Markup Calculator

Markup percentage is the amount added to cost, expressed as a percentage of cost. If an item costs $4 and you sell it for $12, the markup is $8 — or 200% of the original cost.

The formula: Markup % = (Selling Price − Cost) ÷ Cost × 100

Markup answers "how much did I add on top of what I paid?" It's always higher than the equivalent margin percentage for the same item. A 200% markup is the same as a 66.7% margin.

Both measure profit, but use different denominators:

Markup = profit ÷ cost
Margin = profit ÷ selling price

Same $4 item sold for $12:
Markup: $8 ÷ $4 = 200%
Margin: $8 ÷ $12 = 66.7%

The anchor point: 100% markup = 50% margin. Markup is always the bigger number. Restaurants typically use margin (they call it "food cost percentage"), while retail and wholesale use markup. Our selling price calculator shows both side by side for any product.

Most restaurants mark up food 200-300% (3x to 4x cost), targeting a food cost of 25-35%.

By category:
Fast casual: 250-350% markup
Full-service dining: 200-300% markup
Fine dining: 185-250% markup
Bar drinks: 300-575% markup
Coffee and soda: 900-2,000%+ markup

Proteins like steak carry lower markups (100-150%) because the base cost is high. Pasta dishes, appetizers, and beverages carry much higher markups because ingredients are cheap. Use our food cost percentage calculator to check where your dishes land relative to these benchmarks. For strategies on balancing high and low markup items across your menu, see our guide on menu engineering.

Use these formulas (with decimals, not percentages):

Markup = Margin ÷ (1 − Margin)
Margin = Markup ÷ (1 + Markup)

Common conversions:
25% margin = 33.3% markup
30% margin = 42.9% markup
33.3% margin = 50% markup
50% margin = 100% markup
66.7% margin = 200% markup
75% margin = 300% markup

As margin approaches 100%, markup grows exponentially. A 90% margin is a 900% markup. A 99% margin is a 9,900% markup. This is why margin can never reach 100% — it would require infinite markup.

Multiply the cost by (1 + markup as a decimal).

Selling Price = Cost × (1 + Markup ÷ 100)

Examples:
$5 cost at 100% markup: $5 × 2.0 = $10
$5 cost at 200% markup: $5 × 3.0 = $15
$5 cost at 300% markup: $5 × 4.0 = $20

The multiplier is always (markup% ÷ 100) + 1. So 200% markup = 3x multiplier, 300% = 4x, and so on. Many restaurant operators memorize their target multiplier instead of the percentage — saying "we price at 3x" instead of "200% markup." Our menu pricing calculator applies this across your full menu.

Food cost percentage is a margin metric — it tells you what fraction of revenue goes to ingredients. Restaurants prefer it because it ties directly to the P&L statement. If your revenue is $50,000 and food cost percentage is 30%, you know exactly $15,000 went to food.

Markup doesn't give you that direct relationship to revenue. A 200% markup sounds high, but it only means a 66.7% gross margin — and after labor (25-35%) and overhead (20-25%), net profit might be 3-9%.

Either metric works as long as your team is consistent. Use our profit margin calculator to see beyond food cost into the full P&L. For a hands-on walkthrough of food cost math, read our guide on how to calculate food cost.

If you keep prices the same, your markup drops. Say your ingredient cost goes from $4 to $5 on a $12 menu item:

Before: ($12 − $4) ÷ $4 = 200% markup
After: ($12 − $5) ÷ $5 = 140% markup

That's a 60-point drop — and your food cost jumps from 33% to 42%. To maintain 200% markup, you'd need to raise the price to $15.

Most operators re-price quarterly or when ingredient costs shift more than 5-10%. Track your actual food cost weekly using a food cost calculator so you catch margin erosion before it hits the bottom line.

Yes — and in restaurants, it almost always is. A 100% markup just means you doubled the cost (cost = $5, price = $10). Most restaurant items carry 200-300%+ markup.

There's no upper limit. Fountain soda has markups of 1,000-2,000% because the per-serving cost is pennies. Coffee runs 500-900%. These high-markup items subsidize lower-markup proteins and help the overall menu hit its target food cost of 28-32%.

If your markup is under 100%, you're probably selling at or near cost. Use the cost per serving calculator to double-check your ingredient costs are accurate.