What is the difference between markup and margin for landscapers?
Markup is profit as a share of your cost; margin is profit as a share of the price the customer pays, so the same landscaping job always shows a bigger markup than margin. Buy $1,000 of pavers, sell them for $1,400: the markup is 40% ($400 ÷ $1,000) and the margin is 28.6% ($400 ÷ $1,400).
The trouble starts when a crew prices with markup but plans the business on margin. Overhead, the truck payment and the slow February all come out of margin, so a "30% on everything" habit leaves less behind than it sounds.
Markup is how you build a price. Margin is what you keep from it.
How to price a landscaping job by target margin, in 3 steps
- Cost every line. Plants, mulch, stone, delivery, dump fees and crew hours at what they cost you, not what you charge.
- Pick the margin you need and convert: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). For 30%, that is 0.30 ÷ 0.70 = 42.9%.
- Check the blended job before it goes out. Different lines at different markups land on one job margin, and that number is the one to compare with your target.
Mixed landscaping job margin calculator
Prefilled with our worked example: $1,200 of materials at 40% markup and 16 crew hours costing $28, billed at $65. Change any number.
The worked example: price $2,720, cost $1,648, gross profit $1,072, margin 39.4%, markup 65.0%. At a 10% discount the price is $2,448, profit $800 and margin 32.7%: the discount took 25.4% of the profit. Gross profit only; overhead and tax are not included.
Profit Guard: markup and margin on the quote
ScopeBid's Profit Guard sits under the line items while you build the quote. It keeps customer price, direct cost, estimated gross profit, gross margin and markup apart. Type a discount and it shows how your estimated margin moves, before the customer ever sees a number.
You can price two ways: price first, entering what the customer pays, or cost first, entering labor and materials to get a suggested price. Area, per-unit, hourly and crew line items cover square feet of sod, yards of mulch and crew days.
One design decision we made: internal cost and margin are never printed on customer PDFs. You can show a customer the quote across the tailgate without showing them your markup.
Honest limits
- Gross margin only. ScopeBid estimates gross profit on each job; it does not spread your overhead or do your books. It is not accounting or tax software.
- Your numbers, your rules. It suggests a price from your costs; it does not know local market rates or what a fair markup is in your area.
- Free means 3 quotes. Your first 3 quotes are free with full PDFs. Unlimited quoting, the full Business Memory, job costing and invoicing are ScopeBid Pro, monthly or annual.
- Pick something else if you run several crews with scheduling, routing and payroll in one system. ScopeBid is built for owner-operators quoting from one iPhone, even with no signal.
Markup vs margin questions
What is a good markup on landscaping materials?
There is no single right number, and we do not publish one. Work backwards from the margin your business needs: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). A 25% margin needs a 33.3% markup; a 30% margin needs 42.9%; a 40% margin needs 66.7%.
How do I convert markup to margin?
Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). A 40% markup is 0.40 ÷ 1.40 = 28.6% margin. A 100% markup (doubling your cost) is a 50% margin.
Should landscapers price by markup or by margin?
Many use markup line by line because it is quick on a cost sheet, then check the whole job by margin, because margin is what tells you how much of each dollar the customer pays you keep. The two methods give the same price when you convert correctly.
Why does a small discount hurt so much?
A discount comes straight off profit, not off cost. In our worked example, a 10% discount on a job with a 39.4% margin removes about a quarter of the gross profit.
Does ScopeBid show markup and margin?
Yes. Its Profit Guard shows customer price, direct cost, estimated gross profit, gross margin and markup separately, shows how a discount changes your estimated margin, and can warn you below a minimum margin you set. Internal cost and margin are never printed on customer documents.
Is ScopeBid accounting software?
No. It is an estimating and invoicing tool. It records payments but does not process cards, and you set your own tax rates and stay responsible for compliance. Nothing on this page is accounting or tax advice.
Cost-plus markup vs target-margin pricing
| Cost-plus markup | Target margin | |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | Price = cost × (1 + markup) | Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin) |
| Fast for | Single lines: a pallet of sod, a plant order | Whole jobs and yearly planning |
| Where it bites | Feels bigger than what you keep | Needs every cost entered first |
| $1,000 cost at "30" | $1,300 price, 23.1% margin | $1,428.57 price, 30% margin |
| Pick it if | You quote line by line on site | You know the margin your year needs |
Use markup to move fast on a line, and margin to judge the job.
Get ScopeBid free
Quote your next landscape job with the margin showing before you send it. First 3 quotes free, works offline.
ScopeBid: Estimate & Invoice on the App Store · Updated November 2026
Related
- ScopeBid: the estimate and invoice app for contractorsQuote jobs from saved pricing, see your margin before you send, share a PDF and turn the approved quote into an invoice. Works offline.
- Handyman minimum charge calculatorWork out your handyman minimum charge and trip fee in 3 taps: drive time, rate and job size, with the 2026 IRS mileage rate. Free, no sign-up.
- Lawn care per cut vs monthly pricing, and your first weekPer cut or a flat monthly rate? A 3-tap picker, a converter that shows who carries the weather risk, and a 7-day plan for switching.
- Estimate app that shows profit marginWhich iPhone estimate apps show margin before you send? 4 App Store listings checked November 2026; we make one. Margin calculator included.