Free online tool · Pricing
Margin and markup calculator
See what a sale leaves above its included cost—and why margin and markup give different percentages. Start with the example or enter your own amounts.
No account required. Your entries stay in this page’s memory. The calculator does not send them to a server or save them to an account or browser storage.
Your calculation · amounts in your chosen currency
The same sale, two comparisons
Included cost: 70.00 · Selling price: 100.00
- Left above included cost
- 30.00
- Margin
- 30%
- Markup
- 42.86%
Included cost: 70.00 · Left above cost: 30.00
Margin uses the selling price: 30.00 ÷ 100.00 × 100 = 30%.
Markup uses the cost: 30.00 ÷ 70.00 × 100 = 42.86%.
This is the difference above the costs you entered, not necessarily final profit. Rent, staffing, fees and other costs may still need to be covered. A target price does not predict whether customers will pay it.
What to include, and what the result means
Use one item, one job, or one consistent unit of service. The cost must cover that same unit. For an ingredient-only comparison, enter ingredients and call the result an ingredient margin. Including packaging and direct delivery costs answers a different question. Keep the definition with the number.
Use the price after discounts and before any sales tax you collect for government. This calculator does not calculate tax or decide how a cost should be recorded in your accounts.
The target-price calculation assumes the entered cost is a fixed amount per unit. It does not support fees that change as a percentage of the proposed selling price. Do not enter the fee from your old price and assume it remains correct at the new one. The linked guide explains how to include percentage-based fees.
Why adding 30% does not give a 30% margin
With a cost of 70, adding a 30% markup gives a price of 91. The 21 left is about 23.08% of that selling price. To leave a 30% margin instead, divide 70 by 0.70: the selling price is 100 and the amount left is 30.
Margin = (price − cost) ÷ price. Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost. Multiply either result by 100 to express it as a percentage. Target price = cost ÷ (1 − target margin as a decimal).
Negative results show a sale below the included cost. A zero cost can produce a margin but cannot produce a defined markup. The target-price mode requires a positive cost and a target below 100%. Percentages are displayed to two decimal places; use your accounting system for transaction-level rounding.
Keep working on the decision
Read the full margin and markup explanation, including percentage-based fees and a restaurant example. Then consider how a price change affects sales volume.
Prefer a workbook? The existing price-change Excel calculator compares price and volume scenarios.