200–400% markup on food cost. Software margins can be 90%+ (900%+ markup).
Margin aligns with how financial statements are structured — revenue minus cost of goods sold = gross profit, expressed as % of revenue. It directly tells you what portion of each sale remains after covering cost. Markup doesn't map as cleanly to standard financial reporting.

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