50% Margin to Markup: a 50% margin needs a 100% markup
A 50% margin means keeping 50 cents of every dollar the customer pays. To get there from cost you need a 100% markup; this page gives the formula, a price table at 50% margin, and the calculator.
Price any cost at a 50% margin
Prefilled with this page's numbers. Change either field; results update instantly and nothing is sent anywhere.
The formula
50 ÷ 50 × 100 = 100%
price = cost ÷ (1 − 50/100) = cost ÷ 0.5
A 50% margin and a 100% markup are the same price. The margin figure is what appears on a profit and loss statement; the markup figure is what you type into a price list. Keep both in the spreadsheet and label them honestly.
Price table at 50% margin
Each price is the cost divided by 0.5. The markup column stays at 100% on every line; only the amounts scale.
| Cost | Price at 50% margin | Gross profit | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $10.00 | $5.00 | 100% |
| $10.00 | $20.00 | $10.00 | 100% |
| $25.00 | $50.00 | $25.00 | 100% |
| $50.00 | $100.00 | $50.00 | 100% |
| $100.00 | $200.00 | $100.00 | 100% |
| $250.00 | $500.00 | $250.00 | 100% |
| $500.00 | $1,000.00 | $500.00 | 100% |
| $1,000.00 | $2,000.00 | $1,000.00 | 100% |
| $2,500.00 | $5,000.00 | $2,500.00 | 100% |
| $10,000.00 | $20,000.00 | $10,000.00 | 100% |
Margins near 50%
Between 40% and 60% margin the markup needed runs from 66.7% to 150%: 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
Suppose the landed cost is $18.00 and the buyer requires a 50% margin. The price cannot be below $36.00. At that price the profit is $18.00; below it the buyer's margin falls under 50% and the line fails their review.
The margin-as-markup trap
Rounding hides the gap on small numbers and exposes it on large ones. On a $18.00 item the difference between a 50% markup and a 50% margin is $9.00 per unit; across a container of stock it is the whole profit.
When a margin target is the right tool
Use 50% margin as a floor, not a slogan. If overheads run at 40% of revenue, a 50% gross margin leaves the difference as operating profit; if they run at 50%, the business breaks even before tax.
If a supplier quotes you a 50% markup, translate it before comparing: that is a 33.3% margin, 16.7 points below the 50% margin this page is about.
Mirror page: what margin a 50% markup produces.