Pricing & Profit

Profit Margin Calculator

Calculate profit, profit margin, and markup from your cost and selling price.

Enter your cost and selling price to see how much profit you make and what percentage of each sale you keep.

Enter your values

Your total cost for one item or service.

$

The amount charged to your customer.

$

Results

Profit margin

Enter your cost and selling price to calculate margin.

Profit

Selling price less cost.

Markup

Profit expressed as a percentage of cost.

Results are estimates based on the values entered and are provided for general planning.

Method

How to calculate profit margin

Profit margin shows how much of each revenue dollar remains after the cost entered above. Markup compares that same profit with cost instead of revenue.

Formula

Profit = Selling price − Cost
Profit margin = Profit ÷ Selling price × 100
Markup = Profit ÷ Cost × 100
Read the complete profit margin formula guide →

Assumptions

  • Cost and selling price cover the same unit and period.
  • Selling price must be greater than zero; a zero cost has no conventional markup.
  • The calculator uses only the cost and selling price entered. Include tax, shipping, payment fees, labor, advertising, overhead, or other operating expenses when you want them reflected.

Calculations retain full JavaScript numeric precision. Currency and percentages display two decimals.

How to interpret the result

A positive margin means price exceeds cost. A zero margin means price equals cost. A negative margin means the item is being sold below the entered cost.

Profit margin formula

Profit margin is the percentage of selling price left after subtracting the cost entered in the calculator. For example, a 25% margin means $25 remains from each $100 of revenue before costs that were not included.

When you enter direct product or service cost, this calculator gives gross profit and gross profit margin. Operating margin and net profit margin use broader income-statement figures, so they require different inputs.

What is a good profit margin?

There is no universal good profit margin. An appropriate margin varies by industry, product, business model, overhead, sales volume, and competitive environment.

Use margin to compare products or periods only when costs are defined consistently. A higher margin is not automatically better if it reduces demand, while a lower margin may be sustainable when volume and operating costs support it.

Profit margin vs. markup

Profit margin compares profit with selling price. Markup compares profit with cost. For a $75 cost and $120 selling price, $45 profit equals a 37.50% margin and a 60.00% markup.

MeasureFormulaWhat it shows
ProfitSelling price − CostThe currency amount left after the entered cost.
Profit marginProfit ÷ Selling price × 100Profit as a percentage of revenue.
MarkupProfit ÷ Cost × 100Profit as a percentage of cost.

Frequently asked questions

Profit margin is the percentage of selling price left after subtracting the cost included in the calculation.

Subtract cost from selling price, divide the profit by selling price, and multiply by 100.

Margin divides profit by selling price, while markup divides profit by cost. They describe the same transaction from different bases.

Yes. A negative margin means the entered cost is higher than the selling price, so the sale produces a loss before costs not included in the calculation.

Not when selling price is positive and cost is zero or greater. Under those assumptions, 100% is the maximum margin and occurs when cost is zero.

Profit equals selling price and margin equals 100%. Markup is not applicable because markup divides profit by cost, and division by zero is undefined.

It uses only the values you enter. Include taxes, shipping, payment processing, labor, advertising, overhead, or other costs in Cost if you want them reflected.

Keep calculating

Related calculators

Use the markup calculator to build a price from cost, then use break-even analysis to see how price and contribution affect the volume needed to cover fixed costs.

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