Profit Margin & Markup Calculator
Work out your margin and markup from cost and price — or flip it around and find the price you need to charge for a target margin or markup.
What it costs you to make or buy one unit.
Work out your margin and markup from cost and price — or flip it around and find the price you need to charge for a target margin or markup.
What it costs you to make or buy one unit.
This is the single most common pricing mistake small businesses make: adding a “30% markup” to cost and assuming that means a 30% profit margin. It doesn't. If something costs you $70 and you mark it up 30% to $91, your margin isn't 30% — it's about 23%, because margin is calculated against the selling price, not the cost. The gap between the two numbers grows the higher your intended margin gets, which is exactly when getting it wrong hurts the most.
Quick way to keep them straight: markup asks “how much am I adding on top of cost?” Margin asks “how much of the final price is actually profit?” Same transaction, two different questions, two different numbers.
If you're only counting the direct cost of the product or materials, and leaving out shipping, payment processing fees, or your own packaging time, your margin looks healthier on paper than it actually is. A margin calculation is only as honest as the cost figure you put into it.
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