How to Use the Markup Calculator - Step by Step
The markup calculator turns a cost and a markup percent into a selling price and profit, live as you type - or solves the reverse from a margin percent or a price you already know. These are the exact inputs and how to read the result.
Step 1 - open the tool
Open the calculator and a full result is already on screen: the form loads pre-filled with a cost of 50 and a markup of 40%, so the selling price (70), the profit (20), and both percentages - markup 40.00%, margin 28.57% - are visible before you type anything.
Step 2 - pick what to solve for
The first select offers three questions: selling price from cost and markup % (the default), selling price from cost and margin %, or the markup % and margin % from a cost and a price you already know. Switching modes relabels the percent field and shows or hides the price field, so the form only ever asks for the two numbers it needs.
Step 3 - enter your cost
The cost field stays visible in every mode - it is what you paid, or what the item costs you to make or stock.
Step 4 - enter the percent, or the price
In the two price-solving modes, type the markup % or margin % you want - whichever the label currently reads. In the third mode, type the price you already charge instead; the percent fields hide and a price field appears. Every change recalculates immediately, and a missing or zero cost shows a plain prompt instead of a broken result.
Step 5 - read the result
The answer line states the selling price and the profit amount, followed by the markup % and the margin % together with a one-line reminder that the two differ - a 100% markup is only a 50% margin, never a 100% margin, except at 0%.
Step 6 - check the reference table
Below the result, a table lists what margin % each of 10/20/25/30/40/50/75/100% markup produces, independent of the cost entered above - useful for sanity-checking a number without retyping your own figures. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere, so note the result before closing the tab.
The jobs this calculator actually fits are in the use-cases guide; the honest comparison with mental math, a calculator app and a spreadsheet is in the alternatives guide.
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