Profit and loss calculator

See at once whether a sale made money or lost it. Enter what an item cost you and what you sold it for, and the tool shows profit or loss and the percentage.

Open the profit and loss calculator

What you get

The result is labelled Profit when the selling price is higher than the cost, and Loss when it is lower. Next to the amount you see a percentage. That percentage is measured against the cost price, which is the standard way profit percent and loss percent are taught and used in everyday trade.

The formulas

• Profit = selling price − cost price
• Loss = cost price − selling price
• Profit % = profit ÷ cost price × 100
• Loss % = loss ÷ cost price × 100

Example

You buy a phone cover for 8 and sell it for 12. Profit is 12 − 8 = 4, and 4 ÷ 8 × 100 gives a 50% profit. If you had sold it for 6 instead, you would lose 2, which is a 25% loss.

Profit percent is not margin

Many sellers confuse markup with margin. The tool gives profit as a percent of cost, which is the markup. Margin compares profit with the selling price. In the example above the profit of 4 is 50% of cost but only 33.3% of the selling price of 12. Both are correct, they just answer different questions, so be clear which one you are quoting. Our article on profit and loss, margin and markup explains the difference in more detail.

Tips for small sellers

• Include every cost: the item, delivery, packaging and fees. Profit calculated on the item price alone looks better than it really is.
• Use the calculator before you set a price, not only after a sale.
• If a result shows a loss, check that you did not swap the two fields.

A worked example with all costs

Suppose an item costs 20, delivery adds 3 and packaging adds 1. Your real cost is 24, not 20. You sell it for 30, so profit is 6, which is 25% of cost. If you had forgotten the delivery and packaging, you would have believed the profit was 10, or 50%. Counting every cost keeps your prices honest and protects you from selling at a loss without noticing.

Frequently asked questions

What if my cost is zero?

The percentage cannot be calculated from a zero cost, so the tool shows the amount and a dash for the percentage.

Does it work with any currency?

Yes. It only compares two numbers, so use any currency as long as both values use the same one.

Is this financial advice?

No. It is a simple arithmetic tool. For tax or accounting decisions, speak to a qualified professional.

Related pages

Related blog posts and countries

Read all how-to posts. Local guides: Pakistan · India · United States.