Calculate the right selling price from your cost and target profit margin, markup percentage, or fixed profit amount. Get the complete pricing breakdown — selling price, gross profit, margin %, and markup % — instantly.
✓Last verified: April 2026 · Sources listed below
$
Please enter the cost price.
What you pay to produce or purchase the item
%
Please enter a margin between 0.01% and 99.99%.
Profit as a % of selling price (not cost)
%
Sales tax or VAT to add to the final price (leave blank for no tax)
Selling Price
—
Gross Profit
—
Per unit
Gross Margin
—
% of price
Markup
—
% of cost
Price inc. Tax
—
Customer pays
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$
Please enter the cost price.
What you pay to produce or purchase the item
%
Please enter a markup percentage.
Profit as a % of cost (not selling price)
%
Sales tax or VAT to add to the final price
Selling Price
—
Gross Profit
—
Per unit
Markup
—
% of cost
Gross Margin
—
% of price
Price inc. Tax
—
Customer pays
Was this calculator helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Was this calculator helpful?
✓ Thanks for your feedback!
$
Please enter the cost price.
What you pay to produce or purchase the item
$
Please enter your desired profit amount.
Fixed profit you want to make on each unit sold
%
Sales tax or VAT to add to the final price
Selling Price
—
Gross Profit
—
Per unit
Gross Margin
—
% of price
Markup
—
% of cost
Price inc. Tax
—
Customer pays
Was this calculator helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Was this calculator helpful?
✓ Thanks for your feedback!
Sources & Methodology
✓
All selling price, margin, and markup formulas follow standard financial accounting definitions as established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and used in professional accounting (CPA) and business education (MBA) curricula worldwide.
CFI provides the industry-standard definitions and formulas for markup percentage and gross margin percentage used in this calculator, including the relationship between the two metrics and common conversion formulas.
The SBA's small business finance guidance establishes cost-plus pricing and margin-based pricing as the two primary pricing methodologies for product businesses, consistent with the calculation modes in this tool.
Investopedia's financial dictionary definition of gross profit margin confirms the formula Gross Margin% = (Revenue − COGS) / Revenue x 100, which is the basis for the margin-to-price conversion used in Mode 1 of this calculator.
How to Calculate Selling Price from Cost and Profit Margin
Setting the right selling price is one of the most consequential decisions in any product-based business. Price too low and you sacrifice profit margin, potentially running at a loss once operating expenses are factored in. Price too high and you lose customers to competitors. The foundation of every pricing decision is the relationship between your cost, your desired profit, and the resulting selling price — and whether you are thinking about profit as a percentage of selling price (margin) or as a percentage of cost (markup).
The most common pricing error in small businesses is confusing markup and margin. A business owner who wants a “40% profit” but applies a 40% markup to cost will end up with only a 28.6% gross margin — and if operating expenses consume 25% of revenue, there is barely any net profit left. This calculator eliminates that confusion by computing all four metrics simultaneously: selling price, gross profit, gross margin %, and markup % — so you see the complete financial picture for any pricing decision.
Use when: you work in wholesale, retail distribution, or any industry where pricing is expressed as “cost plus X%”. Example: Cost $60, 66.67% markup → $60 x 1.6667 = $100 selling price → $40 gross profit → 40% margin
Use when: you have a specific dollar profit target per unit (common in project-based service businesses). Example: Cost $75, want $25 profit → $75 + $25 = $100 selling price → 25% margin, 33.3% markup
Markup vs. Margin: The Conversion Table Every Business Owner Needs
The most practical way to understand the relationship between markup and margin is to see them side by side. The following table shows what margin percentage each common markup produces, and vice versa. Use this to translate between the two metrics when working with suppliers, accountants, or financial reports that use different conventions.
Markup %
Gross Margin %
On $100 Cost
Selling Price
Gross Profit
25%
20.0%
$100
$125.00
$25.00
33.3%
25.0%
$100
$133.33
$33.33
42.9%
30.0%
$100
$142.86
$42.86
53.8%
35.0%
$100
$153.85
$53.85
66.7%
40.0%
$100
$166.67
$66.67
82.4%
45.0%
$100
$181.82
$81.82
100%
50.0%
$100
$200.00
$100.00
150%
60.0%
$100
$250.00
$150.00
300%
75.0%
$100
$400.00
$300.00
Why Finance Teams Use Margin and Sales Teams Use Markup
Finance and accounting professionals almost universally use gross margin because financial statements express profitability as a percentage of revenue. Your income statement shows Revenue − COGS = Gross Profit, and gross margin % = Gross Profit / Revenue. When a CFO says “we need to protect our 40% gross margin,” they mean 40% of revenue, not 40% of cost.
Sales teams, wholesale buyers, and retail merchandisers more commonly use markup because they think in terms of what they paid for inventory and how much they are adding to it. A grocery buyer who purchases bananas at $0.20/lb and marks them up 50% to $0.30/lb is thinking in markup terms — cost plus percentage of cost. This results in only a 33.3% gross margin, which may or may not align with what the finance team needs.
The key business rule: always establish which metric your pricing model is using before setting targets. A sales team targeting “50% profit” that uses markup will produce 50% markup (only 33.3% margin). A finance team expecting 50% margin needs to communicate that they want 100% markup to achieve it.
How to Price Products Including Tax or VAT
When selling to consumers in jurisdictions with sales tax or VAT, your base selling price (what you need to cover cost and profit) differs from what you actually charge the customer. The tax-inclusive price is calculated by multiplying the base price by (1 + tax rate). For example, a $100 base price with 20% VAT means charging customers $120. Your revenue for accounting purposes is $100 — the $20 VAT is collected on behalf of the government and passed through. All margin and markup calculations should use the pre-tax selling price, not the tax-inclusive amount.
💡 Pricing Rule of Thumb: To quickly convert a target gross margin to the required markup, use: Markup% = Margin% ÷ (1 − Margin%). For a 40% target margin: 0.40 ÷ 0.60 = 66.7% markup required. For a 50% target margin: 0.50 ÷ 0.50 = 100% markup required. This conversion is so important it deserves to be memorised or bookmarked by anyone who sets prices regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Selling Price = Cost ÷ (1 − Margin%). For a $60 cost with a 40% target gross margin: Selling Price = $60 ÷ (1 − 0.40) = $60 ÷ 0.60 = $100. This formula guarantees your margin is exactly 40% of the selling price. The common mistake is applying 40% on top of cost ($60 x 1.40 = $84), which gives only a 28.6% gross margin, not 40%.
Markup% = (Profit / Cost) x 100. Gross Margin% = (Profit / Selling Price) x 100. Same profit, different denominators. For a $60 cost and $100 selling price: Profit = $40. Markup = 40/60 = 66.7%. Gross Margin = 40/100 = 40%. A 66.7% markup produces a 40% gross margin. They can never be equal except at zero profit (both would be 0%). Markup is always higher than the corresponding gross margin for the same product.
To achieve a 30% gross margin, you need a 42.86% markup. Formula: Markup% = Margin% ÷ (1 − Margin%) = 0.30 ÷ 0.70 = 42.86%. Verification: on a $70 cost product, 42.86% markup gives a $100 price. Gross profit is $30. $30 ÷ $100 = 30% gross margin. ✓
A 40% gross margin requires a 66.67% markup. Formula: 0.40 ÷ (1 − 0.40) = 0.40 ÷ 0.60 = 66.67%. On a $60 cost: $60 x 1.6667 = $100 selling price. Gross profit = $40. $40 ÷ $100 = 40% margin. ✓
A 50% gross margin requires a 100% markup. Formula: 0.50 ÷ (1 − 0.50) = 0.50 ÷ 0.50 = 100%. On a $50 cost: $50 x 2.00 = $100 selling price. Gross profit = $50. $50 ÷ $100 = 50% margin. ✓ Note that a 100% markup does NOT mean 100% profit — it means you doubled your cost, which produces only a 50% gross margin.
Tax-Inclusive Price = Base Selling Price x (1 + Tax Rate%). Example: $100 base price with 20% VAT = $100 x 1.20 = $120 charged to customers. Your revenue is $100 — the $20 VAT is remitted to the government. Always calculate your margin and markup on the pre-tax price ($100), not the tax-inclusive price ($120), since the tax portion is not income to your business.
Use margin-based pricing if your business tracks profitability via P&L statements (revenue minus COGS), as this aligns your pricing directly with your financial reporting. Use markup-based pricing if you operate in a wholesale, retail, or distribution context where convention is “cost plus percentage.” The most important rule: be consistent, document which method you use, and never mix the two methods in the same pricing model or you will end up with pricing errors that silently erode your margins.
It depends on the industry. Grocery and food retail: 20-35% gross margin. General retail and apparel: 40-60%. E-commerce products: 30-50%. Manufacturing: 25-35%. Software and digital products: 70-85%. Professional services: 50-70%. As a general rule, a gross margin below 20% for a product business leaves insufficient room to cover operating expenses and reach a positive net profit. Target a gross margin that is at least 2x your expected operating expense ratio.
If profit is expressed as a percentage of cost (markup), use: Selling Price = Cost x (1 + Markup%). For a $80 cost with 25% profit on cost: $80 x 1.25 = $100 selling price. Gross profit = $20. Gross margin = $20/$100 = 20%. This is the markup mode in this calculator. If profit is expressed as a percentage of selling price (margin), use: Selling Price = Cost ÷ (1 − Margin%). These two formulas produce very different results for the same percentage, which is why knowing which convention your industry uses is essential.
Because markup and margin use different bases for the percentage calculation. A 100% markup means you add 100% of cost to get the price: $50 cost + $50 profit = $100 price. But gross margin is calculated on the selling price: $50 profit / $100 price = 50% margin, not 100%. To achieve a 100% gross margin, you would need to sell for infinite price (margin can approach but never reach 100%). In practice, when people say “100% profit,” they almost always mean 100% markup, which equals a 50% gross margin.