Markup & Margin Calculator
Convert markup to margin, and price a job at both.
Convert
Markup is figured on cost; margin is figured on price. Pick the two numbers you have and the other two follow. Your inputs are saved on this device automatically.
Price a job
Enter each bucket of cost and the markup you carry on it. Labor, materials and subs usually carry different markups, so the job’s blended rate is not the average of the line rates — it leans toward whichever bucket holds the most cost.
| Cost line | Cost | Markup % | Price | Profit | Margin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.00 | $0.00 | 0% | ||||
| $0.00 | $0.00 | 0% | ||||
| $0.00 | $0.00 | 0% | ||||
| $0.00 | $0.00 | 0% | ||||
| Job | $0.00 | 0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0% |
Markup to margin
The same profit dollars, stated both ways. These are conversions, not recommendations — what you should charge depends on your costs, your overhead and your market.
| Markup on cost | Margin on price | $100 of cost sells for |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 9.09% | $110.00 |
| 15% | 13.04% | $115.00 |
| 20% | 16.67% | $120.00 |
| 25% | 20% | $125.00 |
| 33% | 24.81% | $133.00 |
| 50% | 33.33% | $150.00 |
| 100% | 50% | $200.00 |
How it works
Markup and margin describe the same profit dollars against two different bases: markup is profit as a percentage of your COST, margin is that same profit as a percentage of the PRICE you charge. A $100 cost sold for $125 carries a 25% markup and a 20% margin — one number, two ways of saying it, and they are never equal. That is why an estimate that applies a margin figure as though it were a markup prices the work low every single time. This calculator converts between the two and prices a whole job line by line, so the blended markup and margin you actually end up with are visible before the estimate goes out.
Pick the two numbers you already have
Choose whether you know cost and markup, cost and target margin, cost and price, or a price with one of the two percentages. The other two are worked out for you and tinted, so it is always clear which figures you typed and which the page derived.
Break the job into cost lines
Enter what each part of the job costs you — labor, materials, subs, and anything else — and the markup you carry on it. Nothing is filled in as a suggested rate: what you mark up is your decision, and it usually differs between labor and materials.
Read the blended markup and margin
The job total shows cost, price, profit, and the blended markup and margin across every line. The blend is weighted by cost, so a heavy materials line at a light markup pulls the whole job down — visibly, before you send it.
Check it against a target
To hit a margin, switch the converter to cost and margin: it returns the price, and the markup that gets there. Enter that markup on the lines and the job total confirms it.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between markup and margin?
- They measure the same profit against different bases. Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. Margin = (price − cost) ÷ price × 100. Because the price is always larger than the cost on profitable work, the margin is always the smaller of the two numbers. Cost $100, price $125: a $25 profit is a 25% markup on cost and a 20% margin on price.
- What is 20% markup as a margin?
- 16.67%. Convert with margin = markup ÷ (100 + markup): 20 ÷ 120 = 0.1667. Going the other way, margin = markup ÷ (100 − margin): a 20% margin needs a 25% markup. The reference table on this page runs the conversion for 10, 15, 20, 25, 33, 50 and 100% markup.
- Should an estimate use markup or margin?
- Build the estimate with markup, because you start from cost — you know what the job costs and you are deciding what to add. Judge the result by margin, because that is the share of the money coming in that you keep, and it is the figure that compares across jobs and against a target. The mistake to avoid is entering a margin figure into a field that applies it as a markup: a 30% margin needs a 42.86% markup, so treating them as interchangeable leaves real money on the table.
- How do I price a job to hit a target margin?
- Divide the cost by (1 − the margin as a decimal). For a 30% margin on $7,000 of cost: 7,000 ÷ 0.70 = $10,000. Equivalently, apply a 42.86% markup. Set the converter to cost and margin and it does both — the price, and the markup that reaches it.
- Does markup cover overhead, or is it all profit?
- Markup has to cover both, and they are separate things. Overhead is what the business costs whether or not a given job runs — insurance, the truck, the phone, the office, your own unbilled hours. Profit is what is left after overhead is paid. If your markup only covers overhead you are working at break-even, which is why estimators often carry overhead and profit as two named lines rather than one percentage: you can see what each is doing. What your overhead actually runs is your own figure, out of your books — there is no percentage that can be assumed for you.
- Why is my blended markup not the average of my line markups?
- Because the blend is weighted by cost, not by line count. $4,000 of labor at 50%, $2,000 of materials at 20% and $1,000 of subs at 10% is a $9,500 price on $7,000 of cost — a 35.71% blended markup, not the 26.67% you get by averaging 50, 20 and 10. The bucket with the most cost in it dominates the result.