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CalculatorBuddy

Margin Calculator

Calculate profit margin and markup from any two of cost, revenue, margin, and profit — plus stock-trading and currency-exchange margin requirements.

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Enter any two of cost, revenue, margin, and profit to calculate the rest and the markup.

ExampleSample values — edit any field to see your result.

$

The cost of the product. Leave blank if unknown — enter any two values.

$

The income generated by selling the product. Leave blank if unknown — enter any two values.

%

Profit as a percentage of revenue. Leave blank if unknown — enter any two values.

$

Revenue minus cost. Leave blank if unknown — enter any two values.

Results update as you type.

Margin

25.00%

Estimated result

Profit
$40.00
Markup
33.33%
Cost
$120.00
Revenue
$160.00

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Cost vs profit margin

Cost 75%, Profit margin 25%
  • Cost75%
  • Profit margin25%

Compare scenarios

Keep a baseline, then change an assumption to see its effect side by side.

Margin25.00%

Three calculators sit on this page. Profit margin takes any two of cost, revenue, margin, and profit and fills in the rest plus the markup. Stock trading finds the cash a broker requires to buy shares on margin. Currency exchange finds the home-currency deposit for a leveraged FX trade.

Margin vs markup at a glance

Same $40 profit on a $120 cost / $160 sale. Markup is always larger than margin on a profitable sale because cost is the smaller denominator.

You knowFormulaResult
Cost $120, revenue $160profit = 160 − 120$40.00
That profit vs revenue40 ÷ 16025.00% margin
That profit vs cost40 ÷ 12033.33% markup
Cost $120, 25% margin120 ÷ 0.75$160.00 revenue

Examples

$120 cost sold for $160

Profit is $40.00, margin is 25.00%, and markup is 33.33%. Cost is 75% of revenue on the chart; profit margin is the other 25%.

Price a $80 cost at a 20% margin

Revenue = $80 ÷ 0.80 = $100.00, profit is $20.00, and markup is 25.00%.

Buy 100 shares at $18.30 with a 30% requirement

Amount required = $18.30 × 100 × 0.30 = $549.00.

Buy 100 units at 1.30 with 20:1 leverage

Amount required = 1.30 × 100 ÷ 20 = 6.500 in home currency. The same trade at 1:1 needs 130.000; at 50:1 it needs 2.600.

Formula

Profit, margin, and markup all start from the same two money figures. Margin divides profit by revenue; markup divides the same profit by cost. Percents round to two decimals from the raw (unrounded) algebra; money rounds to the nearest cent independently.

profit  = revenue − cost
margin  = profit ÷ revenue × 100
markup  = profit ÷ cost × 100
revenue = cost ÷ (1 − margin)
        = cost × (1 + markup)

Stock-trading cash and the FX deposit are simpler products:

stock amount     = price × shares × (requirement ÷ 100)
currency amount  = exchange rate × units ÷ leverage ratio

A 25% margin is not a 25% markup. Convert with markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin) and margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). Mixing the two up is a common way to underprice.

Trading margin limits

The stock and FX tabs calculate only the initial deposit implied by the entered percentage or leverage. They do not calculate maintenance margin, portfolio margin, interest, commissions, price moves, liquidation thresholds, or broker house requirements. The Federal Reserve's Regulation T background and FINRA maintenance-margin guidance describe separate regulatory layers. Confirm current broker terms before trading.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between margin and markup?
Both start from the same dollar profit, but they divide by different bases. Margin is profit ÷ revenue (how much of the selling price is leftover). Markup is profit ÷ cost (how much you added on top of cost). A $120 cost sold for $160 is a $40 profit, a 25% margin, and a 33.33% markup — the markup is always the larger percentage on a profitable sale.
How do I calculate profit margin?
Subtract cost from revenue, then divide by revenue and multiply by 100. Margin = (revenue − cost) ÷ revenue × 100. On a $160 sale that cost $120, profit is $40 and margin is $40 ÷ $160 = 25%.
How do I find the selling price from cost and a target margin?
Divide cost by one minus the margin: revenue = cost ÷ (1 − margin). A $120 cost at a 25% margin needs a $160 price, because $120 ÷ 0.75 = $160. Equivalently, markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin), so a 25% margin is a 33.33% markup on cost.
What is a stock trading margin requirement?
It is the cash your broker requires you to deposit to buy shares with borrowed money. Amount required = price × shares × requirement. Federal Reserve Regulation T caps the initial loan at 50% of the purchase (a 50% initial margin); maintenance margin is at least 25%, and brokers often ask for more. The default example — $18.30 × 100 shares × 30% — needs $549.00 in the account.
What is currency-exchange margin?
In FX it is a good-faith deposit, not a fee — a slice of account equity set aside to keep a leveraged position open. Amount required = exchange rate × units ÷ leverage ratio. Buying 100 units at 1.30 with 20:1 leverage needs 6.500 in home currency. A 50:1 ratio is a 2% deposit; a 100:1 ratio is 1%. If losses eat the deposit, the broker issues a margin call and can close the position.

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