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Markup and margin calculator
Put in what a job or a part costs you. Get the price from your markup, or from the margin you want to keep, and see the other number alongside it. Free, no sign-up, on your phone or your computer.
Price from your markup
Use this when you think in markup: a set percent on top of what something costs you.
Price from the margin you want
Use this when you know how much of the price you want to keep. It works out the price and the markup that gets you there.
The two formulas
Markup is profit as a share of your cost. Margin is profit as a share of the price. The same job has both, and the margin is always the smaller number.
- Price from markup = cost × (1 + markup). $400 at 25% markup is $400 × 1.25 = $500.
- Margin = (price − cost) ÷ price. On that $500 job the margin is $100 ÷ $500 = 20%.
- Price from margin = cost ÷ (1 − margin). To keep 30% of a $400 job, the price is $400 ÷ 0.70 = $571.43.
- Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost. That $571.43 price is a 42.86% markup on the $400.
The margin you want, as a markup
The mistake this table prevents: adding 30% to your cost and thinking you kept 30%. You kept 23.08%. To keep 30%, the markup has to be 42.86%.
| Markup needed | |
|---|---|
| 10% margin | 11.11% |
| 15% margin | 17.65% |
| 20% margin | 25% |
| 25% margin | 33.33% |
| 30% margin | 42.86% |
| 40% margin | 66.67% |
| 50% margin | 100% |
Worked from markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin), rounded to two decimal places. For the other direction, markup to margin, see our guide to markup vs margin.
Margin is not take-home pay
A 30% margin on a job is what is left after that job's parts and labor. Your van, insurance, phone, software and the hours you spend quoting still come out of it, and so do taxes. A job can show a healthy margin while the year still loses money.
So set the markup from the year, not the job. The hourly rate calculator works out what your time has to cost once every one of those is in. Use this page for what you buy and resell: parts, materials and subcontracted work.
Markup on parts and materials
Buying the part, driving to get it, carrying it and standing behind it if it fails all cost you something. A markup on parts is how that gets paid. Whatever percent you choose, choose it once and use it every time, so two customers with the same job never get two different prices.
The percent itself is your call. It depends on your trade, how much you buy, and whether your customers buy their own. Run your usual job through the first calculator above at a few markups, and look at what each one leaves you.
Your markup on every estimate
In Workeey, the parts markup is one of the rates you save once, next to your hourly rate. When a quick estimate has parts on it, it adds your markup on top of what they cost you, and the line says so: "Parts & materials · incl. 25% markup". One tap turns the estimate into the invoice.
The free plan includes 23 quick estimates a month and unlimited invoices, with no card. Read markup vs margin for the longer explanation.
How do I calculate markup?
Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost. A part that costs you $400 and sells for $500 has a markup of $100 ÷ $400 = 25%. To go the other way, the price is cost × (1 + markup).
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is profit divided by your cost. Margin is profit divided by the price. On a $400 cost sold for $500, the markup is 25% and the margin is 20%. Read markup vs margin for more.
What markup gives me a 30% margin?
A 42.86% markup. Divide the margin by (1 − the margin): 0.30 ÷ 0.70 = 0.4286. On a $400 cost that is a price of $571.43.
How do I calculate profit margin?
Profit margin = (price − cost) ÷ price. If the job is priced at $1,000 and costs you $700, the margin is $300 ÷ $1,000 = 30%. The second calculator on this page works it the other way, from the margin to the price.
Does this calculator work on a computer?
Yes. It works the same on a phone, a tablet or a computer, with no sign-up. Workeey itself runs on your phone.