Markup and Margin Calculator
Compute sale price from cost + markup or margin (and vice versa). Also explains the difference between markup and margin — a common retail confusion. Everything in your browser.
Enter the cost plus any one of the other three (markup, margin or selling price). The remaining fields are calculated for you. Amounts are shown in Brazilian reais (R$).
Selling price
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Profit
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Markup
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Margin
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Markup ≠ Margin
Markup is the percentage taken over cost: (Price − Cost) / Cost. For an item that costs R$ 100 and sells for R$ 150, the markup is 50%.
Margin is the percentage taken over the selling price: (Price − Cost) / Price. In that same example the margin is 33.33% (50 out of 150).
Mixing the two up is the single most common cause of losses in retail. Applying "30% margin" and "30% markup" yields different prices — always confirm which one you are working with before setting a price.
Everything runs in your browser.
Markup vs profit margin
Markup and margin are two distinct concepts that share the same numerator but use different denominators. Markup is computed over cost: markup = (price − cost) / cost · 100%. Profit margin is computed over selling price: margin = (price − cost) / price · 100%. Example: with cost R$ 100 and price R$ 150, the markup is 50% while the margin is 33.3%. Conversions: margin = markup / (1 + markup) and markup = margin / (1 − margin). In Brazilian retail, prices are commonly set with a markup multiplier: fashion retail typically uses ×2.5, while groceries operate on ×1.3–1.5. Also distinguish gross margin (price minus product cost) from net margin (after taxes, operating expenses and overhead).
Applications and context
Markup and margin drive retail pricing, e-commerce setups (Shopify, Bling, Tiny), break-even analysis, promotion decisions (a 20% discount on a 33% margin destroys most of the profit), and supplier comparisons. Mixing up the two is the most common source of unprofitable pricing in small retail — applying "30% margin" and "30% markup" produces different prices.
Markup or margin? Price it right
Setting a selling price seems trivial, but markup and margin confuse plenty of people in retail. Treating the two as synonyms leads to mispricing and lost money. This calculator handles both and clearly shows where one differs from the other.
Calculate the selling price from cost plus markup, or from a desired margin, and do the reverse too. The tool makes it explicit that markup is how much you add on top of cost, whereas margin is the slice of the final price left as profit. That distinction completely changes the math.
The calculation runs in the browser and keeps none of your numbers anywhere. It works as a practical reference for merchants, freelancers and anyone who needs to price products or services with confidence.
Frequently asked questions
Why is markup always greater than margin?
What's a "healthy" margin?
Should I include taxes in markup?
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Markup vs Margin
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The results provided by this tool are for general informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute professional, financial, medical, legal, tax or accounting advice. Always confirm important decisions with a qualified professional and official sources.