Discount Calculator
Calculate the final price after a percentage discount. Enter the original price and discount percentage to see the sale price, dollar amount saved, and percentage saved.
Common Discount Examples
| Original Price | Discount | Sale Price | You Save |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | 10% | $90 | $10 |
| $100 | 20% | $80 | $20 |
| $100 | 25% | $75 | $25 |
| $100 | 50% | $50 | $50 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Sale Price = Original Price × (1 − Discount% ÷ 100). For a 20% discount on $50: $50 × 0.80 = $40 sale price, saving you $10.
Original Price = Sale Price ÷ (1 − Discount% ÷ 100). If something costs $60 after a 25% discount: $60 ÷ 0.75 = $80 original price.
Working out a sale price
Example: a $80 jacket at 25% off.
$80 × 0.75 = $60, saving $20.
The shortcut is to work with what you pay rather than what you save — 25% off means paying 75%, so one multiplication gets you there.
Stacked discounts don't add up
This is where most people lose money without noticing. "30% off, then an extra 20% off at the register" is not 50% off.
The second discount applies to the already-reduced price:
- $100 × 0.70 = $70
- $70 × 0.80 = $56
That's 44% off in total, not 50%. The gap widens as discounts get bigger. Two 50% discounts give 75% off, not 100% — the item never becomes free.
Working backwards
To find the discount percentage from two prices:
A $120 item marked at $90: (120 − 90) ÷ 120 = 0.25, so 25% off.
Sales tax and the order of operations
Discounts are applied before tax. A $100 item at 30% off with 8% sales tax costs $70 × 1.08 = $75.60. Tax is charged on what you actually pay, not the original ticket price.
Reading the deal properly
- "Up to 70% off" means at least one item is 70% off. Most will be far less.
- Buy one get one free is 50% off across two items, but only if you wanted both.
- Buy two get one free is 33% off three items.
- Percentage off a marked-up "was" price tells you nothing on its own. Compare against what the item sells for elsewhere, not against the sticker.