What Markup Gives a 33 Percent Margin?
Markup, against cost
49.3%
To keep 33 percent of the price, add 49.3 percent to a $10,000 cost: $14,925.37.
How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Your cost for the job10000 $
- I want to setMargin percent
- That number33 % or $
Price to charge$14,925.37
| Your cost | $10,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Price | $14,925.37 |
| Gross profit | $4,925.37 |
| Markup, against cost | 49.3% |
| Margin, against price | 33%this is the one your accountant means |
| If you want this margin | Mark up cost by | On $10,000 cost, charge |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 11.1% | $11,111.11 |
| 15% | 17.6% | $11,764.71 |
| 20% | 25% | $12,500.00 |
| 25% | 33.3% | $13,333.33 |
| 30% | 42.9% | $14,285.71 |
| 35% | 53.8% | $15,384.62 |
| 40% | 66.7% | $16,666.67 |
| 50% | 100% | $20,000.00 |
Margin compared
Going the other way, the required markup climbs much faster than the margin does.
| Margin | Price to charge | Markup, against cost |
|---|---|---|
| 10% margin | $11,111.11 | 11.1% |
| 20% margin | $12,500.00 | 25% |
| 30% margin | $14,285.71 | 42.9% |
| 40% margin | $16,666.67 | 66.7% |
| 50% margin | $20,000.00 | 100% |
What else matters here
Thirty three percent margin takes a 49.3 percent markup, which is the pairing most people mean when they say a third, and the page worth reading if you are winning too much work.
A quote that is accepted immediately, with no questions and no comparison, is information. Sometimes it means the customer values the work, which is the good version. Often it means the price was low, and low against three other bidders is rarely because everybody else is greedy. It is usually because they included something you did not.
The discipline is to treat a very fast yes exactly like a very fast no: go back to the estimate and look for the missing line. Access, protection of finished areas, dump fees, permit time, the second mobilization, the final clean, the warranty period. A business winning eight bids out of ten is not good at selling, it is cheap, and it will be busy right up until the point it stops.
What this calculator assumes
- Markup is measured against your cost. Margin is measured against the price. They are never the same number and confusing them is the most expensive arithmetic mistake in the trades.
- A 50 percent markup is a 33.3 percent margin. To actually keep 50 percent of the price you have to mark up by 100 percent.
Questions people ask
What markup gives a 33 percent margin?
49.3 percent. On a $10,000 cost that is a price of $14,925.37 and $4,925.37 of gross profit.
What does it mean if I win almost every bid?
Usually that the price is low. Against several bidders, being cheapest every time is more often a missing line in the estimate than a market advantage.
What is commonly missing from a losing estimate?
Access and protection, dump fees, permit time, a second mobilization, the final clean and the warranty period. Those are the lines that separate a fast yes from a fair price.
The markup vs margin calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.