Profit Margin Calculator
Work out profit and profit-margin percentage from your cost and selling price — or price for a target margin.
Cost + markup % → sale price
Enter values above to see the result.
Markup ↔ Margin quick reference
About the Profit Margin Calculator
A profit margin calculator answers the question at the heart of pricing: for what I pay and what I charge, how much profit do I make, and what percentage of the sale is that profit? Enter your cost and selling price and it shows both the cash profit and the margin percentage; enter a target margin instead and it tells you the price to charge.
The margin percentage is what lets you compare profitability fairly across products of different prices, and it is the figure investors, accountants and business owners watch. Because margin is calculated against the selling price (not the cost, which would be markup), it can never exceed 100% — a useful sanity check when a number looks off. Getting this right is the difference between pricing that sustains a business and pricing that quietly loses money.
Use it to set prices, test how discounts affect profitability, or check that a quote leaves enough margin once costs are covered. Everything calculates instantly in your browser, with nothing stored, so you can run as many pricing scenarios as you need privately.
Looking for more options? Open the full Markup, Margin & Discount Calculator — it’s the same tool with every feature.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate profit margin percentage?
Take the profit (selling price minus cost), divide it by the selling price, and multiply by 100. A $30 cost sold at $50 gives $20 profit and a 40% margin. The calculator computes this instantly and can also find the price needed for a margin you specify.
Why can profit margin never exceed 100%?
Because margin is profit as a share of the selling price, and profit can at most equal the entire selling price (when the cost is zero). That caps margin at 100%. Markup, calculated against cost, has no such limit — which is one way to tell the two measures apart.
What is a good profit margin?
It varies hugely by industry — some high-volume businesses run on thin margins while others rely on high ones. Rather than a universal target, compare your margin to typical figures for your sector and ensure it covers your overheads with profit left over. The calculator helps you set prices that hit whatever margin your business requires.
Understanding Profit Margins
What the margin percentage tells you
Profit margin expresses profit relative to revenue, so it measures efficiency rather than absolute money. A small, high-margin sale can be more valuable per dollar than a large, low-margin one. Because it is a percentage, margin lets you compare products, periods and competitors on equal terms, which raw profit figures cannot do on their own.
Pricing to protect margin
Setting prices from a target margin ensures each sale contributes what the business needs. It also frames discounting realistically: cutting price eats directly into margin, and a discount larger than your margin means selling at a loss. Calculating the post-discount margin before promoting keeps offers profitable rather than damaging.
Gross, operating and net margins
Gross margin (from cost and price) covers only the direct cost of goods. Operating and net margins progressively subtract overheads, salaries, interest and tax, and are always lower. Use gross margin for product pricing, but watch net margin to judge whether the whole business is profitable — strong product margins can still leave a loss once all expenses are counted.