Discount Calculator

Sale price, money saved and stacked discounts in one go.

25 %%
%
Stacked on the already reduced price.
Applied last, after the percentages.
$90.00You pay
$30.00You save
25%Effective discount
Price after the 25% discount
$90.00
Each 1% is worth
$1.20

About the Discount Calculator

A discount calculator answers the two questions a price tag never does: what will I actually pay, and how much am I really saving? Enter the original price and the advertised percentage and you get both, along with the value of each percentage point so you can judge whether waiting for a deeper sale is worth it.

The stacked-discount field exists because shops rely on a maths error most of us make. An extra 20 percent off an item already reduced by 30 percent is not 50 percent off: the second cut applies to the reduced price, so the true saving is 44 percent. A fixed-amount coupon behaves differently again, and is applied after the percentages here, which is what most checkouts do.

How to use the Discount Calculator

  1. Enter the original price before any reduction.
  2. Set the advertised discount percentage.
  3. Add a second percentage or a fixed coupon amount if they stack, then read the final price and the true saving.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate a percentage off?

Multiply the price by the discount divided by 100 to get the saving, then subtract it. A 25 percent discount on 120 saves 30 and leaves 90. Multiplying by 0.75 gets there in one step.

Do stacked discounts add up?

No, they multiply. Thirty percent off followed by 20 percent off leaves 0.7 x 0.8 = 0.56 of the original price, a 44 percent total discount rather than 50 percent.

Is it better to apply a coupon before or after a percentage discount?

A fixed-amount coupon is worth more when applied before a percentage cut, because the percentage then removes less. Most retailers apply percentages first, which is the order used here.

How do I work out the original price from a sale price?

Divide the sale price by 1 minus the discount. An item at 90 after 25 percent off started at 90 / 0.75 = 120.