Pricing · markup guide
300% markup: margin and selling price
A 300% markup means the selling price is your cost plus 300% of that cost, so you multiply the cost by 4. It gives a profit margin of 75%, because the profit is measured against the higher selling price. An item that costs £100 sells for £400.00 and makes £300.00 profit.
VAT rate checked against GOV.UK on .
Profit margin
75%
from a 300% markup
Multiply cost by
4
to get the price ex VAT
Price on £100 cost
£400.00
before VAT
With 20% VAT
× 4.8
cost to shelf price
Selling prices with a 300% markup
Price with VAT assumes you are VAT registered and the item is standard-rated at 20%.
| Cost | Selling price | Profit | Price with VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1.00 | £4.00 | £3.00 | £4.80 |
| £5.00 | £20.00 | £15.00 | £24.00 |
| £10.00 | £40.00 | £30.00 | £48.00 |
| £25.00 | £100.00 | £75.00 | £120.00 |
| £50.00 | £200.00 | £150.00 | £240.00 |
| £100.00 | £400.00 | £300.00 | £480.00 |
| £250.00 | £1,000.00 | £750.00 | £1,200.00 |
| £1,000.00 | £4,000.00 | £3,000.00 | £4,800.00 |
Nearby markups
Markup, the margin it gives and the multiplier to use on your cost.
| Markup | Margin | Multiplier |
|---|
Markup is not the same as margin
A 300% markup gives a 75% margin. Margin can never reach 100%, however high the markup goes, because profit can never be the whole of the selling price.
How far you can discount
With a 300% markup you can take up to 75% off the selling price before you are selling at cost. A 10% discount leaves a margin of 72.22%, and 20% off leaves 68.75%.
Adding VAT
If you are VAT registered and sell at the 20% standard rate, add VAT after the markup. That makes the shelf price cost × 4.8. The VAT goes to HMRC, so it does not change your 75% margin.
Profit in each pound of sales
Gross profit is exactly three quarters of each pound you take before VAT, which means the profit on each sale is bigger than what the goods cost you. After a 10% discount you would need to sell only about 15% more units to make the same gross profit as at full price.
How far apart the markup and margin are
The markup figure is 4 times the margin figure here, and the two are 225 percentage points apart, so check which one a supplier or buyer means before you agree a price. Another 10 points of markup would add only 0.61 percentage points of margin, because each extra point counts for less as the price climbs.
Other markups
- 95% markup (48.72% margin)
- 100% markup (50% margin)
- 120% markup (54.55% margin)
- 150% markup (60% margin)
- 200% markup (66.67% margin)
- 250% markup (71.43% margin)
Common questions
What margin is a 300% markup?
75%. Divide the markup by 100 plus the markup: 300 ÷ 400 = 75%.
How do I add a 300% markup to a price?
Multiply the cost by 4. For example, £40 × 4 = £160.00. In Excel or Google Sheets, with the cost in A2, use =A2*4.
What is a 300% markup on £100?
£300 of profit, so the selling price is £400.00 before VAT, or £480.00 with 20% VAT added.
How do I work out the cost from a price with a 300% markup?
Divide the selling price by 4. A price of £60 means a cost of £15.00. If the price includes 20% VAT, divide by 1.2 first.
Sources and assumptions
- Markup = profit ÷ cost. Margin = profit ÷ selling price. Both use prices before VAT.
- Cost means what you pay for the item, excluding any VAT you can reclaim.
Figures are rounded to the nearest penny or to two decimal places.