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Markup vs margin calculator
Updated October 16, 2026 · Free, no sign-up
Markup is the percentage you add to your cost; margin is the share of the final price you keep. A 30% markup keeps only a 23.1% margin, so to keep 30% you need a 42.9% markup. Enter what a job costs you and the margin you want to keep. The calculator gives the right price, and shows how much you'd lose by adding the same percentage as a markup instead.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is a percentage of your cost added on top. Margin is the share of the selling price you keep. They are never the same number: a 30% markup keeps only 23.1% of the price.
How do you calculate markup and margin?
- Price from a margin: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin)
- Price from a markup: price = cost × (1 + markup)
- Margin from a markup: margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup)
- Markup from a margin: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin)
A real example: an oak kitchen island
Materials, hardware, labor, waste and overhead come to $1,421.46. The shop wants a 30% margin.
| Method | Price |
|---|---|
| 30% margin: $1,421.46 ÷ 0.70 | $2,030.66 |
| 30% markup: $1,421.46 × 1.30 | $1,847.90 |
| Lost on one job by using markup | $182.76 |
Over a year of jobs, that gap is real money, and it's why a quote that "should" keep 30% often keeps closer to 23%.
What markup do you need for each margin?
| Margin you want | Markup needed |
|---|---|
| 20% | 25% |
| 25% | 33.3% |
| 30% | 42.9% |
| 35% | 53.8% |
| 40% | 66.7% |
| 50% | 100% |
Pricing the lumber itself? The board foot calculator works out board feet and cost for a whole list, with waste.
Questions
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is a percentage of your cost added on top of it. Margin is the share of the selling price you keep after costs. The same percentage gives a different price: a 30% markup on $100 is $130, which is only a 23.1% margin; a 30% margin on $100 is $142.86.
How do I calculate price from a target margin?
Divide your total cost by one minus the margin: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). For a $1,000 job and a 30% margin, the price is $1,000 ÷ 0.70 = $1,428.57.
What markup do I need for a 30% margin?
About 42.9%. The formula is markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin), so 0.30 ÷ 0.70 = 0.4286.
What should go into the cost of a woodworking job?
Materials and sheet goods, hardware, finishing, labor hours at your shop rate, waste and offcuts, and a share of overhead such as rent, tools and insurance. Leaving out any layer makes every margin look better than it is.
Is markup or margin better for quoting custom jobs?
Price from margin. It tells you directly how much of each sale you keep, which is the number your business runs on. Markup is easy to misread, and the gap grows as percentages rise.
Price every job this way, automaticallyPlankCAD is estimating and quoting software for woodworking and cabinet shops: it prices from true margin, builds the quote PDF, nests your sheets and tracks what each job really earned. 14 days free, no credit card.