Start from a cost price and quickly build up to a sell price, or check the real margin you're making on a price you already charge. Markup and margin are different numbers — this keeps both in view so you don't confuse them.
Enter your cost price, then either pick a quick markup percentage or type in a target margin.
Using the sell price above, see what a given quantity actually earns you.
Already charging a price? Enter both numbers to see the real margin and markup you're actually making.
The same markup percentage gives a lower margin percentage, every time. Here's the gap at common numbers, on a $100 cost price.
| Markup Applied | Sell Price | Actual Margin |
|---|
Markup % = (Sell Price − Cost Price) ÷ Cost Price. Margin % = (Sell Price − Cost Price) ÷ Sell Price. Same profit, different denominator — and that difference gets bigger the higher the percentage goes.
Cost $100, marked up 50%, sells for $150. Profit is $50. As a margin, that's $50 ÷ $150 = 33.3%, not 50%. This mix-up is one of the more common, and more expensive, pricing mistakes in small business — assuming a markup percentage is your margin percentage overstates how profitable you actually are.
Want a genuine 50% margin? You need roughly a 100% markup (doubling the cost price), not a 50% one. The higher the margin you're chasing, the wider that gap gets — which is exactly why the two calculators here are separate, so you're always working with the real number for what you're actually trying to achieve.
GST is money you collect and pass on to the ATO — it was never part of your profit. This calculator works out margin and markup from the GST-exclusive price, and shows the GST-inclusive price alongside as a separate, informational figure, so your margin numbers reflect your actual profitability rather than being inflated or distorted by the tax component.