75% Markup to Margin: a 75% markup is a 42.9% margin
Marking a product up by 75% gives you a 42.9% margin, not a 75% margin. This page shows the arithmetic, a price table at 75% markup, and what the same product would need to carry a true 75% margin.
Check any cost at 75% markup
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The formula
75 ÷ 175 × 100 = 42.9%
A 75% markup can never be a 75% margin because you would need the profit to equal 75% of a price that already contains the profit. On a $480.00 cost the price is $840.00; the $360.00 of profit is 42.9% of that, and no amount of rounding closes the gap.
Price table at 75% markup
Every row adds 75% to the cost. The margin column is the same on every line, 42.9%, because margin depends only on the percentage, not on the amount.
| Cost | Price at 75% markup | Gross profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $8.75 | $3.75 | 42.9% |
| $10.00 | $17.50 | $7.50 | 42.9% |
| $25.00 | $43.75 | $18.75 | 42.9% |
| $50.00 | $87.50 | $37.50 | 42.9% |
| $100.00 | $175.00 | $75.00 | 42.9% |
| $250.00 | $437.50 | $187.50 | 42.9% |
| $500.00 | $875.00 | $375.00 | 42.9% |
| $1,000.00 | $1,750.00 | $750.00 | 42.9% |
| $2,500.00 | $4,375.00 | $1,875.00 | 42.9% |
| $10,000.00 | $17,500.00 | $7,500.00 | 42.9% |
Markups near 75%
From 65% to 85% markup the margin moves from 39.4% to 45.9%: each two-point step in markup is worth less than two points of margin at this level, and the gap widens as the markup grows. The multiplier column is what you type into a spreadsheet to price a cost list.
Worked example
Suppose the landed cost is $480.00. Marking it up by 75% gives a price of $840.00 and a gross profit of $360.00. Divide the profit by the price and you get 42.9%: that is the margin a bank or a marketplace dashboard will show for the same sale.
Why the two percentages differ
Discounts hit margin faster than markup suggests. At 75% markup you can cut the price by at most 42.9% before selling at cost, not 75%. A "75% off" promotion on a 75%-markup product sells below cost.
When to use markup, when to use margin
Use 75% markup when you price from cost upward: a tradesperson adding a handling charge to parts, a reseller applying a standard uplift to a supplier price list, or a café pricing a $480.00 ingredient cost to a $840.00 menu item. Switch to margin, 42.9%, when you report to anyone who reads a profit and loss statement.
The reverse question comes up just as often: what markup produces a 75% margin? The answer is 300% (from 75 ÷ (100 − 75)). At 75% markup you are 32.1 points short of that.
See the mirror page: what markup gives a 75% margin.