Paint Cost & Markup Calculator

1. Pick a product or enter the cost. Use the Quick Lookup dropdown to select a common paint product and auto-fill the wholesale cost, or type your own cost directly.

2. Set your markup percentage. Use the quick buttons for common markup levels or type any percentage. The painting industry standard is 30-50% markup on paint products.

3. Enter the quantity. Set the number of gallons or units for the job. The calculator shows both per-unit and total job pricing.

4. Read the results. The calculator shows sell price per unit, total job material cost, total profit, and margin percentage. Compare against the benchmarks to stay competitive.

Markup is the percentage added on top of your cost. Margin is the percentage of the final sell price that is profit. They use different denominators, which is why the numbers are always different.

Here is a concrete example. You buy a gallon of paint for $40 and mark it up 40%.

The markup is 40% but the margin is only 28.6%. Markup will always be a larger number than margin for the same transaction. The most common mistake is confusing the two. This calculator shows both numbers so you always know exactly where you stand.

Quoting material costs for a job. You have measured the job and know you need 10 gallons. Open the calculator, select the paint quality, set your markup, and see exactly what to charge the customer for materials.

Setting standard material pricing. Decide on a consistent markup strategy across your product categories. Use the benchmarks as a guide: higher markup on supplies, standard markup on paint.

Comparing wholesale suppliers. Enter different wholesale costs from multiple suppliers to see how each affects your profit at the same sell price. Sometimes a cheaper product is not worth the quality trade-off.