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Margin vs. Markup Calculator

See both profit margin and markup percentage side by side from cost and price.

Formula v1.0.0GlobalMethodologyReport an issuemargin-vs-markup-v1
How this is calculated
Margin = (Price − Cost) ÷ Price × 100; Markup = (Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100

About this calculator

Margin and markup are two different percentages calculated from the same cost and price, and confusing them is one of the most common pricing mistakes small business owners make, setting a 40% markup thinking it means a 40% margin actually yields a lower margin than intended. This calculator takes cost and selling price and computes both figures side by side: margin as profit divided by selling price, and markup as profit divided by cost, so you can see exactly how they diverge for the same transaction. It's useful for anyone setting retail prices, negotiating supplier costs, or double-checking that a pricing strategy hits a target profitability percentage rather than the wrong one. Because markup is always numerically larger than margin on a profitable sale (price is always bigger than cost, so dividing by the smaller number gives a bigger percentage), seeing both together makes it obvious which one you're actually working with and prevents a costly mix-up when setting prices.

Worked example

$60 cost, $100 price

Result: 40% margin, 66.67% markup

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