Markup Calculator

Enter the cost you paid for the item, then enter the markup percentage you want to add. The calculator immediately computes the selling price, your profit per unit, and the equivalent margin percentage.

Markup means how much you are increasing the cost. A $10 item with a 50% markup sells for $15 ($10 + $5). A 100% markup is the same as keystone pricing — doubling the cost. Markup percentages can exceed 100% for high-margin items like apparel, jewelry, and software.

Use the conversion table below the calculator to translate between markup and margin. It is the single most useful pricing reference for retail and product businesses. Most pricing software lets you set rules in either markup or margin, and mixing them up is a common cause of bad pricing decisions.

For service businesses, markup is less commonly used. Service pricing usually comes from your hourly rate × estimated hours, plus a markup on subcontractor or hard costs you are passing through.

Selling price is what your customer pays. Profit per unit is the dollar amount you make on each sale before operating expenses. The equivalent margin tells you the same profit as a percentage of revenue rather than a percentage of cost.

The most important takeaway: markup and margin are different numbers. A 50% markup is only a 33.33% margin. A 100% markup (doubling cost) is only a 50% margin. The conversion table on this page exists because mixing these up is the single most common pricing mistake in retail and product businesses.

Markup is useful for setting your prices: take your cost, multiply by (1 + markup/100), and you have your price. Margin is useful for analyzing your business: it tells you what fraction of revenue you keep before operating expenses.

A practical rule of thumb: a 50% markup is the floor for most retail businesses to cover overhead and earn modest profit. Below that, you need huge volume or a unique cost advantage. Above 100%, you need to be selling something with perceived value beyond the commodity price (brand, expertise, scarcity).

Service-based markups: if you are billing through subcontractor or vendor costs, a 15–25% markup on hard costs is industry-standard. More than that and clients may push back; less than that and you are doing project management for free.