Markup vs margin calculator

Markup is profit measured against your cost. Margin is profit measured against your selling price. A job that costs you 100 and sells for 150 has a 50% markup (50 profit over 100 cost) but only a 33.3% margin (50 profit over 150 price). Same job, two different percentages, which is exactly why so many trades undercharge.

If you think a 30% markup gives you a 30% margin, you are quietly losing money on every job. Adding 30% to a 1,000 cost gives a 1,300 price, but that is only a 23% margin. Over a year of jobs that gap is real money. Knowing both numbers means you price on purpose, not by guesswork.

Divide your cost by (1 minus the margin as a decimal). For a 40% margin on a 600 cost: 600 divided by 0.6 equals 1,000. The second calculator on this page does it for you. Enter the cost and the margin you want to keep, and it returns the price to quote.

Use markup to set a price quickly from a known cost. Use margin to check the job is actually profitable, because margin tells you what share of the money coming in you keep. Most trades quote with markup and review the business on margin.

Yes. Enter your total job cost, which is materials plus labour plus any subcontractor and overhead you want covered. The calculator works on whatever cost figure you give it. For a full itemised quote, build it in the free quote calculator instead.

Yes, completely free with no signup and no card. It runs entirely in your browser and nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere. Use it as often as you like, on any job.