What is cost price?
Cost price is what a seller paid to buy or make an item before any profit was added. When you only know the selling price and the profit percentage, you can work backwards to it, but you need to know whether that percentage was measured against the cost or against the selling price.
Formulas
Profit on cost: cost price = selling price ÷ (1 + profit ÷ 100)Profit on price: cost price = selling price × (1 − profit ÷ 100)
Worked example
An item sells for 150.00 with a 25% profit on cost. The cost price is 120.00 and the profit is 30.00.
How to use the cost price calculator
- Enter your figures: selling price and profit.
- Read the result. It updates as you type, so there is no button to press.
- Try other numbers to compare scenarios. Reset brings back the example values.
Getting it right
- School and exam questions nearly always state profit as a percentage of cost price, which is the first option.
- Businesses that talk about “margin” mean a percentage of the selling price. Switch the last field to match.
- The same 25% gives different answers: on cost it means 120 out of 150, on price it means 112.50.
Frequently asked questions
What is the formula for cost price?
When profit is a percentage of cost, cost price = selling price × 100 ÷ (100 + profit %). When it is a percentage of the selling price, cost price = selling price × (100 − profit %) ÷ 100.
How do I find the cost price when there is a loss?
Enter the loss as a negative profit. A selling price of 90 with −10% on cost gives a cost price of 100.
What is the difference between cost price and selling price?
Cost price is what the seller pays; selling price is what the buyer pays. The difference between them is the profit, or the loss if the selling price is lower.