Boneyard Tools

Margin vs Markup Calculator

Margin and markup describe the same profit from two different angles, which is why a 25 percent markup and a 20 percent margin can mean the identical price. Enter your cost, pick whether you know the price, the margin percent or the markup percent, and this calculator fills in the other figures plus the dollar profit. It is a fast way to translate a supplier markup into the margin your accountant wants, or to reverse-engineer the price a target margin requires.

How to convert margin and markup

  1. Type the cost of the item into the Cost field.
  2. Use the 'I know the' toggle to choose Price, Margin % or Markup %.
  3. Enter that one known value in the field that appears below the toggle.
  4. Read the Price, Profit, Margin and Markup cards that update instantly.
  5. Click 'Copy results' to copy all four figures as a labeled list.

Examples

Know the price: cost $80, price $100

cost 80, price 100
profit $20.00, margin 20%, markup 25%

Convert markup to margin: cost $80, markup 25%

cost 80, markup 25%
price $100.00, profit $20.00, margin 20%

Price a target margin: cost $100, margin 40%

cost 100, margin 40%
price $166.67, profit $66.67, markup 66.67%

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between margin and markup?

Both measure the same profit, but against different bases. Markup is profit as a percent of cost (profit divided by cost). Margin is profit as a percent of the selling price (profit divided by price). Because price is larger than cost, the markup percent is always higher than the margin percent for the same sale.

How do I convert markup to margin?

Enter the cost and switch the toggle to Markup %. The tool computes the price as cost times (1 plus markup over 100), then reports the profit as a percent of that price, which is the margin. For example an $80 cost with 25 percent markup gives a $100 price and a 20 percent margin.

How do I convert margin to markup?

Enter the cost and choose Margin %. The price is found as cost divided by (1 minus margin over 100), and the profit is then expressed as a percent of cost to give the markup. A $100 cost at 40 percent margin yields a $166.67 price and roughly a 66.67 percent markup.

Why can't margin be 100 percent or more?

Margin is profit divided by price, so a 100 percent margin would require the cost to be zero and the price to be infinite. The calculator rejects any margin of 100 percent or above because there is no finite price that produces it.

Can markup go above 100 percent?

Yes. Markup is measured against cost, so selling for more than double the cost simply means a markup over 100 percent. A $50 cost sold at $150, for instance, is a 200 percent markup and a roughly 66.67 percent margin.

Is the profit figure exact?

Profit is price minus cost. Every money value and percent is rounded to two decimal places for display, so on odd numbers you may see a one-cent rounding difference, but the underlying relationship is exact.

Do I have to enter cost every time?

Yes. Cost is always required because it anchors both percentages. You then supply exactly one of price, margin or markup, and the calculator derives the remaining three values from those two inputs.

Does it work with any currency?

The math is currency-agnostic since it works on plain numbers. The results are formatted with a dollar sign for readability, but you can read the figures as any currency, and the margin and markup percentages are identical regardless of the unit.

Is my data private?

Yes. Every calculation happens locally in your browser with no network calls, so your costs, prices and margins are never uploaded or stored.

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