Selling Price Calculator

What to sell at to hit the margin you want. It also shows the wrong price you get from confusing margin with markup, so you can see the gap.

Currency and number format for

Selling price

—

Selling price—

Profit per unit—

Equivalent markup—

If you got it wrong—

What that would cost you a unit—

How this was worked out

The formula

price = cost ÷ (1 − margin ÷ 100)

What it means

For a margin on the selling price it is not enough to multiply the cost: you have to divide it. The reason is that the margin is worked out on a figure you do not know yet, so the formula has to solve for it.

How to work it out by hand

Turn the margin into a decimal by dividing by 100
Subtract it from 1
Divide the cost by that result

What is worth knowing

The higher the margin you want, the faster the price climbs. For a 20 % margin the cost is divided by 0.8, which is the same as multiplying by 1.25. For 50 % it is divided by 0.5, which doubles it. And a 100 % margin is impossible: it would mean dividing by zero, because it would require an infinite price or a cost of nothing.

Frequently asked questions

What price gives me a 40 % margin?

Divide the cost by 0.6. A product costing 60 has to sell at 100.

Why is multiplying by 1.4 not enough?

Because that applies a 40 % markup on the cost, not a 40 % margin on the price. It would give 84 and the real margin would be 28.6 %.

Can you have a 100 % margin?

No. It would mean the cost is zero or the price infinite. Above 90 % the prices already run away.