Markup Calculator

Markup Calculator — From Cost to Price with Confidence

Markup answers the seller's most basic question: given what this costs me, what should it sell for? This free markup calculator solves cost, markup percentage, and selling price from any two, and always displays the equivalent profit margin alongside — because quoting a "50% markup" as a "50% margin" in a meeting is a mistake that costs real money. Instant, in-browser, no signup.

Core Formulas

Markup %  = (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100
Price     = cost × (1 + markup)
Cost      = price ÷ (1 + markup)
Margin %  = markup ÷ (1 + markup)

Markup ↔ Margin Conversion Table

Industry Markup Norms

• Grocery: 5–25% — volume business, thin markups.
• Apparel: 100–350% — covers seasons, markdowns, and returns.
• Restaurants: ~300% on food cost — the kitchen, staff, and rent live in that markup.
• Furniture and jewelry: 200–400% — low turnover requires high per-sale contribution.
• Services/consulting: 100–300% on labor cost — expertise premium plus non-billable time.

High markup is not greed — it's the arithmetic of everything between the supplier and the customer: rent, wages, shipping, shrinkage, unsold inventory, and marketing all get paid out of it.

Setting Markup Backwards from Break-Even

A more rigorous approach than copying industry norms: total your monthly operating expenses, divide by expected units sold, and add that per-unit overhead to product cost before applying profit markup. A shop with $9,000/month overhead selling 600 units carries $15 of overhead per unit — a $20 product cost is really $35, and markup should be applied to that reality.

Free and Instant

Solve unlimited pricing scenarios locally in your browser — no account, no data stored. Pair with our margin calculator when you need the price-based view for financial reporting.