Margin Calculator
Any two of cost, price, profit, margin or markup — the rest worked out.
Enter two values to start.
Price for a target margin
Enter a cost to see the selling price needed for common margins.
Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
About the Margin Calculator
Pricing questions come in different shapes: "it costs me ₹80 and I want a 30% margin — what do I charge?", "I sell at ₹1,180 including GST — what is my markup?". Type any two of cost, selling price, profit, margin and markup and the calculator fills in the rest, marking which values you entered and which it calculated.
If your selling price includes GST, tick Selling price includes GST and pick the rate: the margin is then worked out on the price excluding GST, because that part of the money is not yours. A table shows the price you need for common target margins.
How to use it
- Enter two values you know, for example the cost and the selling price, or the cost and the margin you want.
- Read the margin and markup at the top; the empty fields are filled in and marked Calculated.
- Tick Selling price includes GST if your price is GST-inclusive and choose the rate.
- Use the Price for a target margin table to see what to charge for 10%–50% margins at your cost.
Examples
Profit ₹20 · Margin 20% · Markup 25%
The same ₹20 is 20% of the price but 25% of the cost — that is the difference between margin and markup.
Price ₹571.43 · Profit ₹171.43 · Markup 42.86%
Price excl. GST ₹1,000 · GST ₹180 · Profit ₹200 · Margin 20% · Markup 25%
Margin vs markup
Both compare profit with something else:
- Margin = profit ÷ selling price × 100. It tells you what share of every sale you keep.
- Markup = profit ÷ cost × 100. It tells you how much you add on top of what you paid.
Because the price is always larger than the cost (when you make a profit), the margin is always smaller than the markup for the same deal. A common mistake is to add a 30% markup and believe you earn a 30% margin — you actually earn 23.08%.
Converting between margin and markup
- markup = margin ÷ (100 − margin) × 100
- margin = markup ÷ (100 + markup) × 100
Quick reference: a 10% margin is an 11.11% markup, 20% is 25%, 25% is 33.33%, 30% is 42.86%, 40% is 66.67% and 50% is a 100% markup (doubling the cost).
Margins and GST
For a GST-registered seller, the GST in the selling price is collected for the government, and the GST paid on purchases is usually recovered as input tax credit. So compare prices and costs excluding GST: at 18%, a GST-inclusive price of ₹1,180 is ₹1,000 of sales plus ₹180 of tax. The GST options are the rates in force after the changes of 22 September 2025 and 1 February 2026 — 0%, 0.25%, 1.5%, 3%, 5%, 18% and 40%, plus 12%, which for goods now applies only to certain bricks and roofing tiles.
Limitations
- The calculation is per unit (or per order) and does not include overheads such as rent or salaries — use the profit calculator or break-even calculator for those.
- If you cannot claim input tax credit, include the GST you paid in your cost.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
Can the margin be more than 100%?
No. Margin is profit as a share of the selling price, and profit can never be more than the price unless the cost is negative. Markup has no upper limit: selling at three times the cost is a 200% markup but only a 66.67% margin.
Why can I not enter just the margin and the markup?
Because each one determines the other — they describe the same ratio in two ways — so together they still say nothing about the amounts. Add a cost, a price or a profit.
Which is better to use for pricing, margin or markup?
Retailers often think in markup because it is easy to apply to a cost. Margin is better for planning, because your overheads and profit targets are usually a share of sales. This calculator shows both.
What does a negative margin mean?
You are selling below cost — each sale loses money. The calculator shows the loss per unit.