30% Margin to Markup: a 30% margin needs a 42.9% markup
Divide cost by 0.7 and you have a 30% margin price; that is the same as a 42.9% markup. Both routes give the same figure, and the table below shows them side by side for common cost points.
Price any cost at a 30% margin
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The formula
30 ÷ 70 × 100 = 42.9%
price = cost ÷ (1 − 30/100) = cost ÷ 0.7
Margin is a share of the price and the price includes the profit, so a 30% margin needs more than a 30% uplift. On a $240.00 cost the price has to reach $342.86 for $102.86 of profit to be 30% of it, and $102.86 is 42.9% of $240.00.
Price table at 30% margin
Each price is the cost divided by 0.7. The markup column stays at 42.9% on every line; only the amounts scale.
| Cost | Price at 30% margin | Gross profit | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $7.14 | $2.14 | 42.9% |
| $10.00 | $14.29 | $4.29 | 42.9% |
| $25.00 | $35.71 | $10.71 | 42.9% |
| $50.00 | $71.43 | $21.43 | 42.9% |
| $100.00 | $142.86 | $42.86 | 42.9% |
| $250.00 | $357.14 | $107.14 | 42.9% |
| $500.00 | $714.29 | $214.29 | 42.9% |
| $1,000.00 | $1,428.57 | $428.57 | 42.9% |
| $2,500.00 | $3,571.43 | $1,071.43 | 42.9% |
| $10,000.00 | $14,285.71 | $4,285.71 | 42.9% |
Margins near 30%
Between 20% and 40% margin the markup needed runs from 25% to 66.7%: it climbs faster than the margin because the cost share of the price keeps shrinking. The multiplier column turns a cost list into prices at that margin in one step.
Worked example
Worked example. Cost $240.00, target margin 30%. Price = $240.00 ÷ (1 − 0.30) = $342.86. Profit = $342.86 − $240.00 = $102.86. Check: $102.86 ÷ $342.86 = 30% margin, and $102.86 ÷ $240.00 = 42.9% markup.
The margin-as-markup trap
Costing sheets often carry a hidden 30% markup labelled as margin. If your accountant reports a gross margin well below 30% while your price list says 30%, this is almost always why.
When a margin target is the right tool
Use 30% margin as a floor, not a slogan. If overheads run at 60% of revenue, a 30% gross margin leaves the difference as operating profit; if they run at 30%, the business breaks even before tax.
Coming from the other direction: a 30% markup, the number people often type by mistake, produces only a 23.1% margin. The 30% margin on this page needs the full 42.9% markup.
Mirror page: what margin a 30% markup produces.