Price it from your cost
Change any number and the result updates as you type.
Set price by
Sell it for
$666.67
$266.67 profit on $400.00 of cost.
Margin40.0%
Markup66.7%
Everything stays in your browser. Nothing is sent or saved.
How to use the markup and margin calculator
- Choose how to set the price: by the margin you want to keep, or by a markup on your cost.
- Enter your cost: what you pay for the print run, the license or the subcontracted work.
- Enter the percentage, then read the selling price and the profit it leaves.
- Check the other figure as well, so you know both numbers before you quote.
How the markup and margin calculator works
Markup and margin describe the same profit from two sides. Markup is the profit as a share of your cost; margin is the profit as a share of the price. For any price above cost, the margin is the smaller number.
Price from a margincost ÷ (1 − margin)
Price from a markupcost × (1 + markup)
Margin(price − cost) ÷ price
Markup(price − cost) ÷ cost
Mixing them up is expensive. Add a 40% markup to a $400 cost and you charge $560, which keeps a margin of only 28.6%. If you meant to keep 40% of the price, you needed to charge $666.67.
- Cost
- $400.00
- Price
- $400 ÷ (1 − 0.40) = $666.67
- Profit
- $266.67
- Markup
- 66.7%
- Sell it for
- $666.67
A 40% margin needs a 66.7% markup. Doubling a cost is a 100% markup but only a 50% margin.
Markup and margin calculator FAQ
What’s the difference between markup and margin?
Markup compares the profit with your cost; margin compares it with the price. On a $400 cost sold for $666.67, the $266.67 profit is a 66.7% markup and a 40% margin.
Which one should I use?
Use margin when you know how much of each sale you want to keep, and markup when you add a set percentage to costs. Either way, check the other number before you quote.
Should I mark up costs I pass on to a client?
Many studios add 10–20% to costs they buy on a client’s behalf, like printing, stock images or licenses, to cover the time spent sourcing and managing them. Say so in your proposal, so the line on the invoice is no surprise.
Can a margin be 100%?
Only if the cost is zero. As a margin gets close to 100%, the price it needs climbs steeply: a 90% margin on a $400 cost means charging $4,000.
Does this work for pricing my own time?
Not well, because your time isn’t a cost you buy. Start from what you need to earn: the freelance rate calculator works back to an hourly rate, and the project profitability calculator checks what a finished project paid.
More money tools
Freelance rate calculatorTurn your income goal, expenses, and time off into an hourly rate that actually pays the bills.Invoice generatorAdd your line items, watch the totals and tax add up, and copy a clean, itemized invoice.Late-fee & terms calculatorSee what a late invoice really costs and generate fair late-fee language for your payment terms.Tax set-aside estimatorFind the slice of every payment to park for tax, so April is boring instead of brutal.