Everyday money
Discount Calculator
Work out the sale price and exactly how much you save from a percentage off, stack two discounts to see the real combined rate, or run it in reverse to find the original price from a sale tag. This is the math behind Black Friday doorbusters, "take an extra 20% off clearance" coupons, and the percentage-off codes you paste at checkout — and stacked deals rarely save as much as the headline rates suggest. Pick a mode, type your numbers, and the worksheet updates instantly in your browser so you can decide whether a deal is really worth it.
Discount details
Enter a price and discount
Stacked discounts apply one after another, so two 50% offs are not 100% off.
How the discount calculator works
A percentage discount multiplies the price by the fraction that remains after the cut. The three modes share the same idea: a single discount keeps (1 − rate) of the price; a stacked discount applies the second cut to what is left after the first; and reverse mode divides the final price by the remaining fraction to recover the original.
Active formula
salePrice = price × (1 − discount ÷ 100)where: price = original price before the discount discount = percentage off amount saved = price − salePrice
The three modes
- Single discount — original price minus one percentage off.
- Stacked discount — apply the second percentage to the price left after the first; the effective rate is always less than the two added together.
- Reverse — given the final (sale) price and the percentage off, recover the original price with original = final ÷ (1 − discount ÷ 100).
Notes & assumptions
- Discounts are capped at 0–100%; a 100% reverse discount is invalid because it would divide by zero.
- Taxes, shipping and coupon minimums are not included.
- Calculations are for general information only — verify at checkout before relying on them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate a percentage discount?
Multiply the original price by the discount rate to get the dollars you save, then subtract that from the price for the sale price. A faster way is to multiply the price by the fraction that remains: a 25% discount keeps 75%, so $120 × 0.75 = $90. The single-discount mode above does this automatically and shows both the amount saved and the price you pay.
Do two stacked discounts add together?
No — stacked discounts are applied one after another, not summed. Taking 50% off and then an extra 50% off does not equal 100% off; the second cut applies only to what's left after the first, giving an effective discount of 75%. The stacked mode above shows the real combined rate, which is always less than simply adding the two percentages.
How do I find the original price from a sale price?
Divide the price you paid by the fraction that remained after the discount. If you paid $90 after 25% off, the remaining fraction is 0.75, so the original price was 90 ÷ 0.75 = $120. The reverse mode above does this for you and also shows how much you saved versus the original ticket price.
Is the discount applied before or after sales tax?
In the U.S., percentage discounts and coupon codes are almost always applied to the item price first, and sales tax is then calculated on the lower, discounted amount. That means a discount saves you a little on tax too. This calculator focuses on the item price and does not add sales tax — use a separate sales tax calculator for the final out-the-door total.
What does "50% off" really save me?
A 50% discount cuts the price in half, so on a $120 item you save $60 and pay $60. The savings scale directly with the original price: the same 50% saves $25 on a $50 item and $150 on a $300 item. Watch for stacked or "extra % off" promotions, where the headline numbers overstate the true combined discount.