Markup calculator 2026
Markup is profit measured against cost: adding 40% to a €100 item gives a €140 selling price. The same deal yields a 28.6% margin, because margin measures that profit against the selling price instead.
- Profit per unit
- €40.00
- Equivalent margin
- 28.57%
Basis of the calculation
Markup is calculated on the cost price, margin on the selling price — so a 40% markup equals roughly a 28.6% margin. The two are easily confused.
Rates and thresholds
- Selling price
- cost × (1 + markup)
- Markup 40%
- = margin 28.6%
- Markup 100%
- = margin 50%
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Both describe the same profit but divide it by different numbers. Markup divides profit by cost; margin divides it by the selling price. A €100 item sold for €140 makes €40: markup is 40 ÷ 100 = 40%, margin is 40 ÷ 140 = 28.6%. Margin is always the smaller figure.
What markup gives the margin I want?
Divide the margin you want by what it lacks of a hundred. A 30% margin needs a markup of 30 ÷ 70 = 42.9%; a 50% margin needs 100% markup. This is where the common error lives: a 30% markup yields only a 23.1% margin.