Markup Calculator

Work out the selling price, profit, and gross margin from a unit cost and your desired markup percentage.

Quick Facts

Formula
Selling Price = Cost × (1 + Markup% / 100)
Markup is added on top of cost; the higher the markup percentage, the bigger the gap between cost and price.
Markup vs. margin
Margin% = Markup% / (1 + Markup%/100)
A 50% markup is only a 33.3% gross margin — markup and margin are never the same percentage above 0%.

Your Results

Calculated
Selling Price
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Cost plus markup
Profit per Unit
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Selling price minus cost
Gross Margin
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Profit as % of selling price
Total Profit
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Profit per unit × units sold

Ready

Enter cost, desired markup percentage, and units sold, then press Calculate.

How the Markup Calculator works

Markup is the amount added to a product's cost to set its selling price, expressed as a percentage of that cost. Retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers use it to price goods so that each sale covers the cost of the item and leaves a planned profit on top. This calculator takes a unit cost and a target markup percentage and returns the resulting selling price, profit per unit, gross margin, and total profit across the units you expect to sell.

The formula

For a unit cost C and a markup percentage M, the selling price is:

Selling Price = C × (1 + M / 100)

Profit per unit is simply Selling Price − C, which is also equal to C × M / 100. Gross margin restates that same profit as a percentage of the selling price instead of the cost: Margin% = (Profit / Selling Price) × 100. Total profit multiplies profit per unit by the number of units sold.

Worked example

A product costs $50 to produce or buy wholesale. Applying a 40% markup gives a selling price of $50 × 1.40 = $70. Profit per unit is $70 − $50 = $20, and the gross margin is $20 / $70 ≈ 28.6% — noticeably lower than the 40% markup rate. Selling 100 units at that price and cost produces $2,000 of total profit.

Markup versus margin

  • Markup divides profit by cost; margin divides the same profit by the selling price. Because the selling price is always larger than the cost (for any positive markup), margin is always the smaller percentage.
  • The two only converge toward each other at very low markup percentages; they diverge more as markup increases. A 100% markup is a 50% margin; a 300% markup is only a 75% margin.
  • If your business tracks a target gross margin (common in retail and SaaS pricing) rather than a target markup, convert with Margin% = Markup% / (1 + Markup%/100) before comparing numbers with colleagues who use the other convention.

What this calculator does not include

The cost you enter should represent your true landed or unit cost — including materials, direct labor, freight, or wholesale purchase price, depending on your business. This tool does not separately account for overhead, credit-card or marketplace fees, sales tax, discounts, or returns; if those materially affect your net profit, fold them into the cost figure or treat the output as a starting point rather than a final price.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the markup formula?
Markup is the percentage added to your cost to arrive at a selling price: Selling Price = Cost × (1 + Markup% / 100). For example, a $50 cost with a 40% markup gives a selling price of $50 × 1.40 = $70, and a profit of $20 per unit.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is profit measured as a percentage of cost; gross margin is profit measured as a percentage of selling price. They are always different numbers for the same sale: a 100% markup on a $50 cost gives a $100 selling price and $50 profit, but that $50 profit is only a 50% margin of the $100 selling price, not 100%.
How do I calculate the markup percentage from cost and selling price?
Markup% = ((Selling Price − Cost) / Cost) × 100. If a product costs $50 and sells for $70, the markup is (($70 − $50) / $50) × 100 = 40%.
Why is my gross margin percentage always lower than my markup percentage?
Markup divides profit by the smaller cost figure, while margin divides that same profit by the larger selling price figure, so margin is mathematically always lower than markup for any positive markup. The relationship is Margin% = Markup% / (1 + Markup%/100).

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