When to use this calculator
Building price lists, quoting tenders, setting distributor pricing, or training a sales team to understand what their discount actually costs.
Inputs explained
Cost price should be your landed cost — see the Landed Cost Calculator. Mode picks whether your percentage is markup or margin. Quantity just scales total profit.
Outputs explained
Selling price is the price you'd set. Profit per unit and total profit show cash impact. Actual margin and markup let you see both framings of the same deal.
Formulas
- Selling price (markup) = Cost × (1 + Markup%)
- Selling price (margin) = Cost ÷ (1 − Margin%)
- Margin% = Profit ÷ Selling Price × 100
- Markup% = Profit ÷ Cost × 100
Worked example
Cost is $10. Apply a 50% markup → selling price $15, profit $5. That same $5 is only a 33.3% margin ($5 ÷ $15). People who quote "50% margin" but compute it as markup are quietly under-pricing by 17 percentage points.
Common mistakes
- Saying "30% margin" but applying a 30% markup.
- Mixing conventions across SKUs in one price list.
- Confusing wholesale, retail, and distributor channels.
- Marking up a cost that already includes a freight buffer.