# How to convert markup to margin and back in Excel

Margin is markup divided by 1 plus the markup: `=B2/(1+B2)`. To go back, markup is `=margin/(1-margin)`.

**Excel:** `=B2/(1+B2)` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Product line | Markup | Margin |
| Accessories | 0.25 |  |
| Apparel | 0.5 |  |
| Footwear | 1 |  |
| Electronics | 0.4 |  |
| Books | 0.3 |  |
| Groceries | 0.2 |  |

Formula in C2, filled to C7: `=B2/(1+B2)`

Result: 20.0%; 33.3%; 50.0%; 28.6%; 23.1%; 16.7%

## How it works

With a cost of 1, a markup m makes the price 1+m and the profit m. Margin is profit over price, so it is `m/(1+m)`. A 100% markup (doubling the cost) is a 50% margin.

Going the other way, a margin g means the cost is 1-g of the price, so the markup is `g/(1-g)`.

## Other ways

- `=1-1/(1+B2)`: The same conversion: one minus the cost's share of the price.

## Common mistakes

- Margin is always smaller than markup for the same product, and it can never reach 100%.
- Converting markups and then averaging the margins differs from the margin of the combined sales. Use totals for overall margin.

## Questions

**How do I convert margin to markup?**

Divide the margin by 1 minus the margin: `=C2/(1-C2)`. A 40% margin is a 66.7% markup.

**Which one should I quote?**

Retail and finance usually talk about margin; pricing from cost usually uses markup. Say which one you mean.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/convert-markup-to-margin