Markup vs Margin Table Calculator
See markup and margin side by side for one cost — and read a full conversion table so you never confuse the two percentages again.
How it works
Price = cost × (1 + markup%) · Margin% = (price − cost) ÷ price × 100 · Margin% = markup% ÷ (100 + markup%) × 100
Markup measures profit against cost; margin measures the same profit against the selling price. Because price is always larger than cost, the margin percentage is always smaller than the markup percentage. The conversion is fixed: a 25% markup is a 20% margin, a 50% markup is a 33.3% margin, and a 100% markup is a 50% margin — the table below spells the whole relationship out.
Worked example
On an $80 cost with a 25% markup, the price is 80 × 1.25 = $100 and profit is $20. That $20 against the $100 price is a 20% margin — the same dollars, a smaller percentage, because the base changed from cost to price.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my margin smaller than my markup?
Margin divides profit by the (larger) selling price, while markup divides the same profit by the (smaller) cost. A bigger denominator gives a smaller percentage, so margin is always below markup.
How do I convert markup to margin?
Margin% = markup% ÷ (100 + markup%) × 100. So a 50% markup is 50 ÷ 150 = 33.3% margin. The table above lists the common values.
Which should I quote to customers?
Neither directly — you quote a price. Internally, retailers often think in markup because it starts from cost, but margin is what appears on the income statement, so track margin for profitability.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.