Selling Price Calculator

About this calculator

Pricing by adding a percentage to cost does not give you that percentage of margin. Add 30% to a ₹890 cost and you get ₹1,157 — a margin of 23%, not 30%. To actually earn a 30% margin you have to divide by 0.70, which gives ₹1,271.

This calculator works in whichever direction you think in, and shows the margin you actually achieve so the two never get mixed up.

How to use this calculator

1. Enter your cost price per unit.
2. Add any other per-unit costs — packaging, shipping, marketplace commission.
3. Choose whether your target is a margin (share of the selling price) or a markup (share of cost), then enter the percentage. Only the field you need is shown.
4. Set the GST rate, or 0 for a pre-tax price.
5. Read the price to list, and check the margin achieved.

The formula

Total cost = Cost price + Other costs

Margin target:  Price = Total cost / (1 - Margin / 100)
Markup target:  Price = Total cost x (1 + Markup / 100)

GST    = Price x Rate / 100
Listed = Price + GST

The margin formula divides rather than multiplies, which is the step most people miss. A 30% margin means the cost must be 70% of the price, so the price is the cost divided by 0.70.

Margin is capped at 99% here. At 100% the divisor would be zero, which would imply selling at an infinite price for no cost.

Worked example

A case costs you ₹890, with no other per-unit costs. You want a 30% margin and 18% GST.

Total cost       = 890
Price before GST = 890 / (1 - 0.30) = 1,271.43
GST              = 1,271.43 x 0.18  =   228.86
Price to list    = 1,271.43 + 228.86 = 1,500.29
Profit per unit  = 1,271.43 - 890    =   381.43
Margin achieved  = 381.43 / 1,271.43 = 30%

Had you instead added 30% to the cost, you would have listed at ₹1,157 before GST and earned a margin of 23.1%.

Notes and limits

• Marketplace commission is a per-unit cost. Include it in "other costs" or the margin you calculate will not be the margin you get.
• GST is collected for the government. It is added to the listed price but is not profit, which is why it sits outside the margin calculation here.
• Round the final figure to a sensible price point yourself. Listing at ₹1,499 rather than ₹1,500.29 costs almost nothing and reads better.
• This prices a single unit. Volume discounts, returns and write-offs all reduce realised margin over a full month.

What this calculation assumes

• All costs entered are per unit.
• GST is added on top of the calculated price and is not treated as profit.
• Margin is measured on the price before GST.