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To find a sale price, multiply the original price by (1 − discount ÷ 100). 25% off $80 is $80 × 0.75 = $60, and you save $20. For stacked discounts, multiply the factors instead of adding the percentages: 30% off followed by an extra 15% off is 0.70 × 0.85 = 0.595 of the price, a total discount of 40.5%, not 45%.
Enter the price, the discount and, if there is one, a second discount applied at checkout. The calculator returns the final price rounded to the cent, the dollars saved and the effective discount, which is the single percentage that would have produced the same price. That last number is what lets you compare a "30% + 15%" promotion with a flat "40% off" across the street.
The guide below adds what the calculator does not do for you: working backward from a sale price to the original, translating BOGO and "spend $X, save $Y" offers into a percentage, handling a dollar-off coupon together with a percent-off sale, and checking whether the "original" price on the tag means anything under the Federal Trade Commission's pricing guides.
Discount Calculator: step-by-step worked example
An item tagged 120.00 gets 30% off, then an extra 15% at checkout.
- Price
- 120.00
- Discount (%)
- 30%
- Second discount (%)
- 15%
- 1
After the first discount
Interim = Price × (100 − Discount₁) ÷ 100
120.00 × 70 ÷ 100 = 84.00
- 2
After the second (stacked) discount
Final = Interim × (100 − Discount₂) ÷ 100
84.00 × 85 ÷ 100 = 71.40
- 3
Total saved
Saved = Price − Final
120.00 − 71.40 = 48.60
- 4
Effective discount rate
Effective % = Saved ÷ Price × 100
48.60 ÷ 120.00 × 100 = 40.5%
- Tag price120.00
- 1st discount−36.00
- 2nd discount−12.60
- You pay71.40
Good to know: Stacked discounts don’t add up: 25% + 10% is 32.5%, not 35%, because the second discount applies to the already-reduced price.
Discount Calculator — how it works
The four discount formulas
| You want | Formula | Example: $80, 25% off |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | price × (1 − d ÷ 100) | 80 × 0.75 = $60.00 |
| Amount saved | price × d ÷ 100 | 80 × 0.25 = $20.00 |
| Percent off from two prices | (original − sale) ÷ original × 100 | (80 − 60) ÷ 80 = 25% |
| Original price from the sale price | sale ÷ (1 − d ÷ 100) | 60 ÷ 0.75 = $80.00 |
The last row is where most people go wrong. Adding 25% back to $60 gives $75, not $80, because the 25% was taken off a larger number. Always divide by the remaining fraction.
The calculator keeps full precision internally and rounds the final price to the cent, then computes the savings and the effective percentage from that rounded price.
Stacked discounts multiply
A second discount is applied to the already reduced price, so it is worth less in dollars than the first one. The combined effect is 1 − (1 − d₁)(1 − d₂).
| First discount | Second discount | Looks like | Actual total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | 10% | 30% | 28% |
| 25% | 25% | 50% | 43.75% |
| 30% | 15% | 45% | 40.5% |
| 40% | 20% | 60% | 52% |
| 50% | 50% | 100% | 75% |
| 60% | 20% | 80% | 68% |
Two percentage discounts give the same result in either order, because multiplication does not care about order. That changes once a fixed-dollar coupon is involved. On a $100 item with 20% off and a $10 coupon, taking the percentage first gives $80 − $10 = $70; taking the coupon first gives $90 × 0.80 = $72. The store's terms decide the order, and it is usually the percentage first. This calculator handles percentages only, so for a dollar coupon subtract it yourself from the result.
Turning promotions into a percentage
Most promotions are a discount in disguise. Converting them to one effective percentage makes them comparable.
| Offer | Effective discount | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Buy one, get one free | 50% on the pair | Both items the same price |
| Buy one, get one 50% off | 25% on the pair | Both items the same price |
| Buy two, get one free | 33.3% on three items | All three the same price |
| $20 off a $100 order | 20% | Exactly $100 spent; less on a larger order |
| $10 off when you spend $50 | 20% at $50, 12.5% at $80 | Falls as the basket grows |
When the BOGO items differ in price, the free or discounted item is normally the cheaper one, which lowers the effective rate. A "$20 off $100" deal is worth exactly 20% only at $100; on a $160 basket it is 12.5%.
Mental math shortcuts
- 10% off: move the decimal point one place left. 10% of $64.90 is $6.49.
- 20% off: double the 10% figure, then subtract.
- 15% off: 10% plus half of 10%. On $60: $6 + $3 = $9 off.
- 25% off: take a quarter. On $84: $21 off, pay $63.
- 33% off: take about a third.
- Pay price directly: for 30% off, multiply by 0.7. For 35% off, by 0.65.
Is the "original" price real?
A percentage is only as honest as the price it starts from. The FTC's Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (16 CFR Part 233) set the federal baseline:
- A former-price comparison is legitimate only if the former price is the actual, bona fide price at which the item was openly and actively offered for a reasonably substantial period of time in the recent, regular course of business (16 CFR 233.1).
- An inflated price created just to advertise a large reduction makes the "bargain" false. The FTC also gives the example of an item "reduced to $9.99" from $10, a nominal cut that misleads buyers into expecting a real saving.
- A manufacturer's list price or "MSRP" comparison is misleading if that price is significantly higher than the highest price at which substantial sales are made in the area (16 CFR 233.3).
Some states go further. California's Business and Professions Code section 17501 bars advertising a former price unless it was the prevailing market price within the three months immediately before the ad, or unless the ad clearly states when that price prevailed. For shoppers, the practical defense is the same everywhere: compare the final price, not the percentage, against what the item sells for elsewhere.
Percent off or dollars off?
Retailers often pick the format that sounds bigger. On low prices a percentage looks larger ("50% off a $6 item" is $3), on high prices a dollar figure does ("$300 off a $2,000 laptop" is 15%). Converting both to the same unit settles it: a dollar discount divided by the price gives the percentage, and a percentage times the price gives the dollars.
Discounts and sales tax
In the examples here, sales tax is added after the discount: discount first, then multiply the sale price by (1 + tax rate). Each state, and often each city or county, sets its own rate and decides how coupons and rebates affect the taxable price, so the tax line on your receipt may not match a simple calculation exactly. Manufacturer rebates paid later by mail do not lower the price at the register at all.
Worked example
A jacket is tagged $89.99. The store is running 30% off outerwear, and the checkout page applies an extra 15% off for loyalty members.
Enter a price of 89.99, a discount of 30% and a second discount of 15%. After the first discount the price is 89.99 × 0.70 = $62.993. The second discount takes it to 62.993 × 0.85 = $53.544, which the calculator rounds to $53.54. You save $36.45, and the effective discount is 40.5%, not the 45% the two numbers suggest.
Is it a better deal than a competitor's flat 40% off the same $89.99 jacket? That would be 89.99 × 0.60 = $53.99, so the stacked offer wins by 45 cents, because 40.5% is slightly more than 40%.
If you live somewhere with a 6% sales tax, the register total would be about 53.54 × 1.06 = $56.75. Use your own state and local rate; tax is charged on the discounted price in this example.
Discounted price table
| Price | %10 | %20 | %25 | %30 | %40 | %50 | %70 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100.00 | 90.00 | 80.00 | 75.00 | 70.00 | 60.00 | 50.00 | 30.00 |
| 250.00 | 225.00 | 200.00 | 187.50 | 175.00 | 150.00 | 125.00 | 75.00 |
| 500.00 | 450.00 | 400.00 | 375.00 | 350.00 | 300.00 | 250.00 | 150.00 |
| 1,000.00 | 900.00 | 800.00 | 750.00 | 700.00 | 600.00 | 500.00 | 300.00 |
| 2,500.00 | 2,250.00 | 2,000.00 | 1,875.00 | 1,750.00 | 1,500.00 | 1,250.00 | 750.00 |
| 5,000.00 | 4,500.00 | 4,000.00 | 3,750.00 | 3,500.00 | 3,000.00 | 2,500.00 | 1,500.00 |
| 10,000.00 | 9,000.00 | 8,000.00 | 7,500.00 | 7,000.00 | 6,000.00 | 5,000.00 | 3,000.00 |
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate 20% off a price?+
Multiply the price by 0.80. For $45, that is 45 × 0.80 = $36, a $9 saving. Equivalently, find 10% ($4.50), double it ($9) and subtract.
What is 30% off $50?+
$35. Multiply 50 by 0.70, or take 30% of $50 ($15) and subtract it.
How do I calculate the discount percentage from two prices?+
Subtract the sale price from the original, divide by the original and multiply by 100. From $120 to $90: (120 − 90) ÷ 120 = 0.25, so 25% off.
How do I find the original price before a discount?+
Divide the sale price by (1 − discount). A $60 item marked 25% off was 60 ÷ 0.75 = $80. Adding 25% to $60 gives $75, which is wrong.
Is 20% off and then 10% off the same as 30% off?+
No. It is 0.80 × 0.90 = 0.72 of the price, a 28% total discount. On $200 you pay $144, not $140.
Does the order of stacked discounts matter?+
Not for two percentage discounts: 30% then 15% equals 15% then 30%. It does matter when one is a dollar amount. On $100, 20% off then $10 off gives $70, while $10 off then 20% off gives $72.
What does buy one get one 50% off equal?+
25% off the pair when both items cost the same. Two $40 items cost $40 + $20 = $60 instead of $80.
What is 15% off $120?+
$102. 15% of $120 is $18 (10% is $12, plus half of that, $6).
Can a store advertise a fake "original" price?+
Federal FTC guides say a former-price comparison must use a bona fide price the item was actually offered at for a reasonably substantial period. California also requires the former price to have prevailed within the previous three months unless the ad states when it did.
Sources
About this page
- Publisher:
- Kalkoro — Teknolojig Bilişim Teknolojileri A.Ş., İstanbul
- Written by:
- Furkan Tur — Editor (Finance, loans, tax, accounting, commerce, legal, employment)
- Reviewed by:
- Ahmet Tur — Editor
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