Estimate only — not a licensed bid, appraisal, or tax advice. Numbers stay in your browser.

Bid worksheet

Contractor markup calculator: turn cost into a bid without guessing

Markup is what you add on top of cost. Margin is what of the bid remains as profit. Mixing them up is how jobs look fine on paper and break even in the bank. Plug in two numbers; get the third — both percentages shown.

Line-item workbenchLive calc

Bid stack

Direct cost
$10,000.00
Profit
$2,500.00
Bid
$12,500.00

Markup 25.0% · Margin 20.0%

Common questions

No. A 50% markup is about a 33.3% margin.
Often 15–35% on direct cost for residential GC work; trades and risk change it. This tool does not set your market rate.
Either fold overhead into cost first, or use the Overhead & Profit calculator, then apply profit.
No. It is planning math using the numbers you enter.

Related job sheets