Margin and markup calculator
Work out your profit margin and markup from what you pay and what you charge, or find the selling price you need for a margin. With VAT and per-unit prices for cases.
- Free, no sign-up
- Margin and markup
- One product or a whole list
- Made in your browser
Margin
40%
Profit
£4.00
- Cost
- £6.00
- Selling price
- £10.00
- Margin
- 40%
- Markup
- 66.7%
- VAT at 20%
- £2.00
- Selling price inc VAT
- £12.00
Profit and margin are worked out before VAT, which you collect for the tax authority rather than keep.
Margins for a whole product list
Paste your products from a spreadsheet, or open a CSV file, and work out every margin at once. Or price the whole list for the margin you want, then download the results.
Paste from a spreadsheet: product, cost, selling price. The last two numbers on each line are used as the cost and the selling price, and a heading row is skipped.
Average margin
42.1%
Products
5
- Lowest margin
- 30.7% · Hot chocolate 1kg
| Product | Cost | Selling price | Profit | Margin | Markup | Inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombian coffee beans 1kg | £6.00 | £10.00 | £4.00 | 40% | 66.7% | £12.00 |
| English breakfast tea, 80 bags | £1.40 | £2.95 | £1.55 | 52.5% | 110.7% | £3.54 |
| Oat milk 1L | £0.95 | £1.65 | £0.70 | 42.4% | 73.7% | £1.98 |
| Paper cups 12oz, sleeve of 50 | £2.10 | £3.80 | £1.70 | 44.7% | 81% | £4.56 |
| Hot chocolate 1kg | £5.20 | £7.50 | £2.30 | 30.7% | 44.2% | £9.00 |
Margin and markup, explained
People often mix these up, and the difference matters when you set prices. Both start from the same profit, the selling price minus the cost, but compare it with a different number:
- Margin is profit divided by the selling price. It tells you how much of each sale you keep.
- Markup is profit divided by the cost. It tells you how much you added on top of what you paid.
So a markup is always bigger than the margin it produces. A common mistake is adding a 30% markup and expecting a 30% margin, which actually gives about 23%.
Common markups and the margins they give
| Markup | Margin | £10 cost sells at |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | 16.7% | £12.00 |
| 25% | 20% | £12.50 |
| 33.3% | 25% | £13.33 |
| 50% | 33.3% | £15.00 |
| 66.7% | 40% | £16.67 |
| 100% | 50% | £20.00 |
The formulas
- Profit = selling price − cost
- Margin = profit ÷ selling price × 100
- Markup = profit ÷ cost × 100
- Selling price for a margin = cost ÷ (1 − margin ÷ 100)
- Selling price for a markup = cost × (1 + markup ÷ 100)
Labelling the products you’ve priced? The barcode generator and bulk generator make shelf and product labels, and the order form maker prints an order form for your customers.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between margin and markup?
Both compare profit with a price, but a different one. Margin is profit as a share of the selling price; markup is profit as a share of the cost. Buy at £6 and sell at £10 and the £4 profit is a 40% margin but a 66.7% markup.
How do I work out a selling price from a margin?
Divide the cost by one minus the margin. For a 40% margin on a £6 cost, that’s £6 ÷ 0.6 = £10. Choose “Price for a margin” above and the calculator does it for you.
Should margin include VAT?
No. VAT is collected for the tax authority, so profit, margin and markup are worked out on prices without VAT. The calculator adds VAT on top to show the price your customer pays.
Can a margin be more than 100%?
No. Margin is a share of the selling price, so it can only approach 100%. Markup has no such limit: selling at three times cost is a 200% markup but a 66.7% margin.
Can I work out margins for a whole product list?
Yes. Use the bulk calculator under the single one: paste your products from a spreadsheet, or open a CSV file, and every margin is worked out at once. You can also price a whole list for a target margin or markup, then download the results as a CSV.
Is my CSV file uploaded?
No. When you open a file, your browser reads it on your own device. Nothing is uploaded to us or anyone else, and the CSV you download is made in your browser too.
What are case prices?
If you buy or sell by the case, enter the case prices and the number of units in each case. The calculator shows the cost and selling price per unit too.
Is anything I enter sent anywhere?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing you type is sent to us or anyone else.