What Markup Gives a 40 Percent Margin?
Markup, against cost
66.7%
To keep 40 percent of the price, add 66.7 percent to a $10,000 cost: $16,666.67.
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 number40 % or $
Price to charge$16,666.67
| Your cost | $10,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Price | $16,666.67 |
| Gross profit | $6,666.67 |
| Markup, against cost | 66.7% |
| Margin, against price | 40%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
Forty percent margin takes a 66.7 percent markup, two thirds added to cost to keep two fifths of the price. This is the page to print, because the six pairs below are the whole subject and they fit on an index card.
Ten percent margin is an 11.1 percent markup. Twenty is twenty five. Twenty five is 33.3. Thirty is 42.9. Forty is 66.7. Fifty is one hundred. Read them in order and the pattern is obvious: the two numbers walk together at the bottom of the scale and sprint apart at the top, which is why the error is harmless on a small percentage and ruinous on a large one.
If you would rather carry the formula than the table, it is margin divided by one minus margin, and the reverse is markup divided by one plus markup. Tape one or the other inside the lid of the estimating folder. Every dispute this site exists to settle comes from somebody using a bare percentage without saying which of the two it was.
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 40 percent margin?
66.7 percent. On a $10,000 cost that is a price of $16,666.67 and $6,666.67 of gross profit.
What are the markup and margin pairs worth memorizing?
10 percent margin is an 11.1 percent markup, 20 is 25, 25 is 33.3, 30 is 42.9, 40 is 66.7 and 50 is 100. The gap widens as the numbers grow.
What is the formula both ways?
Markup equals margin divided by one minus margin. Margin equals markup divided by one plus markup.
The markup vs margin calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.