Contractor markup and margin calculator
Enter what a job costs you and the margin you want to keep. The calculator gives the price to charge and the markup on cost. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.
Price to charge: $1,666.67
Profit: $666.67
That is a markup of 66.7% on cost.
Markup versus margin
Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). A 40% margin on a $1,000 cost means a price of $1,666.67 and a markup of 66.7%.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is profit as a percentage of your cost. Margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. A 50% markup on a $1,000 cost gives a $1,500 price, which is only a 33.3% margin.
Why do contractors lose money using markup alone?
Adding 30% to cost leaves a 23% margin, and overhead such as insurance, vehicles and office time comes out of that margin. Pick the margin you need first, then work back to the price.
General information, not financial or tax advice. Verify with your accountant.
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