How do I calculate markup percentage?

Markup percentage = (selling price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. For example, if an item costs $50 and you sell it for $75, the markup is ($75 − $50) ÷ $50 × 100 = 50%.

What is the difference between markup and margin?

Both describe the same profit. Markup compares it with the cost; margin compares it with the selling price. A 50% markup on a $100 cost gives a $150 selling price and $50 of profit, which is a 33.33% margin ($50 ÷ $150).

How do I convert between markup and margin?

With both as decimals: margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup), and markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). A 50% markup is a 33.33% margin (0.5 ÷ 1.5), and a 30% margin is a 42.86% markup (0.3 ÷ 0.7). A 100% markup is a 50% margin.

Why does the calculator show a dash instead of a markup or margin?

Markup divides by the cost and margin divides by the selling price, so neither can be worked out when the number it divides by is $0. The calculator shows a dash and says which number needs to be above $0.

Can markup be negative?

If you sell below cost, yes: the profit, markup and margin are all negative. Use Find the markup with your cost and selling price to see them. Find the selling price takes a markup of 0% or more.

Is there a standard markup I should use?

The calculator doesn't assume one, and this page doesn't recommend one. Work from your full cost, including shipping and handling, and the prices your customers accept, then enter the markup you choose.

Markup Calculator

Find the selling price from a cost and a markup, or the markup and margin from a cost and a selling price. Every result shows how it was worked out.

Your numbers

Cost ($)

What the item or service costs you.

Markup (% of cost)

The percentage of the cost you add on top of it.

Selling price

$70.00

Margin

28.57%

Breakdown

Cost: $50.00
Selling price (cost × (1 + markup)): $70.00
Profit (selling price − cost): $20.00
Markup (profit ÷ cost × 100): 40.00%
Margin (profit ÷ selling price × 100): 28.57%

Money is rounded to the cent, half a cent or more up. Percentages are rounded to two decimal places. A selling price below cost shows as a negative profit, markup and margin.

How Markup and Margin Are Calculated

Definitions

Markup is the amount added to the cost to get the selling price. In OpenStax's Contemporary Mathematics, section 6.2: “The formula for a markup based on a percentage is markup = percent markup × cost, with the percent markup expressed as a decimal,” and the two combine as “retail price = cost × (1 + percent markup).”

Margin compares the same profit with the selling price instead. OpenStax's Principles of Finance, section 6.6 says profit margin “shows how much of each $1 of sales is returned as profit.” For a single item, when the cost is what the item cost you, that's the gross margin, which section 5.1 gives as “gross margin = gross profit/sales.”

Sources opened and quoted on October 29, 2026.

Formulas the calculator uses

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

Worked examples

Find the selling price (the example filled in above): a $50.00 cost with a 40% markup gives $50.00 × 1.40 = $70.00. The profit is $20.00, and the margin is $20.00 ÷ $70.00 = 28.57%.
OpenStax's example: a $62.00 cost with a 15% markup gives a $9.30 markup and a $71.30 retail price. The calculator gives the same, with a margin of 13.04%.
Find the markup: a $50.00 cost sold for $75.00 is $25.00 of profit, a 50% markup ($25 ÷ $50) and a 33.33% margin ($25 ÷ $75).

Rounding

Money amounts are rounded to the cent: half a cent or more rounds up, less than half a cent rounds down. That's the rule OpenStax's section 6.2 gives for fractions of a penny in a sales tax calculation, which it notes works the same way as a markup. Percentages are rounded to two decimal places.

Inputs the calculator accepts

Cost and selling price: $0 to $1,000,000,000,000. Decimals are fine.
Markup: 0% to 1,000,000%.

Negative numbers, empty fields and values above these limits show a message instead of a result. A cost of $0 has no markup and a selling price of $0 has no margin, so those show a dash with the reason.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate markup percentage?: Markup percentage = (selling price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. For example, if an item costs $50 and you sell it for $75, the markup is ($75 − $50) ÷ $50 × 100 = 50%.
What is the difference between markup and margin?: Both describe the same profit. Markup compares it with the cost; margin compares it with the selling price. A 50% markup on a $100 cost gives a $150 selling price and $50 of profit, which is a 33.33% margin ($50 ÷ $150).
How do I convert between markup and margin?: With both as decimals: margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup), and markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). A 50% markup is a 33.33% margin (0.5 ÷ 1.5), and a 30% margin is a 42.86% markup (0.3 ÷ 0.7). A 100% markup is a 50% margin.
Why does the calculator show a dash instead of a markup or margin?: Markup divides by the cost and margin divides by the selling price, so neither can be worked out when the number it divides by is $0. The calculator shows a dash and says which number needs to be above $0.
Can markup be negative?: If you sell below cost, yes: the profit, markup and margin are all negative. Use Find the markup with your cost and selling price to see them. Find the selling price takes a markup of 0% or more.
Is there a standard markup I should use?: The calculator doesn't assume one, and this page doesn't recommend one. Work from your full cost, including shipping and handling, and the prices your customers accept, then enter the markup you choose.

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