Percent Off Calculator

This percent off calculator (also called a discount calculator or sale price calculator) gives you the sale price and dollar savings from any original price and percentage discount. All math runs in your browser, so you can change the numbers as fast as you can type.

1. Enter the original price as it appears on the tag or product page. Use the regular price, not the already-marked-down price, unless you are stacking discounts (see below).
2. Enter the discount percentage, or click one of the presets (5%, 10%, 20%, 25%, 50%, 75%). Presets cover most storefront sales.
3. Read the sale price and your savings from the result panel. The breakdown table shows the original price, the dollar discount, and the final price you would pay at checkout.

The "Common Discounts on $X" table below the result compares seven standard discount tiers on your original price at once. This is the fastest way to see what a listed sale is actually worth, and to sanity-check whether a "40% off" deal is better than a "$20 off coupon" on a specific item.

Reverse calculation: if you know the sale price and want to find what percentage off was applied, use (Original − Sale) ÷ Original × 100. A $100 item now selling for $65 is (100 − 65) ÷ 100 = 35% off.

Every percent off calculation comes down to three related formulas. The calculator above uses all three depending on which direction you are solving.

1. Sale Price (this is what the calculator returns)

Sale Price = Original Price × (1 − Discount%)

Example: $89.99 jacket at 30% off
Sale Price = 89.99 × (1 − 0.30)
           = 89.99 × 0.70
           = $62.99

You Save = 89.99 − 62.99 = $27.00

2. Discount Amount (the dollars you save)

Savings = Original Price × (Discount% ÷ 100)

Example: $240 refrigerator at 15% off
Savings = 240 × 0.15 = $36.00
Sale Price = 240 − 36 = $204.00

3. Reverse: What Percent Off Was This?

Discount% = (Original − Sale Price) ÷ Original × 100

Example: was $149.99, now $89.99
Discount% = (149.99 − 89.99) ÷ 149.99 × 100
          = 60 ÷ 149.99 × 100
          = 40.00%

Quick Reference: What Each Discount Actually Costs

A handy way to calculate percent off in your head is to multiply by the "keep percentage" (1 minus the discount). On a $100 item:

For any price, multiply by the number in the third column. A $47 shirt at 40% off is $47 × 0.60 = $28.20. This works in your head faster than calculating the discount amount and subtracting it.

A basic sale price calculator tells you what a listed discount saves. What it does not show is how discounts combine, how sales tax changes the final number, and when a bigger-percentage sale is actually worse than a smaller one. This section covers the scenarios a simple discount calculator cannot.

Stacked Discounts Multiply, They Do Not Add

The single most common shopping math mistake is adding two discount percentages together. A 30% sale with an extra 20% off coupon is not 50% off. Each discount applies to whatever price remains after the previous one. On a $100 item:

Step 1: 30% off → $100 × 0.70 = $70.00
Step 2: 20% off → $70 × 0.80  = $56.00

Combined discount = (100 − 56) ÷ 100 = 44% off
Not 50% off.

The combined "keep rate" is (1 − 0.30) × (1 − 0.20) = 0.56. You pay 56%, so you save 44%. This is how nearly every retailer structures stacked sale events, so the advertised combined discount is almost always smaller than the two numbers added together.

Sales Tax: The Discount Usually Comes First

In almost all US jurisdictions, sales tax is charged on the discounted price, not the original price. This is good for the shopper. A $100 item at 25% off in a state with 8% sales tax:

Original                      $100.00
After 25% off                  $75.00
Plus 8% sales tax ($75 × 0.08)  $6.00
───────────────────────────────────────
Final at register              $81.00

Manufacturer coupons are treated the same way in most states, but store coupons and percent-off promotions are almost always pre-tax discounts. A few states (Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri) tax manufacturer coupons differently, so the final price may include tax on the un-discounted amount for those coupons.

When a Higher Percentage Is Not a Better Deal

A "60% off" clearance sticker can lose to a "20% off" coupon, depending on what the starting price is. This happens because stores frequently raise the list price right before a sale so the percentage looks dramatic. Always compare the final dollar price, not the percentage.

Store A looks like the best deal by percentage, but Store B is $4 cheaper and Store C beats it without any sale at all. Check the competitor price before assuming the biggest "% off" is the winner.

BOGO, BOGOHO, and Discount Equivalence

Common "buy one get one" promotions each equal a different percent off, if you buy the number of items required:

These equivalents assume all items are the same price. If the discount applies to the lower-priced item, your savings drop. Always check the fine print on which item the free or discounted one is.

Markdown vs Discount: Terminology That Matters

Retailers use two different terms that look similar but describe different calculations. A markdown is a permanent reduction in the list price, used when inventory is not moving. A discount (or sale) is a temporary percentage off the current list price. Clearance items are usually marked down once, then discounted on top of the new markdown as they get closer to the end of the season. If you see a price tag showing two crossed-out numbers, the bottom one is the markdown, and any "additional X% off" sign at the register is a further discount applied to that markdown.