Markup vs margin calculator
"I add 30% so I make 30%." That sentence quietly costs solo businesses thousands a year, because a 30% markup is only a 23% margin. Enter your cost and the profit you actually want, in either language, and get the price to put on the quote. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
Your numbers
The difference in one line: markup is measured against your cost, margin against your price. A 30% markup on £1,000.00 gives a price of £1,300.00, but the £300.00 profit is only 23% of that price. Say "margin" when you mean the share of the price you keep.
Charge the client
£1,428.57
- Your cost
- £1,000.00
- Profit
- £428.57
- As a markup on cost
- 42.9%
- As a margin on price
- 30.0%
Profit isn't what's left by accident. Decide the margin first, then let the price follow.
Put this price on a professional quote for free30% markup is not 30% profit
Markup is measured against your cost. Margin is measured against your price. They are different numbers about the same job, and mixing them up costs money in one direction only. Always yours.
| What you add | What you actually keep |
|---|---|
| 20% markup → £120 | 16.7% margin |
| 30% markup → £130 | 23.1% margin |
| 50% markup → £150 | 33.3% margin |
| 100% markup → £200 | 50% margin |
To make 30% margin on £100 of cost, charge £142.86
Not £130. The £12.86 difference doesn't look like much on one job. Run it across every job for a year (say 120 jobs) and it's the difference between a holiday and no holiday.
The formula: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). So £100 ÷ (1 − 0.30) = £142.86.
Price the job right, then send it before you lose the room. SoloDesks turns the number into a professional PDF quote from your phone. Start free.
No external data needed here. This is arithmetic, and it works the same in every year and every trade. The formula is the whole of it: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin).
Last checked: 30 July 2026
Common questions
- What's the difference between markup and margin?
- Markup is profit measured against your cost. Margin is profit measured against your price. Add 30% markup to a 1,000 job and you charge 1,300, but the 300 profit is only 23% of the price, so your margin is 23%. Same job, two different percentages, and mixing them up always shrinks your profit, never grows it.
- What margin should a tradesperson aim for?
- On materials, 10% to 20% margin is common and fair: you sourced them, transported them and guarantee them. On the whole job including labour, many established trades price for a 30% to 50% margin before tax. If your margin is under 20%, one callback or one materials price rise can wipe out the profit on the job.
- Why did I make less profit than I expected this year?
- Often it's this exact mix-up, repeated on every quote. Aiming for 30% profit but applying 30% markup leaves roughly a quarter of the expected profit missing. Price from the margin you want and let the calculator work backwards to the charge price.
Next, in pricing the job
Work out what the job should cost before you write the number down.
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All nine are on the free tools page, and none of them need an account.