Discount Calculator

Enter the original price and either a discount percentage or a discount amount to see the final price, how much you save, and the effective discount rate.

The formula

From a percentage: Discount = Price × Percent ÷ 100
From an amount: Discount = the amount you enter
Final price = Price − Discount
Effective percent = Discount ÷ Price × 100
Price
The original price before any reduction.
Percent
A percentage off. Fill this in or the amount field, not both — if a percentage is present the calculator uses it and ignores the amount.
Amount
A flat sum off, for coupons expressed in currency rather than percent.

Worked example

A 189 jacket at 35 percent off, then the same jacket with a flat 45 coupon.

The 35 percent sale saves 66.15; the 45 coupon saves 45, which is 23.81 percent. The percentage sale is the better offer here.

Why the effective-percent line matters

It is the only way to compare offers stated in different units. A 45 coupon and a 35 percent sale are not comparable until you convert one into the other, and the answer flips depending on the price: on a 100 item the 45 coupon wins, on a 189 item the percentage does. The crossover is where Price × Percent ÷ 100 equals the coupon — here, 45 ÷ 0.35 = 128.57. Above that price, take the percentage.

Stacked discounts do not add up

Thirty percent off followed by a further 20 percent off is not 50 percent off. The second reduction applies to the already-reduced price: 189 × 0.70 = 132.30, then × 0.80 = 105.84, which is 44 percent off in total, not 50. To model this in the calculator, run it twice, feeding the first final price back in as the price. The gap between the advertised sum and the real total widens as the individual discounts get larger.

Tax comes after the discount

Discounts reduce the taxable amount, so tax is applied to the final price rather than the original. Adding tax first and then discounting overstates what you save. This tool deals only with the discount; put its final price into a sales-tax calculator if you want the amount you will actually be charged.

Working out the discount from two prices

If you can see a was-price and a now-price, the reduction is the difference divided by the original: a 189 jacket now at 122.85 is (189 − 122.85) ÷ 189 × 100 = 35 percent. This is the check to run when an advertised percentage looks generous — the arithmetic either confirms it or does not.

Common questions

What happens if I fill in both the percentage and the amount?

The percentage wins. The calculator checks for a positive percentage first and only falls back to the flat amount if no usable percentage is present. Clear the percentage field if you want the coupon amount used.

Why can the discount not be larger than the price?

Because a final price below zero is not a price. A coupon worth more than the basket normally covers the basket and the remainder is either forfeited or held as credit depending on the retailer, so the calculator stops rather than showing a negative figure that would not match any receipt.

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

Divide the sale price by one minus the discount as a decimal. A jacket at 122.85 after 35 percent off was 122.85 ÷ 0.65 = 189. Adding 35 percent to 122.85 instead gives 165.85, which is wrong, because the percentage was taken from the larger number.

How much do I need to sell to make up a discount?

That depends on your margin, not on the discount alone. If your contribution margin is 40 percent and you cut price by 10 percent, you lose a quarter of your margin per unit and need roughly a third more volume to stand still. Work it as: new margin = old margin − discount, then divide old margin by new margin to get the volume multiplier.

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