Keystone pricing — doubling your cost, i.e. 100% markup — is the traditional retail default, but the right markup depends on volume, competition and what the price includes. Low-turn products (furniture, jewelry) often need 100–300% markups to cover the shelf time; high-turn grocery lines survive on 10–30%. Whatever you choose, sanity-check the equivalent margin against your operating costs: if overheads eat 30% of revenue, a 37.5% margin (60% markup) leaves only 7.5% net before tax.
Markup Calculator
Selling price from any markup — or the markup hiding in a price you already charge — with margin shown so you never mix the two up.
What do you know?
All-in cost: goods, freight, packaging, direct labor.
Markup is profit ÷ cost. (Margin is profit ÷ price — different number.)
Selling price
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Profit per sale—
Markup—
Equivalent margin—
Selling price—
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How markup works
Markup expresses profit as a percentage of cost: markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost. To price an item, multiply cost by (1 + markup%): a $50 cost at 60% markup sells for $80.
Markup vs margin — the classic trap
Margin divides the same profit by the price instead of the cost, so it's always a smaller number. A 60% markup is only a 37.5% margin; a 100% markup is a 50% margin. Quoting a supplier a “40% margin” when you meant “40% markup” understates your price — this calculator shows both so the conversion is never a guess.
| Markup | Equivalent margin |
|---|---|
| 25% | 20% |
| 50% | 33.3% |
| 60% | 37.5% |
| 100% | 50% |
| 200% | 66.7% |
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Frequently asked questions
What is the markup formula?
Markup % = (selling price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. To go the other way, selling price = cost × (1 + markup% ÷ 100). A $50 item at 60% markup sells for $80.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Both use the same profit but divide by a different base. Markup divides by cost; margin divides by selling price. A 100% markup equals a 50% margin — they are never the same number (except at zero).
What is keystone pricing?
Keystone pricing means selling at double your cost — a 100% markup, or 50% margin. It's a traditional retail starting point, then adjusted for competition and turnover.
What markup should I use?
There's no universal number. High-turnover goods run 10–30%, general retail commonly 50–100%, and slow-moving or service-heavy products 100–300%. Work backwards from the margin your operating costs require.