Profit Margin, Markup & Break-Even Calculator
Calculate profit, set selling prices and check break-even sales after fees, shipping and discounts.
Your profit breakdown
Enter costs and a selling price, or choose a target pricing goal, to calculate your breakdown.
Cost and revenue breakdown
| Cost & revenue basis | Amount |
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Show formulas, pricing basis & assumptions
Sales-volume forecast
Same price and per-unit costs at every volume. Fixed costs are counted once.
| Units | Revenue | Profit |
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Planning estimate using the costs entered. Taxes, refunds and unentered expenses are excluded. Review scope and rounding.
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How to use the profit margin calculator
- Choose Profit & margin, Target selling price or Break-even.
- Enter the cost of one product, service package or billable hour. Add a selling price or a target percentage, plus your forecast quantity and period fixed costs.
- Open optional settings to include selling fees, shipping, packaging, discounts and a profit goal. Keep every amount in one currency.
- Choose Calculate. Review gross margin, gross markup, profit after entered costs and the break-even quantity. Copy the summary, download CSV or print a report.
For a quick gross profit calculator, leave optional expenses and fixed costs at zero. For a seller profit calculator, enter all relevant variable charges and overheads. A currency label changes the report label; it does not convert amounts.
Profit margin vs. markup: the denominator matters
Gross profit is the difference between item selling revenue and product or service cost. Gross margin expresses that difference as a share of selling revenue. Gross markup expresses it as a share of cost. They are useful for different pricing decisions and should not be treated as the same percentage.
| Measure | Formula | Cost 60, price 100 |
|---|---|---|
| Gross profit | Price − cost | 40 |
| Gross margin | (Price − cost) ÷ price × 100 | 40% |
| Gross markup | (Price − cost) ÷ cost × 100 | 66.67% |
Without extra costs, a 50% markup corresponds to a 33.33% margin. A 50% margin requires a 100% markup. This margin and markup calculator shows both ratios against their stated bases.
Find a selling price for your target profit margin
For a gross margin target, use selling price = cost ÷ (1 − margin), with the percentage written as a decimal. For a gross markup target, use selling price = cost × (1 + markup). These formulas describe the effective item price after discounts.
Target selling price mode reverses your percentage and fixed discounts to find the required list price. The After all entered costs goal also accounts for percentage fees, fixed fees, shipping, other variable expenses and overheads divided by your forecast quantity. A lower forecast volume can require a higher price because each sale must cover a larger share of fixed costs.
The suggested price is rounded up to your selected money increment so the unrounded calculation meets the chosen target. An impossible target produces an explanation. Demand, customer willingness to pay and competitor prices are not forecast here.
Break-even sales quantity and profit goals
Contribution per unit is what remains from one sale after its variable expenses. With positive contribution, break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit. Required quantities are rounded up because this tool models whole units.
For a desired period profit, the calculator uses required units = (fixed costs + profit goal) ÷ contribution per unit. Fixed costs and forecast sales must cover the same week, month, year or project. A sales-volume table compares the forecast with break-even and goal quantities.
When contribution is negative, selling more increases the loss. Zero contribution cannot cover positive overheads. The forecast assumes one product or service with constant unit economics; a changing product mix or stepped operating costs needs a more detailed model.
Profit after fees, shipping and discounts
Start with the list price, apply the percentage discount, then subtract any fixed discount. Add buyer-paid shipping to revenue. Percentage fees apply to the discounted item amount, or to that amount plus shipping when you select the broader fee basis. Fixed fees are added per unit.
The cost breakdown deducts product or service cost, shipping you pay, other variable expenses and selling fees. Fixed costs are deducted once from the forecast total. This produces an after-costs profit estimate and a revenue-based margin, rather than treating gross margin as the amount you keep.
Use your actual marketplace or payment provider charges. Add only percentages with the same fee basis. Allocate an order fee or shared shipping charge across units consistently. Taxes on fees, chargebacks, refunds and tiered commission schedules are not automatically modeled.
Practical examples for sellers and freelancers
Simple margin and markup
Cost 60 and price 100, with no other expenses: gross profit 40, gross margin 40%, gross markup 66.67%.
Seller fees and delivery
Price 100, cost 40, 10% fees, shipping 5, other costs 2 and flat fee 0.50: contribution 42.50. Fixed costs of 1,000 require 24 sales to break even.
Freelance service pricing
Cost 50 per service, price 100 and fixed costs of 500: 10 services break even. Selling 20 services yields profit of 500 after entered costs.
Flexible pricing and report features
- Calculate gross profit margin, gross markup, contribution and profit after all entered costs.
- Solve a list selling price for a gross margin, gross markup or after-costs margin target, including discounts.
- Estimate whole-unit break-even sales and the quantity needed for a period profit goal.
- Choose a fee basis, shipping revenue, per-unit costs, currency label and money precision.
- Enable optional updates while typing, compare sales volumes and reset all inputs in one action.
- Copy the result, download a CSV cost report or open a clean print view. Save Tool keeps the calculator shortcut in existing account Favorites.
Scope, rounding and troubleshooting
This calculator supports a single product or service with consistent per-unit costs and whole-unit sales. It accepts non-negative money inputs with the selected 0, 2 or 3 decimal places, plus percentages with up to two decimal places. Comma grouping such as 1,000.50 is accepted; use a dot as the decimal separator.
Discount and fee calculations retain fractional values until display. Each displayed figure is rounded to the selected money precision, so independently rounded rows can differ slightly from a rounded total. Actual provider statements may use transaction-level rounding. Use an after-costs pricing target when expenses beyond direct product cost matter.
If you see N/A, the percentage denominator is zero. If discounts exceed price, reduce the discount or increase the list price. If a pricing target or break-even quantity is not achievable, check the selling fees and contribution before changing forecast volume. Include each expense once.
Taxes, tax-inclusive pricing, currency conversion, financing charges, refunds, inventory timing and expenses you do not enter are outside this estimate. Gross profit classifications can vary between accounting systems; review the displayed cost basis. Business figures stay in the page’s working memory and are excluded from Save Tool requests. Existing site analytics and account settings remain governed by CorrectionCopy’s shared website policies.
Formula references: Business Queensland: gross profit margin, markup pricing and U.S. Small Business Administration: break-even analysis. The fee, shipping and discount adjustments are the explicit model shown in the result, not provider-specific billing rules.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate profit margin from cost and selling price?
Subtract product or service cost from the selling price after discounts to find gross profit. Divide gross profit by that item revenue and multiply by 100 for gross margin. This calculator also shows profit after the additional costs you enter.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin uses selling revenue as the denominator; markup uses cost. A cost of 60 and selling price of 100 produces profit of 40, a 40% gross margin and a 66.67% gross markup.
How do I calculate selling price for a target margin?
For a basic gross margin target, selling price equals cost divided by one minus the target margin expressed as a decimal. Use Target selling price to include discounts, or choose an after-costs margin goal to include fees and other entered expenses.
How do I add a percentage markup to cost?
Multiply cost by one plus the markup expressed as a decimal. A cost of 80 with a 25% gross markup requires an effective item selling price of 100 before any separately charged shipping.
How is break-even sales quantity calculated?
Divide fixed costs for the period by contribution per unit, then round up to a whole unit. Contribution is revenue including shipping charged minus product cost, shipping cost, variable expenses and selling fees.
What is the difference between gross margin and after-costs margin?
Gross margin here measures discounted item revenue less product or service cost. After-costs margin uses total revenue including buyer-paid shipping and subtracts every entered variable expense plus fixed costs for the forecast period. Unentered expenses and taxes are excluded.
Can I calculate actual profit after marketplace and payment fees?
Yes. Enter a combined percentage for fees that share the selected basis, plus fixed fees per unit. Check your own provider rates. Tiered fees, taxes on fees, refunds and order-level rounding are not automatically inferred.
Are selling fees calculated before or after a discount?
Percentage selling fees are applied after the percentage and fixed discounts. Choose whether their basis includes shipping charged to the buyer. Fixed fees per unit are then added.
How are percentage and fixed discounts combined?
The percentage discount is applied to the list selling price first. The fixed discount per unit is subtracted afterwards. The calculator rejects discounts that produce a negative item selling price.
How should I enter shipping and packaging?
Shipping cost is what you pay per unit. Shipping charged is what the buyer pays per unit and is treated as revenue. Enter packaging and other variable expenses under Other variable costs. Do not include the same expense twice.
Can I enter a fee charged per order?
Enter the portion of that charge allocated to one unit under Fixed fees per unit. For example, an order fee of 1.20 across three equal items can be entered as 0.40 per unit. The model assumes the same per-unit allocation at all forecast volumes.
Which target pricing goal should I choose?
Choose Gross margin for profit as a share of item revenue, Gross markup for profit as a share of product cost, or After all entered costs for a revenue-based margin that includes fees, shipping, other variable costs and fixed costs allocated across the forecast quantity.
Why is a target selling price sometimes impossible?
A target can be incompatible with percentage fees and costs, or a 100% discount can make list-price changes ineffective. The calculator reports the conflict rather than returning a negative or misleading required price.
Why does my break-even result say not achievable?
If each unit has negative contribution, more sales increase the loss. If contribution is zero, sales cannot cover positive fixed costs. Adjust the price, discounts or expenses before relying on a sales-volume target.
How do fixed costs affect profit and pricing?
Fixed costs are subtracted once for the selected forecast period. They affect forecast profit and break-even quantity. They also affect an after-costs pricing target through fixed costs divided by forecast units, but are excluded from a gross margin or gross markup target.
Can freelancers calculate a service or hourly rate?
Yes. Treat a project, service package or billable hour as one unit. Enter its direct cost, any selling fees and a forecast number of units. Keep fixed costs and forecast volume within the same period.
Can I calculate the sales needed for a profit goal?
Yes. Enter a period profit goal under optional settings. When contribution is positive, required units equal fixed costs plus the desired profit, divided by contribution per unit and rounded up.
What happens when cost or selling revenue is zero?
A zero product cost makes gross markup undefined. Zero item revenue makes gross margin undefined. Zero total revenue makes after-costs margin undefined. These ratios show N/A while valid monetary totals remain available.
Does this handle taxes, VAT, GST or exchange rates?
The tool does not calculate or collect taxes and does not convert currencies. Use a consistent currency and cost basis, excluding sales taxes collected for a tax authority. The currency selection changes labels only.
Why can my payment statement differ by a small amount?
Fees and discounts retain fractional values during calculation, while displayed amounts are rounded. A provider may round each transaction separately or use different fee rules. Use the breakdown to compare the exact assumptions.
Can I download or print the results?
Download CSV creates a real report containing the cost breakdown, ratios, pricing goal and assumptions. Copy summary exports text. Print / PDF opens the browser print dialog. Three related tools appear after download or print, without moving the page to that section.
What does Save Tool store, and are my business figures saved?
Save Tool stores the calculator name and page link in My Account Favorites using the existing CorrectionCopy account system. Entered prices, costs and results are calculated in the browser and are not included in the Favorites request. Reset All clears the calculator state.