Margin and markup use the same profit
Both start with profit: price minus cost. The difference is what you divide by.
margin = profit ÷ price
markup = profit ÷ cost
Buy something for $12 and sell it for $20, and you make $8. That's a 40% margin ($8 of every $20) and a 67% markup ($8 on top of $12). Same sale, two very different-sounding numbers. Mix them up and you'll price too low.
Margin to markup conversion table
| Margin you want | Markup you need | Price at $10 cost |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 11% | $11.11 |
| 20% | 25% | $12.50 |
| 25% | 33% | $13.33 |
| 30% | 43% | $14.29 |
| 40% | 67% | $16.67 |
| 50% | 100% | $20.00 |
| 60% | 150% | $25.00 |
| 75% | 300% | $40.00 |
markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin)
margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup)
Why resellers should think in margin
Marketplace fees, payment processing, and most ad costs are charged as a percentage of the sale price. Margin is also a percentage of the sale price, so they line up: if eBay takes 13.6% and you want 20% left over, you know right away that everything else (item, shipping, packaging) has to fit in the remaining 66.4%. Markup doesn't line up with fees that way, which is how people end up with a "50% markup" that nets almost nothing after fees.
Markup still helps when sourcing. A common rule of thumb is to only buy items you can sell for at least three times your cost (a 200% markup) when you'll ship them through FBA or WFS, because fulfillment and referral fees often eat a third of the price. The margin vs markup guide covers how to set targets.
This calculator doesn't add marketplace fees for you. Either put your all-in cost in the cost box, or use the break-even calculator, which handles percentage fees properly.
Questions people ask
Is margin or markup better to track?
Margin. It tells you what share of each sale you keep, which is what matters when marketplace fees and ad spend are also percentages of the sale. Markup is useful when you're sourcing and thinking in multiples of cost, like 'I need at least 3x.'
What's a good profit margin for resellers?
After all fees, shipping, and ads, many product sellers aim for 15% to 30% net margin. Below 10%, a few returns or a slow month can wipe out a whole month of profit. Use the break-even calculator to include fees.
Can margin be over 100%?
No. Margin is profit divided by price, so it can never reach 100% unless the item cost nothing. Markup can be any size. A 300% markup is a 75% margin.
Rates last checked October 2026. Read how we check our numbers.