Profit Margin Calculator

How to use this calculator

Enter Sale price ($), Item cost ($). The result updates in your browser as you edit an input. The prefilled values are examples only.

How the estimate works

Divide the difference between price and cost by selling price; markup uses cost as its denominator.

What can change the answer?

Margin and markup answer different questions. A 20% markup is not a 20% margin. Include packaging, returns, and selling costs when evaluating the full business result.

Before relying on the result

Use the same cost basis when comparing products. Margin divides the difference by sale price; markup divides it by cost. A materials-only figure does not show the margin after postage, selling charges, returns or overhead. Markup is undefined when cost is zero.

Worked example with the default inputs

A $50 selling price and $30 cost leave $20. Margin is $20 divided by $50, or 40%; markup is $20 divided by $30, or 66.67%. Keep the denominator clear.

Interpret the result in a planning record

Profit margin expresses the difference between price and cost as a share of the selling price. Markup expresses that difference as a share of cost. The margin calculator shows both measures using the values entered. Decide what your cost figure includes before comparing products; a materials-only margin is different from a margin after all order costs.

Save the input values, units and result together. Change one uncertain input at a time so you can see which assumption moves the answer. A displayed decimal is arithmetic precision, rather than evidence that the measurements or rates are equally precise.

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Read the Price an Online Order for Profit, Not Just Revenue guide →