Markup calculator
Short answer
Need margin instead? Use the margin calculator.
Updated · by Timo van Deventer, Senior AI Product Specialist
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Result
- Markup
- –
- Margin
- –
- Profit each
- –
- Price excl. VAT
- –
- Price incl. VAT (15%)
- –
Type a cost and a price to see the sum, like Price: R100 × (1 + 50%) = R150.
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How to calculate markup
To calculate markup from a cost and a selling price, both excluding VAT:
- Subtract the cost from the selling price to get the profit.
- Divide the profit by the cost.
- Multiply by 100 for the markup as a percentage.
Example: a R60 cost and a R100 price. R100 − R60 = R40 profit, and R40 ÷ R60 = 66.7% markup.
To go the other way, from a markup to a price, multiply the cost by 1 plus the markup: a 30% markup on R60 is R60 × 1.3 = R78. To get back to the cost, divide: R78 ÷ 1.3 = R60.
A markup is sometimes given as a multiplier instead of a percentage. A price of 2.5 times the cost is a 150% markup: the extra 1.5 times the cost is the profit.
Markup to margin conversion table
The same profit as a share of the selling price. Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup); back the other way, markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin).
| Markup | Margin | Price on a R100 cost |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | 20% | R125 |
| 33.3% | 25% | R133.33 |
| 50% | 33.3% | R150 |
| 66.7% | 40% | R166.67 |
| 100% | 50% | R200 |
For a profit, the markup is always the bigger number. A markup can go past 100%: doubling the cost is a 100% markup. A margin can't reach 100%.
Markup and VAT
Mark up the cost excluding VAT, then add VAT to the result. If you're VAT-registered, the VAT you charge goes to SARS, less the VAT you paid your suppliers (SARS VAT 404, important principle 3), so VAT is part of neither your cost nor your profit.
Example: a R100 cost excluding VAT with a 50% markup is R150; with VAT, R150 × 1.15 = R172.50.
Don't mark up a price that already includes VAT and then add VAT again. R115 × 1.5 = R172.50, and adding 15% gives R198.37: VAT on top of VAT. The price including VAT should be R172.50.
Tick My amounts include VAT above and the calculator takes VAT off your cost first, marks it up, and shows the selling price with and without VAT. If you're not registered for VAT, you don't charge it, so leave the box unticked and type what you paid.
When to use markup vs margin
- Markup is usually easier when you start from a cost, such as a supplier's price or the materials and labour in a quote. One multiplication gives the price, and you can use the same markup on every item.
- Margin is usually easier when you start from your sales. It shows how much of each rand you take you keep, which makes it handy for comparing products and for a range as a whole. The margin calculator works it out, with a blended margin for several products.
- Say which one you mean. On a R100 cost, a 30% markup is R130 and a 30% margin is R142.86.
Markup questions
How do I calculate my markup?
How do I add a 50% markup?
How do I find the cost from a price and a markup?
What is a 2.5 markup in percentage?
What is the margin on a 20% markup?
This is general information, not financial or tax advice.