What Is the Selling Price Calculator?
The Selling Price Calculator tells you exactly how much to charge for a product so that you hit a target profit margin. Instead of guessing, you enter your unit cost and the gross margin percentage you want to earn, and the tool returns the price, the profit per unit, and the equivalent markup. This is essential for retailers, e-commerce sellers, freelancers, and manufacturers who price products against a margin goal rather than a fixed dollar amount.
How to Use It
Enter the Cost of one unit (what you paid or what it costs you to produce). Then enter the Desired Margin (%) — the share of the selling price you want to keep as profit. Click calculate to see the required selling price, plus the profit per unit and the markup percentage relative to cost.
The Formula Explained
The calculation uses:
$$\text{Selling Price} = \dfrac{\text{Cost}}{1 - \frac{\text{Margin \%}}{100}}$$
Gross margin is profit measured as a fraction of the selling price, not of cost. Because the margin is taken out of the final price, you cannot simply add a percentage to cost — you divide by one minus the margin fraction. As margin approaches 100%, the required price grows toward infinity, which is why a 100% margin is mathematically impossible (you would need an infinite price to keep all of it as profit).
Worked Example
Suppose a product costs $50 and you want a 40% margin. The denominator is \(1 - 0.40 = 0.60\). So the selling price = $$50 \div 0.60 = \$83.33$$ Profit per unit is \(\$83.33 - \$50 = \$33.33\), and the markup is \(\$33.33 \div \$50 = 66.67\%\). Notice that a 40% margin equals a 66.67% markup — margin and markup are not the same thing.
FAQ
What is the difference between margin and markup? Margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price; markup is profit as a percentage of cost. A 40% margin equals a 66.67% markup.
Why can't I use a 100% margin? A 100% margin means no portion of the price is cost, which requires an infinite price. The calculator caps margin below 100%.
Does this include taxes or shipping? No. Enter your fully-loaded unit cost if you want those included; the calculator works on whatever cost figure you provide.
