Margin Calculator
Cost, revenue, profit & margin
If you're looking to calculate a discount or sale price, try our Discount Calculator.
$
%
$
$
Markup (profit as % of cost)
How it works
Fill in any two fields and the remaining two are calculated automatically. The last two fields you edited are always treated as the known values.
Margin vs Markup
Both express profitability as a percentage, but they use different bases and confusing them is one of the most common mistakes in pricing.
Margin is profit as a percentage of revenue. It answers: "of every dollar I bring in, how much is profit?" A 40% margin means 40 cents of every dollar is profit.
Markup is profit as a percentage of cost. It answers: "how much did I add on top of what it cost me?" A 40% markup on a $10 item gives a $14 sale price - but that is only a 28.6% margin.
Margin is profit as a percentage of revenue. It answers: "of every dollar I bring in, how much is profit?" A 40% margin means 40 cents of every dollar is profit.
Markup is profit as a percentage of cost. It answers: "how much did I add on top of what it cost me?" A 40% markup on a $10 item gives a $14 sale price - but that is only a 28.6% margin.
margin (%) = profit / revenue × 100
markup (%) = profit / cost × 100
Converting between them
Because they use different bases, a given margin always corresponds to a higher markup number for the same item.
markup = margin / (1 - margin/100)
margin = markup / (1 + markup/100)
Formulas
revenue = cost + profit
profit = revenue - cost
cost = revenue × (1 - margin/100)