Markup Calculator: Selling Price from Cost
Enter what an item costs you and the markup percentage you want, and get the selling price, the profit and the margin it works out to.
Markup is the amount added on top of cost, stated as a percentage of that cost. To price an item, multiply the cost by the markup percentage and add the result to the cost. An item that costs $40 with a 50% markup gets $20 added and sells for $60. That $20 is 50% of the cost but only 33.33% of the $60 price, which is why a 50% markup is not a 50% margin.
This calculator gives an estimate for general education only and is not financial advice or a substitute for an accountant. It applies a markup percentage to the cost you enter and shows the resulting price, profit per unit and margin; it leaves out taxes, fees, discounts, shipping and overhead unless you put them in the cost. Before setting prices for a business, check them against your own records, and consider speaking with a qualified accountant.
Selling price
$60.00
- Cost
- $40.00
- Markup (50% of cost)
- $20.00
- Selling price (cost + markup)
- $60.00
- Profit margin on that price (profit ÷ price)
- 33.33%
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About the Markup Calculator
Cost-plus pricing starts from what an item costs you, whether that is the wholesale price, the materials and labor, or the landed cost after freight. A markup percentage is applied to that cost, and the result is added on to give the selling price. The formula is price = cost x (1 + markup / 100), so a $40 item with a 50% markup sells for $60, and the same item with a 100% markup, often called keystone pricing in retail, sells for $80. Because markup is measured against cost, it has no ceiling: a 300% markup is possible and means the price is four times the cost. Margin runs the other way, measuring the same profit against the selling price, so it is always a smaller number than the markup on the same sale and can never reach 100%. This calculator takes a cost and a markup and shows the selling price, the dollars added per unit, and the margin that price produces, so you can pick a markup and see at once what share of each sale you keep before overhead.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a selling price from a markup?+
Multiply the cost by one plus the markup as a decimal. For a $40 cost and a 50% markup that is 40 x 1.5 = 60, so the price is $60. The dollars added are 60 - 40 = 20.
What is keystone pricing?+
Keystone means a 100% markup: the selling price is double the cost. A $25 item priced at keystone sells for $50. The margin on a keystone price is 50%, because the $25 added is half of the $50 price.
Why is my margin lower than my markup?+
Both use the same dollars of profit, but markup divides them by the cost and margin divides them by the higher selling price. On the $40 item sold for $60, the $20 is 50% of cost and 33.33% of price. The gap widens as the markup grows.
What markup do I need for a target margin?+
Divide the margin by 100 minus the margin, then multiply by 100. A 40% margin needs 40 / 60, a markup of about 67%. A 50% margin needs a 100% markup, because 50 / 50 = 1. If you already have a price in mind, the margin calculator works from cost and price instead.
Does the markup cover overhead?+
Only if you build it in. The calculator adds markup to the cost you enter, so if rent, shipping to customers or card fees are not in that cost, the profit shown is before those expenses. Many sellers include a per-unit share of overhead in the cost before applying markup.
Embed this calculator
Free to use on your own site. Paste this snippet where you want the markup calculator to appear — it resizes itself automatically.
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src="https://manytools.co/embed/markup-calculator"
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</script><a href="https://manytools.co/finance/markup-calculator">Markup Calculator by ManyTools</a>