📐 Math
Markup Calculator
Enter your cost and selling price to see your markup percentage and profit.
📝 Your Assumptions
Calculate your markup percentage from cost and selling price. Markup is the percentage added to cost to arrive at the selling price. Enter your cost and your selling price to see your markup percentage and profit amount — a fundamental calculation for pricing products, evaluating suppliers, and comparing pricing strategies.
How to Use This Calculator
Two inputs give you markup and profit.
1
Enter your cost
Type what you paid to acquire or produce the item in the "Cost" field. Include all direct costs — product, shipping, and any fees.
2
Enter your selling price
Type what the customer pays in the "Selling price" field. Use the price before tax, shipping charged to the customer, or payment processing fees.
3
Read your markup
The primary output shows markup as a percentage: (selling price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. For cost 60, price 100, the markup is 66.67%.
4
Check your profit amount
The second output shows the raw dollar profit: selling price − cost. For the example above, profit is $40.
5
Test pricing scenarios
Change the selling price to see how it affects your markup. Raising the price from 100 to 120 lifts markup from 66.67% to 100%.
What Your Results Mean
Markup is the pricing language of retail and wholesale. Here is what your numbers tell you.
Markup
The percentage added on top of cost to arrive at selling price. Formula: (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. A 66.67% markup means you are selling at 1.67× your cost.
Profit
The raw dollar difference between selling price and cost. Same units as your inputs.
Markup vs. Margin
Markup uses cost as the base. Margin uses selling price as the base. A $60 cost sold for $100 is a 66.67% markup but a 40% margin. Same transaction, very different numbers.
Standard Markup Multipliers
Retail often uses keystone pricing — 100% markup (sell at 2× cost). Wholesale is typically 20–50% markup. Jewelry, furniture, and clothing often run 200–400% markup.
Why Markup Matters
Markup tells you how much room you have between cost and price. Low markup means less room for discounts, marketing, and profit. High markup gives flexibility.
Markup as a Multiplier
A 100% markup means selling at 2× cost. A 50% markup means 1.5× cost. A 200% markup means 3× cost. Multiply your cost by (1 + markup/100) to get the selling price.
Key Terms
Markup
The percentage added to cost to reach selling price. Formula: (selling price − cost) ÷ cost × 100.
Cost
The direct expense to acquire or produce an item. Also called the wholesale price or landed cost.
Selling Price
The amount the customer pays, before tax and shipping charged separately. Also called retail price or list price.
Profit
The dollar amount earned: selling price − cost. Not the same as markup, which is a percentage.
Margin
The percentage of revenue that becomes profit. Uses selling price as the base, unlike markup which uses cost. Formula: (selling price − cost) ÷ selling price × 100.
Keystone Pricing
A retail convention of doubling the cost to arrive at the selling price — equivalent to a 100% markup.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Markup uses cost as the base: (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. Margin uses price as the base: (price − cost) ÷ price × 100. A $60 cost sold for $100 is a 66.67% markup but only a 40% margin. Both numbers describe the same transaction — they just measure from different starting points. Retailers and wholesalers typically quote markup. Accountants, investors, and business analysts typically quote margin. If someone says "40% markup" they usually mean margin, and vice versa. Always clarify which one is being discussed, because the numbers are dramatically different.
Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup/100). So a 100% markup converts to 100 ÷ 2 = 50% margin. A 50% markup converts to 50 ÷ 1.5 = 33.33% margin. A 200% markup converts to 200 ÷ 3 = 66.67% margin. Markup is always the bigger number. To go the other direction, margin to markup: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin/100). A 40% margin becomes 40 ÷ 0.6 = 66.67% markup.
It varies widely by product category. Grocery: 10–30%. Mass-market retail: 40–100%. Apparel and accessories: 100–200%. Jewelry and luxury goods: 200–400%. Furniture: 100–200%. Electronics: 10–30% (thin margins). Software: 300%+. The rule of thumb for small retail is keystone pricing — 100% markup, meaning the item sells for 2× cost. This gives enough margin to cover rent, staff, and marketing while remaining competitive.
Multiply cost by (1 + markup/100). For a 50% markup on a $40 cost: 40 × 1.5 = $60. For a 100% markup (keystone): 40 × 2 = $80. For a 200% markup: 40 × 3 = $120. This is a standard formula for pricing products when you know your costs and your desired markup. Our calculator solves the reverse — given a cost and selling price, it shows the actual markup percentage, which lets you verify your pricing against targets.
Yes. A negative markup means the selling price is below cost. For example, cost $100, sell $80 gives a −20% markup. This is called a loss leader or clearance pricing. Retailers sometimes run negative-markup items to drive traffic or clear inventory, expecting to make up the loss elsewhere. But sustained negative-markup selling on your core products will bankrupt a business. Our calculator shows the negative clearly so you can evaluate whether the pricing is intentional.
It is largely convention. Retail buyers and wholesalers think in terms of multiplying their cost — so they use markup ("I need a 2× markup"). Corporate finance and SaaS companies think in terms of what percentage of revenue is profit — so they use margin ("We target 75% gross margin"). Knowing both lets you negotiate effectively with suppliers, communicate clearly with accountants, and compare pricing across different industries. Our calculator handles markup; our margin calculator handles margin. Use both to fully understand your pricing.
Related Calculators
Explore other calculators that pair well with this one.