Markup and Margin Calculator for Quotes and Job Pricing
Free markup and margin calculator. Enter your cost plus a markup, margin or price and see the rest, so your quotes earn the profit you planned.
Estimated results
Selling price
$300.00
- Your cost
- $200.00
- Profit
- $100.00
- Markup
- 50%
- Margin
- 33.33%
Markup is profit ÷ cost; margin is profit ÷ price. Calculated in your browser; nothing is sent to us.
Markup and margin in one minute
Markup and margin describe the same profit from two angles:
- Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost
- Margin = (price − cost) ÷ price
The calculator lets you start from whichever number you know:
- Markup: price = cost × (1 + markup)
- Margin: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin)
- Price: it works out the profit, markup and margin for you
Worked example
You buy materials and labour worth $200 and add a 50% markup.
- Price: 200 × 1.5 = $300
- Profit: $100
- Margin: 100 ÷ 300 = 33.33%
Now the other direction. You want a 40% margin on a job that costs $60. A 40% markup would give $84, which only earns a 28.57% margin. The right price is 60 ÷ (1 − 0.40) = $100, a 66.67% markup.
Why a 50% markup is not a 50% margin
| Markup | Margin |
|---|---|
| 25% | 20% |
| 50% | 33.33% |
| 100% | 50% |
Margin is always the smaller number, and the gap grows as markup rises. If your target is a margin, pricing with the same number as a markup means you quietly earn less than planned on every job.
What this does not cover
The figures here relate your cost to your price and nothing else. Before you rely on a margin, decide what goes into the cost you enter: materials, labour, subcontractors and any card processing fees. Our payment fee calculator shows how much of an invoice a card payment can take, and the CRM ROI calculator uses gross margin to avoid overstating the value of extra jobs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Both describe the same profit, measured against different things. Markup is profit divided by your cost. Margin is profit divided by the selling price. A 50% markup is only a 33.33% margin, which is why mixing them up leads to under-priced quotes.
Which one should I use to price a job?
Use whichever your accounts and your competitors talk in, but be consistent. Margin is the safer number to plan around because it is the share of every dollar you take in that you keep, so it can never pass 100%.
Does this include overheads, tax or payment fees?
No. It only relates your direct cost to your price. Overheads, sales tax and card fees are separate, so a healthy gross margin can still leave a thin net profit. Include those costs in the cost you enter if you want them covered.
Is my data stored?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent to our servers.
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