Free calculator
Profit Margin & Markup Calculator
Enter your cost and either your price or your target margin. We calculate profit, profit margin, and markup so you can price every job with confidence.
What it costs you to deliver.
What you charge the client.
We'll tell you the price to charge for this cost.
To hit a 40.0% margin, charge $166.67.
Results
Profit
$50.00
Profit margin
33.3%
Markup
50.0%
Margin is profit as a share of price; markup is profit as a share of cost. The same dollar profit always looks like a smaller margin than markup.
Margin vs. markup, explained
These two numbers describe the same profit from different angles. Markup answers “how much did I add on top of my cost?” while margin answers “how much of the price did I keep?” Confusing the two is a common pricing mistake — quoting a 30% markup when you meant a 30% margin can quietly cost you real money on every job.
Price the whole job, not just materials
For service work, “cost” should include your own time, not only materials and subcontractors. If you're not sure what your time is worth, run the freelance rate calculator first, then use that hourly cost here.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Margin is your profit as a percentage of the price you charge. Markup is your profit as a percentage of your cost. For the same job, the markup percentage is always higher than the margin percentage. For example, a $50 profit on a $100 cost sold for $150 is a 50% markup but a 33.3% margin.
Subtract your cost from your price to get profit, then divide profit by the price and multiply by 100. So (price − cost) ÷ price × 100. This calculator does it instantly as you type.
Divide your cost by (1 minus your target margin as a decimal). For a 40% target margin on a $100 cost, that's 100 ÷ (1 − 0.40) = $166.67. Use the target-margin field in the calculator to do this automatically.
It varies widely by industry, but many service businesses target 20–50% net margins after accounting for all costs including your own time. Use this alongside the freelance rate calculator to make sure your pricing covers both your costs and a healthy margin.
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