Markup Calculator
By Talcart · Last updated July 10, 2026
Markup Calculation Guide
Understanding Markup
Markup Formula
Markup = ((Selling Price - Cost) / Cost) × 100
Example: (($100 - $60) / $60) × 100 = 66.67% markup
Types of Markup
Percentage Markup: Based on cost percentage
Fixed Amount Markup: Specific amount added to cost
Markup Calculator
This markup calculator prices products from cost: a $60 item marked up 50% sells for $90, earning $30 of profit per unit. Alongside the price it shows the resulting profit margin — 33.3% in that example, not 50% — so you can see exactly what each markup level earns before it goes on the shelf or the wholesale list.
Key facts
- Price = cost × (1 + markup): a $60 cost at a 50% markup sells for $90.
- Keystone pricing — doubling cost — is a 100% markup and yields exactly a 50% gross margin.
- Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup): 25% markup → 20% margin; 50% → 33.33%; 150% → 60%.
- To achieve a 40% margin you need a 66.67% markup, not a 40% one — a 40% markup delivers only a 28.6% margin.
What is the Markup Calculator?
Markup is the percentage added to an item’s cost to set its selling price, calculated as profit divided by cost times 100. Buying at $60 and selling at $90 is a 50% markup, because the $30 profit is half the cost. Retailers favour markup for day-to-day pricing since it works directly from known costs; the classic retail convention of keystone pricing — doubling the cost — is simply a 100% markup, which delivers a 50% gross margin.
How does the Markup Calculator work?
The price formula is Price = Cost × (1 + Markup), so a 50% markup turns $60 of cost into $60 × 1.5 = $90. To measure an existing markup, use Markup % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100. Because the denominator is cost rather than price, markup always exceeds the margin it produces; the exact link is Margin = Markup ÷ (1 + Markup). To hit a target margin instead, invert it: Markup = Margin ÷ (1 − Margin), so a 40% margin demands a 66.67% markup.
What is the Markup Calculator formula?
- Cost – input cost
- Markup% – decimal (e.g. 0.5 for 50%)
Markup on a $100 cost and the margin it earns
| Markup | Selling price ($100 cost) | Profit per unit | Resulting margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $110.00 | $10.00 | 9.09% |
| 20% | $120.00 | $20.00 | 16.67% |
| 25% | $125.00 | $25.00 | 20.00% |
| 30% | $130.00 | $30.00 | 23.08% |
| 50% | $150.00 | $50.00 | 33.33% |
| 75% | $175.00 | $75.00 | 42.86% |
| 100% | $200.00 | $100.00 | 50.00% |
| 150% | $250.00 | $150.00 | 60.00% |
How do you use the Markup Calculator?
- Enter unit cost and markup %.
- Read selling price and resulting margin.
Worked example
| Scenario | Cost $60, markup 50% |
| Calculation | 60 × 1.5 |
| Result | Price $90; margin 33.3%. |
Common use cases
Tips & best practices
A 100% markup is only a 50% margin.
Frequently asked questions
Divide the profit by the cost and multiply by 100: Markup % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100. An item bought for $60 and sold for $90 carries a ($90 − $60) ÷ $60 × 100 = 50% markup. To go the other way and set a price from a chosen markup, multiply the cost by (1 + markup): $60 × 1.5 = $90.
Keystone pricing is the retail convention of doubling the wholesale cost — a 100% markup — so a $25 cost becomes a $50 ticket price. It yields a 50% gross margin, historically enough to cover a typical retailer’s operating costs and profit. Many categories now deviate: fast-turning groceries price well below keystone, while jewellery and furniture often exceed it.
Divide the markup by one plus the markup: Margin = Markup ÷ (1 + Markup). A 50% markup therefore produces a 50 ÷ 150 = 33.3% margin, and a 100% markup produces exactly 50%. The margin is always the smaller number because it divides the same profit by the larger figure — the selling price instead of the cost.
A 66.67% markup: use Markup = Margin ÷ (1 − Margin) = 0.40 ÷ 0.60. On a $60 cost that means pricing at $60 × 1.6667 = $100, where the $40 profit is 40% of the price. Applying a 40% markup instead would price the item at $84 and deliver only a 28.6% margin — an 11.4-point shortfall that compounds across an entire catalogue.
Because markup divides the profit by the cost while margin divides the identical profit by the higher selling price — a smaller denominator always yields a bigger percentage. The gap grows with the numbers: a 25% markup is a 20% margin (5 points apart), but a 100% markup is a 50% margin (50 points apart). The two only meet at zero.
Markup is always calculated on cost; the equivalent percentage calculated on selling price is called margin. A $30 profit on a $60 cost is a 50% markup, but the same profit measured against the $90 price is a 33.3% margin. Mixing the two bases is the most common pricing error in small retail, and it always errs toward underpricing.