Say a unit costs $12.50 and you want a 60% markup: 12.50 × (1 + 0.60) = $20.00 selling price, and 20.00 − 12.50 = $7.50 gross profit per unit. Run it backwards to audit a price: selling at $19.99 on a $12.50 cost is (19.99 − 12.50) ÷ 12.50 = 59.9% markup.
Free Markup Calculator
Turn cost into a selling price you can defend. Type what an item costs you, set the markup — and watch the price, profit per unit, margin and monthly profit update as you move it.
What is a markup calculator?
A markup calculator turns the cost of a product into its selling price. Markup is the percentage you add on top of cost to arrive at the price: buy an item for $12.50, apply a 60% markup, and it sells for $20.00 — the $7.50 difference is your gross profit per unit. The same math works for services, wholesale goods and menu items.
This calculator works in both directions. Set a cost and the markup you want, and it builds your selling price — with charm-price endings, the equivalent margin and your monthly profit. Or switch to check mode, enter the cost and the price you already charge, and it tells you what markup you're actually running and how it compares to typical ranges in your industry.
How to calculate markup
From cost to a defensible price in four steps.
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Enter your cost per unit — what you pay to make or buy one item, including materials and direct labor.
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Set your markup percentage with the field or the slider — or switch to check mode and enter your current selling price instead.
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Read the result: selling price, profit per unit and the equivalent gross margin, with a charm-price ending if you want one.
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Add how many units you sell a month to turn the percentage into money — your gross profit per month.
The markup formula
Two lines of math power every number on this page.
Markup % = (Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100
Price = Cost × (1 + Markup ÷ 100)
Finding the cost ceiling
The formula also answers a buying question: if the market price is fixed, what's the most you can pay for the product? Divide the price by (1 + markup): to sell at $20.00 with a 60% markup, your cost must stay under 20.00 ÷ 1.60 = $12.50. Suppliers quote above that, and your target markup is gone.
Markup vs margin — not the same number
Markup and margin describe the same profit from two directions: markup measures it against your cost, margin measures it against your price. Because the price is always bigger than the cost, the margin percentage is always smaller than the markup percentage — on the same sale.
Markup to margin at a glance
Common markups and the gross margin they produce. The row nearest your current markup stays highlighted.
| Markup | Equivalent margin | Cost $100 → price |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 9.1% | $110 |
| 15% | 13% | $115 |
| 20% | 16.7% | $120 |
| 25% | 20% | $125 |
| 30% | 23.1% | $130 |
| 40% | 28.6% | $140 |
| 50% | 33.3% | $150 |
| 60% | 37.5% | $160 |
| 75% | 42.9% | $175 |
| 100% | 50% | $200 |
| 150% | 60% | $250 |
| 200% | 66.7% | $300 |
Margin = markup ÷ (100 + markup). The two only feel interchangeable at small percentages — the gap widens fast.
Typical markup by industry
There is no universal "good" markup — it depends on what you sell, how fast it moves, and what the price has to cover. These gross ranges are common starting points.
Wholesale & distribution 15–30%
High volume, thin markup. Distributors profit on quantity and turnover, not on each unit.
cost $100 → price $115–130General retail 30–60%
Everyday retail marks up 30–60%; apparel and boutiques often use keystone pricing — a straight 100% markup that doubles the cost.
keystone: cost $100 → price $200Services & consulting 50–100%
The "cost" is mostly labor hours, so the markup has to carry non-billable time, tools and overhead.
cost $100 → price $150–200Food & beverage 60–200%
Restaurants commonly run 200–300% on menu items; beverages go higher still. Spoilage, prep labor and empty tables all live inside the markup.
cost $100 → price $160–300Ranges are gross markups on direct cost, drawn from common industry guidance — your rent, labor and competition set the real number.
Know what your products really cost
WebWork tracks the work hours and project costs behind every product and service — so the cost you mark up is the real one, not a guess.
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From pricing math to real cost data
A markup is only as honest as the cost under it — and for most businesses the slipperiest cost is time. WebWork's project budget tracking records the hours and labor costs behind every project automatically, so when you set a markup, you know exactly what it's covering.
Try WebWork FreeExplore WebWork
This calculator is one small piece of WebWork — a full time tracking and workforce management platform.
Project budget tracking
Set budgets per project and watch real labor costs against them — the cost side of every markup.
Track budgetsTime tracking
Automatic, accurate tracking of the work hours inside your cost of goods and services.
Track timeBillable hours tracker
Separate billable from non-billable time and see what each client hour really earns.
Track billablesInvoicing
Turn tracked hours and rates into clean invoices without leaving WebWork.
Create invoicesFrequently asked questions
Subtract the cost from the selling price, divide by the cost, and multiply by 100: markup % = (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. An item that costs $12.50 and sells for $20.00 carries a (20.00 − 12.50) ÷ 12.50 × 100 = 60% markup.
Price = cost × (1 + markup ÷ 100). To put a 40% markup on a $50 cost: 50 × 1.40 = $70 selling price. The calculator runs this live as you type, and can round the result to a .99 or .95 ending.
Both measure the same profit, against different bases. Markup divides profit by cost; margin divides it by price. A $7.50 profit on a $12.50 cost is a 60% markup — but only a 37.5% margin, because the $7.50 is measured against the $20.00 price. Margin is always the smaller number.
Margin % = markup ÷ (100 + markup) × 100. A 60% markup is 60 ÷ 160 = 37.5% margin; a 100% markup is 50% margin. To go the other way, markup % = margin ÷ (100 − margin) × 100.
General retail typically runs 30–60% gross markup, while apparel and boutique goods often use keystone pricing — a straight 100% markup. The right number covers your operating costs and matches what your market will pay: a fast-moving grocery line survives on 15%, a slow-turning specialty item can't.
A retail convention of doubling the cost — a 100% markup, which equals a 50% margin. It's a quick rule of thumb from an era of simpler retail; treat it as a starting point rather than a rule, and adjust for how fast the item sells and what it costs to carry.
The selling price is double the cost: a $25 cost sells for $50. The profit equals the cost, and the equivalent margin is 50% — half of every sale is gross profit. Markups above 100% mean the profit exceeds the cost, which is normal in food service and premium goods.
On cost — always. The percentage calculated on the selling price is the margin. When someone says "we add 30%," ask which base they mean: 30% on cost and 30% on price are different prices, and mixing the two is the most common pricing error in small business.
The markup is applied on top of your direct cost per unit — materials plus direct labor. Everything else (rent, marketing, admin time, your own hours) has to be paid out of the total profit your markup generates. That's why service businesses mark up 50–100%: most of their real cost is time, and it has to be tracked to be counted.
Yes — switch to "Check my markup," enter your cost and current selling price, and it returns the markup and margin you're actually running. It also flags a negative markup if you're selling below cost, and shows where your markup lands against typical industry ranges.