Download
Profit margin
- Margin by product
- Price for a target margin
- Gross, operating and net
Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Apple Numbers.
Free tools · Pricing
Free profit margin calculator, with your markup and the price to charge.
Excello's free profit margin calculator shows your profit, margin and markup from a price and a cost, and works out the price that hits the margin you want.
Use it online below, or download the Excel version to check every product at once.
Free. No sign-up. Works on any device.
- Calculator
- Margin and markup
- Target price built in
- Excel included
- Price free
Work out your margin, or your price
The calculator
Enter a selling price and a cost to see the margin, or a cost and the margin you want to see the price. Use the full cost of the item, including shipping in and packaging.
How to calculate profit margin calculator results by hand
The formula
Three steps give you the same answer as the calculator: take the cost away from the price, divide by the price, and multiply by 100.
Profit margin = (price − cost) ÷ price × 100
Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100
Price for a target margin = cost ÷ (1 − margin)
For the $50 sale: $50 − $30 = $20, and $20 ÷ $50 = 0.4, a 40% margin. The profit margin calculator formula is the same whether you work out one product or a whole year.
A $50 sale that costs $30 makes $20 of profit. The profit margin divides the profit by the price, which gives 40%. The markup divides the same profit by the cost, which gives 66.7%.
Margin and markup, converted
Two numbers
Gross, operating and net margin
The whole business
For a whole business, the same formula runs down the profit and loss statement. Each margin takes off one more layer of cost.
| Line | Amount | Margin | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $500,000 | Everything you sold | |
| Gross profit | $210,000 | 42.0% | After the cost of goods sold ($290,000) |
| Operating profit | $50,000 | 10.0% | After running costs ($160,000) |
| Net profit | $36,000 | 7.2% | After interest and tax ($14,000) |
Figures are illustrative and calculated by the template's own formulas.
What is my profit margin calculator telling me?
Benchmarks
A margin means most next to others in your industry. Software keeps 71.7% of revenue after direct costs; food processing keeps 23.2%. Tap, hover or tab through the dots for the figures.
- Software
- Apparel
- Specialty retail
- Business and consumer services
- General retail
- Restaurants
- Food processing
- All US companies, excluding financials
| Industry | Gross margin | Operating margin | Net margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software | 71.7% | 33.0% | 25.5% |
| Apparel | 56.9% | 9.1% | 3.9% |
| Specialty retail | 35.3% | 7.7% | 5.2% |
| Business and consumer services | 33.4% | 12.3% | 7.0% |
| General retail | 33.2% | 6.8% | 5.6% |
| Restaurants | 32.2% | 15.8% | 9.4% |
| Food processing | 23.2% | 10.6% | 2.8% |
| All US companies, excluding financials | 34.4% | 13.1% | 8.6% |
Use these as a rough guide. Listed companies are far larger than most small businesses, and a young company may run a lower net margin while it grows.
If your gross margin is close to your industry and your net margin is well below it, look at running costs first. If the gross margin is low, look at prices and the cost of each product.
Source: Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, margins by industry sector (US), data as of January 2026, checked September 2026
Profit margin calculator Excel template free download, product by product
The file
| Product | Price | Unit cost | Units sold | Gross profit | Margin | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candle, large | $38 | $14 | 420 | $10,080 | 63.2% | 171.4% |
| Candle, small | $22 | $9 | 610 | $7,930 | 59.1% | 144.4% |
| Reed diffuser | $45 | $21 | 180 | $4,320 | 53.3% | 114.3% |
| Gift set | $68 | $34 | 95 | $3,230 | 50.0% | 100.0% |
| Room spray | $18 | $6.5 | 300 | $3,450 | 63.9% | 176.9% |
| All products | 1,605 | $29,010 | 58.8% | 142.7% |
Margins built on real costs
Where Excello fits
Frequently asked questions
What is profit margin?
Profit margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. A product that sells for $50 and costs $30 makes $20 of profit, which is a 40% margin.
How do you calculate profit margin?
Subtract the cost from the price, divide the result by the price, then multiply by 100. For a whole business, use revenue and cost of goods sold for gross margin, or net profit for net margin.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin divides profit by the price, and markup divides the same profit by the cost. The $50 sale in the example has a 40% margin and a 66.7% markup, so the two numbers are never the same.
What is a good profit margin?
It depends on the industry. Among US listed companies in January 2026, net margins ran from 2.8% in food processing to 25.5% in software, with 8.6% across all non-financial companies.
How do I set a price for a target margin?
Divide the cost by one minus the target margin. A product that costs $30 needs a price of $50 for a 40% margin, because $30 ÷ 0.6 = $50.
Is gross margin the same as net margin?
No. Gross margin takes off only the cost of goods sold, and net margin also takes off running costs, interest and tax. In the example, a 42% gross margin becomes a 7.2% net margin.
Is this profit margin calculator free?
Yes. The calculator on this page and the Excel template are both free, with no sign-up needed. The template adds a product-by-product table, a target price sheet and gross, operating and net margin.