What is marginal revenue?

Marginal revenue is the additional revenue generated by selling one more unit of a good or service. It is calculated as the change in total revenue (ΔTR) divided by the change in quantity (ΔQ). For a perfectly competitive firm, MR equals the market price; for a monopolist, MR is less than price.

How is MR different from average revenue?

Average revenue (AR) is total revenue divided by quantity sold (TR / Q), which always equals the price per unit. Marginal revenue is the incremental revenue from the last unit sold. Under perfect competition AR = MR = Price, but under monopoly or imperfect competition MR falls faster than AR as output increases.

Why can marginal revenue be negative?

MR becomes negative when a price cut is so large that the gain from selling more units is outweighed by the revenue lost on all previous units. This happens in the inelastic portion of a demand curve, where total revenue falls as quantity rises.

What does it mean when MR equals zero?

When MR is zero, total revenue is at its maximum. Selling one more unit beyond this point would actually reduce total revenue. This corresponds to unit price elasticity on the demand curve.

How many rows do I need for a meaningful schedule?

At least two rows are required to compute any MR value, since MR is a change between two points. Three to six rows typically provide a clear picture of how revenue behaves across the demand curve.

Can I use this for a perfectly competitive market?

Yes. In a perfectly competitive market every unit is sold at the same market price, so MR equals price at every quantity level. Enter the same price for each row at different quantities to confirm that MR remains constant and equal to price.

Marginal Revenue Calculator

Name: Marginal Revenue Calculator
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Enter price-quantity pairs to instantly compute marginal revenue, total revenue, and average revenue across your demand schedule.

Demand Schedule Inputs

Enter price and quantity for each point on the demand curve.

Price ($) Quantity

Formulas Used

Total Revenue (TR) Price × Quantity

Marginal Revenue (MR) ΔTR / ΔQ

Average Revenue (AR) TR / Q = Price

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Fill in at least two price-quantity rows and click Calculate.

Max TR

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Max MR

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Min MR

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Rows

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Demand Schedule

#	Price ($)	Quantity	TR ($)	MR ($)	AR ($)

MR = n/a for the first row (no previous point to compare). Negative MR indicates inelastic demand.

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Summary

Enter price-quantity pairs to instantly compute marginal revenue, total revenue, and average revenue across your demand schedule.

How it works

Enter a starting price and quantity in the first row of the demand schedule.
Add more rows by clicking "Add Row" — each row represents a price-quantity point on the demand curve.
The calculator sorts rows by quantity and computes total revenue (Price × Quantity) for each point.
Marginal revenue is calculated as the change in total revenue divided by the change in quantity between consecutive rows.
Average revenue (Price = AR under perfect competition) is shown alongside TR and MR for easy comparison.
Use "Reset" to clear all rows and start a new schedule.

Use cases

Determine the profit-maximizing output level where MR equals MC.
Analyze how a price change affects marginal and total revenue.
Build demand schedules for economics homework or exam preparation.
Compare MR across different market structures (monopoly vs. perfect competition).
Visualize the relationship between price, TR, and MR on a demand curve.
Support pricing decisions by understanding revenue impact at each quantity.
Teach or learn microeconomics concepts with an interactive tool.
Validate manual demand schedule calculations quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-09 · Reviewed by Nham Vu