Markup and Margin Calculator

Pricing what you make comes down to two numbers that get mixed up constantly: margin and markup. They are not the same, and the difference is real money. This sets your price from whichever one you mean, or takes a price and tells you the margin and markup it actually gives, so you charge what you think you are charging.

Margin and markup are not the same number

Markup is your profit measured against your cost; margin is the same profit measured against your selling price. Because the price is bigger than the cost, the margin number always comes out smaller than the markup number for the same sale. Mark a 20 dollar item up 50 percent and you sell it for 30, but that 10 dollars of profit is only a 33 percent margin, not 50. Confusing the two is how a lot of makers think they are making more than they are.

Which one to price with

Retailers and accountants usually talk in margin, because it answers the question that matters: of every dollar that comes in, how much do you keep. Markup is handier at the bench, because it is a simple multiplier on your cost. Use whichever fits how you think, but be clear which one it is, and set your target there. This takes either one and shows you the other, so you are never pricing to a markup while believing it is a margin.

Count your real cost first

Any price only means something against an honest cost. Materials are the easy part; the one makers skip is their own time, and leaving it out makes a healthy-looking margin an illusion. Put a wage on your hours and fold it into the cost, along with the small things, finishes, hardware, packaging, the share of a blade or a sheet you used. Price off that full cost and the margin is real. Price off materials alone and you are working for free.

From one piece to a living

This figures one unit, which is where pricing starts, but the goal is the whole picture. Multiply the per-unit profit by how many you actually sell, and set that against the time and overhead it took, and you find out whether the price supports the work. If the margin is fine but the hours are long, the answer is often a higher price, not more units. Know the margin per piece first, then do the math on volume.

More MakerKiln tools

• pricingHandmade Pricing CalculatorPrice a handmade item from materials, time, overhead and the margin you want.→
• print quote3D Print QuoteA customer-ready quote for a print job, with your rates and margin.→
• print cost3D Print Cost CalculatorFilament, power and wear cost of a print, with a price to charge.→

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