Busy is not the same as profitable
You can have a fully booked calendar and a worrying bank balance at the same time. Revenue tells you how much moved through your business; profit tells you how much stayed. This calculator turns the two numbers you already have — what you charged and what it cost — into profit, margin, and markup, so you can see which side of that line you are on.
Margin and markup are not the same thing
This trips up a lot of freelancers, and it costs them money. Margin is your profit as a share of revenue: profit divided by what you charged. Markup is your profit as a share of cost: profit divided by what you spent. The same $1,000 of profit is a 20% margin on $5,000 of revenue but a 25% markup on $4,000 of cost. If you price by "adding 30%" thinking in markup but expect a 30% margin, you will quietly come up short on every job.
Be honest about costs
The margin is only as truthful as the cost figure you feed it. Include everything it took to deliver the work and run the business: software subscriptions, subcontractors, materials, payment-processing fees, and a fair share of overhead. Leave costs out and the calculator will hand you a margin that looks healthier than your business actually is.
Watch the trend, not just the number
There is no single "right" margin — it varies enormously by field. What matters is the direction. A margin that slides down over a few months is telling you that costs are creeping up or your rates have not kept pace with them. That is usually the cue to review pricing or trim subscriptions. If keeping your business and personal numbers untangled feels like the hard part, start with our guide on separating business and personal money.