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Markup Calculator

Calculate selling price from cost and markup percentage, find markup percentage from cost and price, or solve for cost from a target price and margin.

Author: Naeem Ullah
•Last Updated: September 17, 2026•
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Active Calculation FormulaPrice = Cost × (1 + Markup% ÷ 100)

Adjust Variables

USD
$
cost
Min: $0Max: $100k
%
markup
Min: 0 %Max: 100 %
Use Real Campaign Presets
Real-Time ResultsUSD
Selling Price$0
Profit$0
Margin0%
All calculations are compiled with double-precision floating math directly in this browser frame. Perfect precision guaranteed.

Interactive Step-by-Step Calculation Proofs

View how variables resolve algebraically down to peer-reviewed standard outputs.

Why Use This Calculator

Markup and margin are the two most commonly confused numbers in retail and wholesale pricing, and mixing them up directly erodes profit. Markup is the percentage added to your cost to set the selling price: Markup % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100. Margin is the percentage of the selling price that is profit: Margin % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Price × 100. Because margin divides by the larger number (price) and markup divides by the smaller number (cost), a given markup percentage always produces a lower margin percentage — a 100% markup is only a 50% margin, not 100%. Our markup calculator solves in three directions: set your selling price from cost and a target markup, find your markup and margin percentage from an existing cost and price, or work backward from a target price and desired margin to find the maximum cost you can pay.

Mathematical Formula Explanation

Calculated standard benchmarks are based on direct functional dependencies. The primary calculation logic follows this formula:

Markup % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100

Markup and margin both start from the same gap between price and cost, but divide it by a different base. Set Price from Cost & Markup multiplies cost by (1 + markup%) to find the selling price. Find Markup % from Cost & Price divides that gap by cost — the markup convention. Find Cost from Price & Margin divides the gap by price instead — the margin convention — then rearranges to solve for cost. Confusing the two is the single most common retail pricing mistake: a 50% markup and a 50% margin produce very different prices.

Worked Examples (Step-by-Step)

These examples show solving for selling price from cost and markup, markup and margin from cost and price, and cost from a target price and margin.

Case Scenario 1

Example 1: Pricing a Product from Cost and Markup

“A retailer buys a product for $50 and wants to apply a 50% markup. What should the selling price be, and what margin does that produce?”

Given Inputs
  • COST: 50
  • MARKUP: 50
Computed Outputs
  • PRICE: 75
  • PROFIT: 25
  • MARGIN: 33.33
Case Scenario 2

Example 2: Finding Markup and Margin from Cost and Price

“A product costs $50 to source and sells for $75. What is the markup percentage and margin percentage?”

Given Inputs
  • COST: 50
  • PRICE: 75
Computed Outputs
  • MARKUPPCT: 50
  • MARGINPCT: 33.33
  • PROFIT: 25
Case Scenario 3

Example 3: Finding Maximum Cost from Price and Target Margin

“A store wants to sell an item for $75 and needs a 33.33% margin. What is the most they can pay for it?”

Given Inputs
  • PRICE: 75
  • MARGIN: 33.33
Computed Outputs
  • COST: 50
  • PROFIT: 25
  • MARKUPPCT: 50

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Markup is the percentage added to cost to reach the selling price: Markup % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100. Margin is the percentage of the selling price that is profit: Margin % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Price × 100. Markup divides by cost (the smaller number); margin divides by price (the larger number). The same dollar profit always produces a higher markup percentage than margin percentage — for example, a $25 profit on a $50 cost is a 50% markup but only a 33.33% margin.

Markup percentage = (Selling Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100. For example, if an item costs $50 and sells for $75, the markup is (75 − 50) ÷ 50 × 100 = 50%. To go the other direction and find the selling price from a cost and a target markup, use Price = Cost × (1 + Markup% ÷ 100).

Margin % = Markup% ÷ (100 + Markup%) × 100. For example, a 50% markup converts to a margin of 50 ÷ 150 × 100 = 33.33%. A 100% markup converts to a 50% margin, and a 25% markup converts to a 20% margin. Markup will always be a larger number than margin (for positive values) because it's measured against the smaller base (cost) instead of the larger base (price).

Markup % = Margin% ÷ (100 − Margin%) × 100. For example, a 33.33% margin converts to a markup of 33.33 ÷ 66.67 × 100 = 50%. A 50% margin converts to a 100% markup, and a 20% margin converts to a 25% markup.

Typical retail markups vary widely by industry: grocery and convenience items often use 15–25% markup, general retail and apparel commonly use 50–100% markup (keystone pricing is a 100% markup, doubling the cost), and specialty or custom goods can run 100–300%+ markup. The right markup depends on your overhead, competition, and target margin — this calculator lets you test different markup percentages and immediately see the resulting margin and profit.

Because markup and margin use different denominators. A 50% markup on a $50 cost gives a price of $75 — dividing the $25 profit by the $50 cost gives 50%. But that same $25 profit divided by the $75 price gives only a 33.33% margin. To actually achieve a 50% margin, you'd need a 100% markup: cost $50, price $100, profit $50, and $50 ÷ $100 = 50% margin.

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