Calculate savings, final prices, and compare discount types instantly. Supports percentage off, multi-tier stacking, tiered pricing, and Buy-One-Get-One deals.
Calculate various types of discounts including direct discounts, multi-tier reductions, tiered percentage discounts, and buy-N-get-M offers. Add multiple products and compare different discount strategies to maximize your savings.
Enter 80 for 20% off (80% of original price)
Calculating discounts is a fundamental skill for smart shopping. Whether you're figuring out a simple percentage off, stacking multiple coupons, or evaluating a dollar-off deal, the math follows straightforward formulas. Our discount calculator automates all of these so you can focus on finding the best deal.
Sale Price = Original × (1 - Discount%/100)
The most common discount type. Multiply the original price by the complement of the discount percentage. For 30% off a $50 item: $50 × 0.70 = $35 sale price with $15 saved.
Sale Price = Original - Dollar Discount
A fixed dollar discount is subtracted directly from the price. "$10 off any purchase over $40" is straightforward — but compare the effective percentage to see if it beats a percentage-off coupon.
Final = Original × (1 - D1/100) × (1 - D2/100)
When multiple discounts apply sequentially, each reduces the already-discounted price. A 20% sale + 15% coupon gives 32% total savings, not 35%. The order of application does not matter.
Original = Sale Price / (1 - Discount%/100)
Reverse the formula to find the original price from a sale price. If an item sells for $45 after 25% off, the original was $45 / 0.75 = $60. Useful for verifying advertised savings.
Retailers use many discount structures to attract customers. Understanding how each type works helps you evaluate which deals truly save the most money. Here are the most common discount types you'll encounter while shopping online or in stores.
The simplest and most widely used format: a flat percentage is taken off the original price. Common examples include seasonal sales (20% off storewide), flash sales (40% off for 24 hours), and employee discounts. Easy to calculate and compare across stores.
Multiple discounts applied in succession — for example, a 30% clearance markdown plus an extra 20% off coupon. Each discount reduces the price from the previous tier. The combined savings (44% in this example) is always less than the sum of individual percentages (50%).
The discount percentage increases based on the purchase amount or quantity. For example: 10% off orders over $50, 15% off over $100, 20% off over $200. This encourages larger purchases. Calculate whether spending more to reach the next tier actually saves money overall.
Buy-one-get-one deals require purchasing a set number of items to get additional items free or discounted. BOGO Free is effectively 50% off per item. "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" is 33% off per item. Always calculate the per-unit cost to compare BOGO deals against straight percentage discounts.
Knowing how discounts work is only half the battle. These strategies help you maximize savings and avoid common marketing traps that make deals look better than they actually are.
To calculate a percentage discount, multiply the original price by the discount percentage, then divide by 100. For example, 25% off a $80 item: $80 × 25 / 100 = $20 discount, so the sale price is $80 - $20 = $60. You can also multiply the original price by (1 - discount/100) directly: $80 × 0.75 = $60. Our calculator handles this instantly for any price and discount combination.
A multi-tier discount (also called a stacked or successive discount) applies multiple percentage discounts one after another. For example, a 20% off sale plus an extra 10% off coupon does not equal 30% off. Instead, the first 20% is applied to the original price, then the second 10% is applied to the already-reduced price. On a $100 item: $100 × 0.80 = $80, then $80 × 0.90 = $72. The combined effective discount is 28%, not 30%.
BOGO deals offer free or discounted items when you purchase a qualifying quantity. 'Buy One Get One Free' (BOGO 50% off total) means you pay for one item and get a second free — effectively 50% off per item when buying two. Variations include 'Buy 2 Get 1 Free' (33% off per item across three) or 'Buy One Get One 50% Off' (25% off per item across two). Our calculator supports custom Buy-N-Get-M configurations so you can see exact savings.
To compare discounts, calculate the final price for each offer on the same item or total purchase. A flat 30% off may save more than 20% + 15% stacked (which is only 32% combined). For BOGO deals, divide total cost by total items to find the per-unit price. Our discount calculator lets you compute each type side by side so you can choose the best deal at a glance.
Whether discounts can be stacked depends on the retailer's policy. Some stores allow combining a sale price with a coupon code, loyalty discount, or credit card cashback. When stacking is allowed, each successive discount is applied to the already-reduced price, not the original price. This means the order of discounts does not affect the final price mathematically, but the total savings will always be less than the sum of individual percentages.
To find the original price when you know the sale price and discount percentage, divide the sale price by (1 - discount/100). For example, if an item is on sale for $60 after a 25% discount: $60 / (1 - 0.25) = $60 / 0.75 = $80 original price. This reverse calculation is useful for verifying advertised discounts or determining markup before a sale.