Markup & Margin Calculator
Enter what a job costs you, then choose a markup or the profit margin you want. You get the price to charge and what you actually keep.
Markup vs. margin: the difference that costs contractors money
Markup is a percentage of your cost. Margin is a percentage of the price. They are not the same: a 30% markup only gives you a 23% margin.
If you want to keep 30% of every job as profit, you need about a 43% markup. Many contractors mark up 30% thinking they make 30%, and come up short at the end of the year.
Quick reference
- 20% markup = 16.7% margin
- 30% markup = 23.1% margin
- 50% markup = 33.3% margin
- 100% markup = 50% margin
Questions
What is a good markup for contractors?
Many residential contractors use 30% to 50% markup on materials and price labor to reach a 20% to 35% gross margin. The right number depends on your overhead, so calculate your real costs first.
How do I calculate markup?
Price = cost x (1 + markup %). For example, a $1,000 job with a 30% markup is $1,000 x 1.30 = $1,300.
How do I calculate price from a target margin?
Price = cost / (1 - margin %). For a 30% margin on a $1,000 cost: $1,000 / 0.70 = $1,428.57.