Academics · Adult Learning · Small business

A 150% markup
is a 60% margin.

List what one item costs to make and choose markup or margin. The calculator sets the price, shows the same price both ways so the two are never confused, and works out how many you must sell to cover fixed costs.

Price the productWhat you get

The pricing calculator

The worked example is a made-up hand-poured candle sold at weekend markets. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Academics · Adult LearningFree

What you finish with
The price, profit per unit, markup and margin side by side, each cost’s share, break-even units and the month’s profit. It prints as a pricing sheet and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Adult learners and students starting a small business, business math and entrepreneurship classes, and makers selling online or at markets.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Adult Learning space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. List every cost in one unit, including your time at an hourly rate.
  2. Choose markup on cost or a target margin.
  3. Type the percent.
  4. Add fixed costs a month and the units you expect to sell.
  5. Compare the price with what similar products sell for.

Price the product

How the price is set

Cost, then markup or margin.

The worked example: an 8-ounce soy candleUnit cost$9.50six costs addedMarkup 150%+ $14.25cost × 1.5Price$23.75cost × 2.5Margin60%profit ÷ priceThe worked example: an 8-ounce soy candleUnit cost$9.50six costs addedMarkup 150%+ $14.25cost × 1.5Price$23.75cost × 2.5Margin60%profit ÷ price
Markup and margin describe the same profit against different bases, cost or price.

Markup or margin

Markup adds a percent of the cost: a $10 item with a 50 percent markup sells for $15. Margin is the profit’s share of the price: that $5 profit is a 33 percent margin. Retailers usually talk in margin and makers in markup, and mixing them up is a classic way to underprice.

Break-even

Every sale contributes its profit per unit toward the costs that do not change with volume, such as booth fees or a website. Divide those fixed costs by the profit per unit and you have the units to sell before the business makes any money. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s planning guides use the same idea.

Sources

  1. U.S. Small Business Administration. Calculate your startup costs and break-even point (sba.gov).
  2. SCORE. Pricing strategies and break-even analysis for small businesses (score.org).
  3. U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop. Starting a business: costs and pricing (careeronestop.org).
  4. National Council on Economic Education. Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics, standards on prices and costs (councilforeconed.org).

The worked example is made up. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.