Gross Margin vs. Contribution Margin: What’s the Difference?

Gross Margin vs. Contribution Margin: What’s the Difference?

What is Contribution Margin?

The contribution margin is the revenue remaining after subtracting the variable costs involved in producing a product. The contribution margin calculates the profitability for individual items that the company manufactures and sells. Specifically, the contribution margin is used to review the variable costs included in the production cost of an individual item. In comparison with the gross profit margin, it is a per-item profit metric, as opposed to the total profit metric given by gross margin. Calculating the contribution margin is an excellent tool for managers to help determine whether to keep or drop certain aspects of the business.

How do you calculate contribution margin per unit?

Contribution margin (CM), or dollar contribution per unit, is the selling price per unit minus the variable cost per unit. “Contribution” represents the portion of sales revenue that is not consumed by variable costs and so contributes to the coverage of fixed costs.

Example of Contribution Margin

What is contribution margin formula?

Contribution margin per unit formula would be = (Selling price per unit – Variable cost per unit) = ($6 – $2) = $4 per unit. Contribution would be = ($4 * 50,000) = $200,000. Contribution ratio would be = Contribution / Sales = $200,000 / $300,000 = 2/3 = 66.67%.

This means that the contribution margin is always higher than the gross margin. The classic measure of the profitability of goods and services sold is gross margin, which is revenues minus the cost of goods sold.

If the company has $30,000 in fixed costs for the period, then the break-even would be to sell 10,000 units for that same period. Contribution margin may also be used to compare individual product lines and also be estimated to set sales goals. It appears that Beta would do well by emphasizing Line C in its product mix. Moreover, the statement indicates that perhaps prices for line A and line B products are too low. This is information that can’t be gleaned from the regular income statements that an accountant routinely draws up each period.

For example, a production line with positive contribution margin should be kept even if it causes negative total profit, when the contribution margin offsets part of the fixed cost. However, it should be dropped if contribution margin is negative because the company would suffer from every unit it produces. Unit margin is one of the key variables at the production and sales level that aids in decision-making profit model analysis. Unit margin only shows gross profit before the inclusion of any fixed operating or overhead expenses and before including interest, depreciation and income tax expenses.

contribution margin per unit

The unit contribution margin is what remains after subtracting all variable costs specifically assigned to a single unit of sale, whether product or service, from the products’ associated revenues. Use the contribution margin to help you establish the monthly break-even point before you become profitable. The break-even point is the minimum number of units you must sell to account for production costs and all other fixed costs. Assume that you are a nursery, and you’re planting fruit seeds, and your fixed expenses are $2,500 per month.

Contribution margin

If total revenue for a company was $2 million and the cost of goods sold was $1.5 million, gross margin would equal revenue less COGS, which is $500,000, or $2,000,000 – $1,500,000. As a percentage (gross profit margin), it’s 25%, or (2,000, $1,500,000) / 2,000,000. Gross margin is synonymous with gross profit margin and only includes revenue and direct production costs. It does not include operating expenses such as salaries, advertising, or other company expenses such as taxes or interest on loans.


If your variable expenses per unit are $5 and you sell each seedling for $15, your contribution margin is $10 per unit. With this information, you can calculate the break-even point to know how many units you must sell to break even.

Contribution Margin Calculator

In general, your profit margin determines how healthy your company is – with low margins you’re dancing on thin ice and any change for the worse may result in big trouble. High profit margins mean there’s a lot of room for errors and bad luck. Keep reading to find out how to find your profit margin and what is the gross margin formula.

For example, gross margin would include the costs for a factory’s direct labor and direct materials, but not the administrative costs for operating the corporate office. Gross profit margin measures the amount of revenue that remains after subtracting costs directly associated with production. The contribution margin is a measure of the profitability of various individual products. Unit margin, also called unit contribution margin, reflects the cost incurred to produce and sell a particular unit of product. It is the profit achieved per unit after deducting product manufacturing or packaging costs and variable selling expenses from the product’s sales price.

The gross profit margin ratio, also known as gross margin, is the ratio of gross margin expressed as a percentage of sales. Gross margin, alone, indicates how much profit a company makes after paying off its Cost of Goods Sold. It is a measure of the efficiency of a company using its raw materials and labor during the production process. Companies use gross margin to measure how their production costs relate to their revenues. For example, if a company’s gross margin is falling, it may strive to slash labor costs or source cheaper suppliers of materials.

Unit Margin Helps Decision Making

Therefore, analysis of the unit margin helps guide the product’s pricing. It can show if there is room to reduce the price or increase the product’s marketing budget. If your company is competing on price, unit margin can aid in the identification of options for reducing production or promotional costs. The essential difference between the contribution margin and gross margin is that fixed overhead costs are not included in the contribution margin.

In general, the contribution margin tends to yield a higher percentage than the gross margin, since the contribution margin includes fewer costs. In fact, total company profits are the same, no matter which method is used, as long as the number of units sold has not changed. To calculate the contribution margin for each of the products your business sells, you subtract the variable costs related to the specific product from the revenue it generates. Revenue is your gross income and variable costs are directly related to the product and are subject to change. For example, your heating and cooling bills are variable costs while your rent is a fixed cost.

Calculating the contribution margin allows you to see how much revenue each product earns. This margin calculator will be your best friend if you want to find out an item’s revenue, assuming you know its cost and your desired profit margin percentage.

contribution margin per unit

The cost of goods sold figure is comprised of a mix of variable costs (which vary with sales volume) and fixed costs (which do not vary with sales volume). Contribution margin is used by companies to simplify decisions regarding its operations. One application is using the contribution margin as a quick measure for break even analysis. The break even point for a company is when its revenues equal its expenses, leaving the company with neither a net profit nor net loss. For example, suppose that a company does a quick calculation for the contribution margin and finds that it is $3 per product sold.

Alternatively, it may decide to increase prices, as a revenue increasing measure. Gross profit margins can also be used to measure company efficiency or to compare two companies of different market capitalizations. The direct production costs are called the cost of goods sold (COGS). COGS is the cost to produce the goods or services that a company sells. The gross margin shows how well a company generates revenue from the direct costs like direct labor and direct materials involved in producing their products and services.

Gross margin is calculated by deducting COGS from revenue and dividing the result by revenue. The contribution margin for this example would be the difference of $1,000,000 and $400,000, which is $600,000.