Money

Freelance Profit Margin Calculator

Calculate selling price, profit, margin and markup without confusing margin with markup. Everything runs in your browser, with no signup and no unnecessary steps.

Margin and markup result

Selling price$1,428.57

Profit: $428.57
Margin: 30%
Markup: 42.86%

A 30% margin on $1,000.00 of cost requires a selling price of $1,428.57.

Profit margin vs markup

Margin and markup are not the same. Margin measures profit as a share of selling price. Markup measures profit as a share of cost. A 20% markup is not a 20% margin.

Margin formula

When you know cost and desired margin, selling price equals cost divided by one minus the margin. A margin of 30% means profit should be 30% of the final selling price.

Markup formula

When you know cost and markup, profit equals cost multiplied by markup. Selling price equals cost plus that profit.

Freelancer/project pricing example

If a project costs $1,000 to deliver and you want a 30% margin, the price is about $1,428.57. If you instead add a 30% markup, the price is $1,300 and the margin is only about 23.1%.

For complete project quoting, use the Freelance Project Price Calculator. To review final delivery profit, use the Project Profitability Calculator.

FAQ

Can margin be 100%?

No. A 100% margin would mean cost is zero and profit equals the full selling price. Margin-to-price mode requires a margin below 100%.

Can profit be negative?

Yes. In selling-price mode, profit becomes negative if selling price is below cost.

Which should I use, margin or markup?

Use margin when thinking about profit as part of selling price. Use markup when adding a percentage on top of cost.

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