A markup calculator for fast, profitable pricing
This markup calculator adds a markup percentage to your cost and gives you the selling price, the profit per unit and the gross margin that price really delivers. It also works out the markup between a cost and a price you already have, or the cost behind a marked-up price — useful when you check a supplier’s or competitor’s pricing.
For things you make — candles, jewellery, cakes, cookies, soap, prints — the product price from costs mode is a pricing calculator for small businesses: it adds up materials or ingredients, your labour hours, overhead and packaging, and gives the cost per item, a wholesale price for shops and a retail price. Any selling price can be rounded up to a charm ending such as 59.99 or ₹499.
How to use the Markup Calculator
- Pick a mode: “Selling price from markup”, “Markup from cost & price”, “Cost from price & markup” or “Product price from costs”.
- Enter your cost per unit and choose your currency — or, for a product, the batch costs, items per batch, hours and hourly rate.
- Type a markup or tap 25%, 50%, 100% (keystone) or 200% — or enter the selling price, depending on the mode.
- Optionally choose a rounding style to turn the price into a tidy shelf price.
- Read the selling price, profit, markup and margin, and compare other markups in the table.
Markup Calculator features
Four pricing calculations
Price from cost, markup from cost and price, cost from price and markup, and full product pricing from materials and labour.
Wholesale and retail prices
Cost per item × your wholesale multiplier, then × the retail multiplier, with a per-item and per-batch breakdown.
Charm-price rounding
Round up to .99, .95, a whole number, an ending in 9 or 99, or the next 10 — never down.
Margin shown alongside
Every result shows the gross margin too, so you know how much of each sale you keep.
Markup-to-margin table
Twelve common markups converted to margins, prices and profit for your cost.
Markup formula and examples
Selling price = cost × (1 + markup ÷ 100). Markup % = (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. Cost = price ÷ (1 + markup ÷ 100).
Example 1: a candle costs $40 to make. A 50% markup adds $20, so it sells for $60. The profit is $20 and the margin is 20 ÷ 60 = 33.33%.
Example 2: a shop buys a kurta for ₹320 and wants a 50% markup. The price is ₹480; rounding up to end in 9 gives ₹489, which lifts the markup to 52.8%.
Pricing handmade products, baked goods and crafts
A widely taught cost-plus formula for makers is wholesale = (materials + labour + overhead) × 2 and retail = wholesale × 2 (see Etsy For Dummies, “Pricing your work for your Etsy business”, read Oct 2026). Overhead is often estimated as 10–15% of materials plus labour. The doubling lets a shop buy from you and still earn a 50% margin, while you keep 50% of the wholesale price. Both multipliers are editable: many sellers use 2.5 or 3 for retail when the market allows.
Example (bakery): a batch of 12 cupcakes uses $30 of ingredients and 2 hours at $15 an hour. With 10% overhead the batch costs 66, or 5.50 per cupcake, plus 0.50 for a box: 6.00 cost. Wholesale is 12.00 and retail 24.00 — 300% markup and a 75% margin when you sell direct. Pay yourself a real hourly rate: leaving labour at zero hides a loss.
Markup vs margin: the same profit, two percentages
Markup compares profit with the cost; margin compares it with the selling price. With a cost of 80 and a price of 100, profit is 20: that is a 25% markup but only a 20% margin. Markup is always the larger percentage.
The confusion is expensive. If you need a 40% margin but apply a 40% markup, an item costing 100 sells for 140 and your margin is only 28.6%. To hit a margin target, use price = cost ÷ (1 − margin) or the profit margin calculator. To convert: margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup) and markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin).
Practical pricing tips
- Include every per-unit cost: purchase price, freight, packaging, card or marketplace fees and wastage. A markup on an incomplete cost overstates profit.
- Keystone (100%) is a starting point: groceries run on thinner markups, luxury goods on far higher ones.
- Plan discounts: check a 20%-off price still covers cost with the discount calculator.
- Tax-inclusive prices: in India and the UK shelf prices include GST or VAT. Mark up the net cost first, then add tax with the GST calculator.
- Cost formulas ignore demand: compare similar products before settling on a price. Results are estimates for planning, not financial or accounting advice.
Markup Calculator FAQ
How do I calculate markup?
Subtract the cost from the selling price, divide by the cost and multiply by 100. An item bought for 80 and sold for 100 has a markup of (100 − 80) ÷ 80 × 100 = 25%.
How do I add a markup to a cost?
Multiply the cost by 1 plus the markup as a decimal. For a 35% markup on 200: 200 × 1.35 = 270. The markup calculator does this and shows the margin, which here is 25.9%.
What is keystone pricing?
Keystone pricing means a 100% markup — the selling price is double the wholesale cost. It equals a 50% gross margin and is a common rule of thumb in retail.
Is a 50% markup the same as a 50% margin?
No. A 50% markup on a cost of 100 gives a price of 150 and a margin of 33.3%. A 50% margin needs a price of 200, which is a 100% markup.
How do I price baked goods or crafts?
Add the materials or ingredients for a batch, your labour hours times an hourly rate and overhead, divide by the items in the batch and add packaging. That is the cost per item; doubling it gives a wholesale price, and doubling again gives a retail price.
What is a wholesale price calculator?
It turns your cost per item into the price you charge shops that resell your product. The usual rule is two times cost, leaving room for the shop to double it again for retail.
Can markup be more than 100%?
Yes. Markup has no upper limit: a 300% markup means the price is four times the cost. Margin, by contrast, is always below 100%.