How much does a discount cost me?

Far more than the discount percentage, because it comes entirely out of profit. Ten percent off a thirty percent markup removes about a third of the profit on each sale.

Businesspricing

Markup Calculator

Selling price from a markup, with the margin it actually produces. A 100 percent markup is a 50 percent margin, so setting one while meaning the other loses the difference on every unit.

Also called: cost to selling price calculator, markup percentage.

Selling price

$100.10

$100.10 from a cost of 70 at a 43% markup, which is a 30.07% margin on the same money. Enter a target margin to see the markup it requires. They are never the same number. A discount comes entirely out of profit, so a small one costs a large share of it.

Equivalent margin

30.07%

Profit per unit

$30.10

Price for your target margin

$0.00

Markup that gives that margin

Price after your discount

$100.10

Margin after the discount

30.07%

Profit across the units

$0.00

Extra units a discount has to sell

$0.00

On the target

Enter a target margin to see the markup it requires. They are never the same number.

On discounting

A discount comes entirely out of profit, so a small one costs a large share of it.

How this is calculated

Method and background

How this is calculated

Markup multiplies the cost; margin divides into the price. Since the price exceeds the cost, the markup percentage is always the larger number, and the gap widens as they rise. Discounting is where this bites hardest: a ten percent discount off a price built on a thirty percent markup removes a third of the profit, and the page shows how many extra units that discount has to sell to break even.

markup is over cost and margin is over price, so a markup always exceeds the margin it produces

C: Cost
m: Markup

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

a 43 percent markup

Cost: $70.00
Markup: 43%
Or, the margin you want: 0%
Units sold: 0
Discount you offer: 0%

Selling price$100.10

70 times 1.43; the margin is 30.1 over 100.1

Open this example

a keystone markup is a half margin

Cost: $70.00
Markup: 100%
Or, the margin you want: 50%
Units sold: 0
Discount you offer: 10%

Selling price$140.00

boundary: doubling the cost gives exactly a 50 percent margin

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

A single product with the cost given.

What it deliberately does not model

Cost should be fully loaded; excluding freight and handling flatters the margin.
A blended markup across a range hides that some lines lose money.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Is a 50 percent markup a 50 percent margin?: No, it is a 33 percent margin. Markup is over cost and margin is over price, so a markup always produces a smaller margin.
How much does a discount cost me?: Far more than the discount percentage, because it comes entirely out of profit. Ten percent off a thirty percent markup removes about a third of the profit on each sale.