Calculate markup percentage, profit margin, and profit amount from your cost and selling prices. Plus a reverse calculator to find your selling price from a target margin.
Enter cost and selling price to see markup & margin
Enter cost and desired margin to find selling price
Understanding the difference between markup and margin is essential for every UK builder, contractor, and tradesperson. Getting these numbers wrong can mean the difference between a profitable business and one that barely breaks even. While the two terms are often used interchangeably, they measure very different things.
Markup is the percentage added to your cost price to arrive at your selling price. It is calculated as: Markup = (Selling Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100. For example, if your materials and labour cost £10,000 and you charge £13,000, your markup is 30%. Markup is the most intuitive measure for builders because it directly answers the question: “How much am I adding on top of my costs?”
Profit margin is the percentage of your selling price that is profit. It is calculated as: Margin = (Selling Price − Cost) ÷ Selling Price × 100. Using the same example, your margin would be 23.1% (£3,000 profit on £13,000 revenue). Margin is the measure that accountants and banks prefer because it shows how much of every pound earned is actual profit.
A common and costly mistake is confusing markup with margin. If you aim for a 25% “profit” and add 25% to your costs, your actual margin is only 20%. Over a year of projects, this misunderstanding can cost thousands of pounds. As a rule of thumb: a 50% markup gives a 33% margin, a 33% markup gives a 25% margin, and a 20% markup gives a 16.7% margin.
Use the calculators above to quickly determine your markup and margin on every job, and ensure your quotes are priced for sustainable profitability.