Free calculator · no sign-up
Markup calculator: selling price, margin and keystone pricing
· Nolyn research team
Enter your cost and a markup to get the selling price, or a price you already charge to see its markup and margin. A third mode works backwards from the margin you want to keep after marketplace fees. Below the calculator: a markup-to-margin table, keystone pricing on Amazon, and what US retail prices looked like against 1688 wholesale prices for 13 product types in October 2026. Everything runs in your browser.
How do you calculate markup?
Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost; margin = (price − cost) ÷ price. Keystone pricing, a 100% markup, turns a $10 cost into a $20 price and a 50% margin, but after Amazon's 15% referral fee only 35% is left. In our October 24, 2026 check, US prices of 13 product types were 4.4x to 42.6x their 1688 wholesale price (median 10.1x), before freight, duty and fees.
Calculate price, markup and margin
Free · no sign-up · runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent or saved.
What one unit costs you landed: wholesale price, freight, duty and packaging.
Used in "Selling price from cost and markup". 100% is keystone: it doubles the cost.
Used in "Selling price for a target margin": the profit left in the price after the fees below.
Used in "Markup and margin of a price I already charge".
Marketplace referral fee, payment processing, sales commission. 15% for most Amazon categories, 6% on TikTok Shop US. Leave 0 for markup and gross margin only.
- Selling price
- $80.00
- Markup on cost
- 100%
- Price ÷ cost
- 2
- Gross margin on price
- 50%
- Fees on the price
- $0.00
- Profit per unit
- $40.00
- Net margin on price
- 50%
Price = cost × (1 + markup). Fees do not change the price in this mode, only the profit.
A 100% markup on cost is a 50% gross margin on the price. The two are never equal, and mixing them up is the most common pricing mistake.
Price set? Compare it with the market
The markup says what you want to earn. To see whether buyers pay that price, Nolyn compares similar products on Amazon US and TikTok Shop US, with price, shown sales and ratings. Sign-in required; new accounts get 100 credits.
Markup to margin: the conversion table
The same price gives a bigger markup than margin, because markup divides the profit by the cost and margin divides it by the price. Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup); markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin).
| Markup | Gross margin | Price ÷ cost | Price on a $10 cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 20% | 1.25 | $12.50 |
| 50% | 33.3% | 1.5 | $15.00 |
| 100% (keystone) | 50% | 2 | $20.00 |
| 150% | 60% | 2.5 | $25.00 |
| 200% | 66.7% | 3 | $30.00 |
| 300% | 75% | 4 | $40.00 |
Keystone pricing after marketplace fees
Keystone means a 100% markup: the retail price is twice the wholesale cost, a 50% gross margin. It was set for shops that pay rent, not per-sale fees. On Amazon most categories, Home and Kitchen included, pay a 15% referral fee on the sale price (minimum $0.30, checked on sell.amazon.com on 2026-10-26): a $10 cost sold at $20 pays $3.00, leaves $7.00 of profit and a 35% net margin, before FBA or shipping.
To keep 30% after a 15% fee, divide the cost by 1 − 0.15 − 0.30: a $10 cost needs $18.18, an 81.8% markup. Use the calculator's target-margin mode for your own fee rate; the TikTok Shop, Etsy, Depop and Poshmark calculators give the exact fee per order.
What US prices look like against wholesale: 13 product types, October 2026
On October 24, 2026 we searched 1688, China's main wholesale marketplace, for 13 product types and compared the median first-tier 1688 price of the listings matching each type with its median US price on Amazon US (TikTok Shop US for shapewear). It is a type-to-type comparison, not the same item, converted at the ECB rate of October 23 (1 CNY = $0.1499), and it leaves out freight, duty, platform fees and returns, which take a large part of the gap.
The median multiple is 10.1x, from 4.4x for meat thermometers to 42.6x for jar openers. Small, cheap goods (jar openers, bag charms, candles, squishy toys) show the biggest multiples; heavier or more complex goods (tumblers, spin scrubbers, shapewear) sit at 5.1x to 6.5x. The same data, with demand signals, is on cheap products to resell.
| Product type | 1688 median | US median | Price ÷ cost | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meat / food thermometer | ¥15.00 ($2.25) | $9.99 | 4.4x | 344% |
| Insulated tumbler / bottle | ¥18.19 ($2.73) | $13.99 | 5.1x | 412% |
| Spin scrubber | ¥23.80 ($3.57) | $19.49 | 5.5x | 446% |
| Shapewear bodysuit (TikTok Shop) | ¥44.00 ($6.60) | $42.99 | 6.5x | 551% |
| Oil sprayer / dispenser | ¥5.90 ($0.88) | $7.99 | 9.1x | 808% |
| Ceramic mugs | ¥10.90 ($1.63) | $15.00 | 9.2x | 820% |
| Dog paw cleaner cup | ¥9.94 ($1.49) | $14.99 | 10.1x | 906% |
| Spoon rest | ¥5.55 ($0.83) | $9.99 | 12x | 1,104% |
| Can opener (manual) | ¥5.80 ($0.87) | $11.95 | 13.7x | 1,274% |
| Scented candles | ¥6.00 ($0.90) | $19.96 | 22.2x | 2,118% |
| Squishy toys | ¥3.00 ($0.45) | $9.99 | 22.2x | 2,120% |
| Bag charms | ¥1.84 ($0.28) | $6.99 | 25x | 2,396% |
| Jar opener | ¥1.79 ($0.27) | $11.49 | 42.6x | 4,156% |
1688 page 1, organic listings only, first price tier; US median of single-unit listings. Collected on 2026-10-24.
The most common markup mistake
Adding 30% to the cost does not give a 30% margin. A $10 cost marked up 30% sells at $13.00: $3.00 of profit is a 23.1% margin. A 30% margin needs $14.29, a 42.9% markup.
The gap grows with the markup: 100% is a 50% margin and 300% is 75%. Decide which one your plan is written in before you set prices, and check both in the calculator.
How to calculate a selling price with markup
Work out your landed cost
Wholesale price plus freight, duty and packaging, per unit.
Pick a markup and multiply
Price = cost × (1 + markup). Keystone (100%) doubles the cost.
Check the margin it gives
Margin = (price − cost) ÷ price. A 100% markup is a 50% gross margin.
Take off the fees per sale
Subtract the marketplace's share of the price, or work backwards: price = cost ÷ (1 − fees − target margin).
Questions
What is the formula for markup?
Markup = (selling price − cost) ÷ cost × 100. A product that costs $10 and sells for $25 has a 150% markup. To get the price from a markup: price = cost × (1 + markup).
What is keystone pricing?
Keystone pricing sets the retail price at twice the wholesale cost: a 100% markup and a 50% gross margin. On a marketplace that takes 15% of the price, keystone leaves a 35% margin before shipping.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is profit divided by cost; margin is profit divided by price. A $10 item sold at $15 has a 50% markup and a 33.3% margin. Margin is always the smaller number for the same price.
How do I price for a margin after marketplace fees?
Divide the cost by 1 − fee share − target margin. With a $10 cost, a 15% fee and a 30% target margin: $10 ÷ 0.55 = $18.18, an 81.8% markup.
How much do US retailers mark up products from 1688?
In our October 24, 2026 comparison of 13 product types, median US prices were 4.4x to 42.6x the median 1688 price (median 10.1x). That is before freight, duty, platform fees and returns, and compares product types, not identical items.