Free Australian markup and margin calculator. Enter your cost price plus any one of markup %, margin %, or sell price and instantly get the other two, your dollar profit, and the optional GST-inclusive price. Settles the markup-vs-margin confusion for tradies, retailers, and wholesalers — markup is profit on cost, margin is profit on the sell price. Works in GST-exclusive figures with a 10% GST toggle.
What the item or job costs you (materials, stock, supplies).
Profit as a percentage of your cost.
Sell price (ex GST)
$150.00
Markup
50.0%
Margin
33.3%
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Markup and margin are two ways of expressing the same dollar profit, but they use a different base — and confusing them is one of the most common pricing mistakes in Australian small business. Markup is your profit as a percentage of cost. Margin is your profit as a percentage of the sell price. Because the sell price is always larger than the cost, the margin percentage is always smaller than the markup percentage for the same job.
You buy stock for $100 and want a 50% markup. Your sell price is $100 × 1.5 = $150, giving $50 profit. That same $50 profit is only a 33.3% margin ($50 ÷ $150). If a customer asks for your price plus GST, add 10%: $150 × 1.1 = $165, of which $15 is GST you collect for the ATO — it is not part of your profit.
To turn a markup into a margin, use margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). To turn a margin into a markup, use markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). A 40% margin needs a 66.7% markup; a 50% markup is a 33.3% margin. A margin can never reach 100% — that would require selling at infinite price for a finite cost — so this calculator caps the margin input below 100%.
Set prices however suits your trade — many tradies and retailers think in markup because they add a percentage to materials. But watch your margin for profitability, because it tells you how much of every dollar of revenue you actually keep after the cost of goods. A healthy margin leaves room to cover labour, overheads, and tax.
Markup and margin both measure profit, but against different bases. Markup is profit as a percentage of your cost — how much you add on top of what you paid. Margin is profit as a percentage of your sell price — how much of each sale you keep. On a $100 cost sold for $150, the profit is $50: that is a 50% markup (50 ÷ 100) but a 33.3% margin (50 ÷ 150). Markup is always the larger number.
Markup % = (sell price − cost price) ÷ cost price × 100. For example, if an item costs you $80 and you sell it for $120, your markup is ($120 − $80) ÷ $80 × 100 = 50%. To go the other way, sell price = cost × (1 + markup% ÷ 100).
Margin % = (sell price − cost price) ÷ sell price × 100. For example, an item costing $80 and selling for $120 has a margin of ($120 − $80) ÷ $120 × 100 = 33.3%. Because the denominator is the sell price (not cost), the margin can never reach 100%.
Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). So a 50% markup equals 0.5 ÷ 1.5 = 33.3% margin. To convert the other way, markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin): a 40% margin is 0.4 ÷ 0.6 = 66.7% markup. This calculator does the conversion for you — just enter your cost plus any one of markup %, margin %, or sell price.
Use markup when you set prices by adding a percentage to your cost (common in trades, retail, and wholesale). Use margin when you are targeting a profit percentage of revenue or comparing profitability across products. Tracking margin matters most for your bottom line, because it tells you how much of every sale you actually keep after the cost of goods.
By default this calculator works in GST-exclusive figures, which is how you compare profitability. Turn on "Show GST-inclusive sell price" to also see the price you would charge a customer with Australia's 10% GST added (sell price × 1.1). Markup, margin, and profit are unaffected by GST — GST is collected on behalf of the ATO, not kept as profit.
Sources & methodology
This tool converts between markup, margin, and sell price using the standard pricing formulas: profit = sell − cost; markup% = profit ÷ cost × 100; margin% = profit ÷ sell × 100. Enter your cost plus any one of markup %, margin %, or sell price and it solves for the other two. The optional GST line applies Australia's flat 10% GST (sell price × 1.1). Everything is computed in your browser — nothing you enter is stored or sent to a server.
Authoritative sources
Reviewed by Bishal Shrestha — Founder of OneBookPlus, 10+ years building tools with Australian tax-agent and BAS-agent practices. Last reviewed and updated: June 2026.
Disclaimer: This tool provides estimates only and is not professional advice. For decisions that affect your tax, finances, or compliance position, consult a registered professional.
OneBookPlus handles invoicing, GST tracking, BAS prep, and ATO lodgement automatically.
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