Discount Calculator: Sale Price and How Much You Save
A discount calculator applies a percentage off an original price to give the final price and the amount saved. It also handles stacked discounts, which almost never add up the way the signage suggests.
Stacked discounts multiply
'50% off plus an extra 20% off' is not 70% off. The second discount applies to the already-reduced price: 100 becomes 50, then 40 — a 60% total reduction. To combine discounts, multiply the remaining fractions: 0.5 × 0.8 = 0.4, so you pay 40% of the original.
Judging whether a deal is real
- Compare against the typical selling price, not the recommended retail price.
- Check price history tools before big-ticket purchases.
- Buy-one-get-one-free is a 50% discount only if you need both items.
- Add shipping and any restocking or return cost before comparing sellers.
Discounting from a seller's side
A discount comes entirely out of margin. On a 40% margin, a 20% discount removes half the profit and requires roughly double the volume to break even on gross profit. Bundles, added value and loyalty pricing usually protect margin better than straight percentage cuts, and frequent discounting trains customers to wait for the next sale.
Key takeaways — Discount Calculator
- Sale price = original × (1 − discount); savings = original − sale price.
- Stacked discounts multiply the remaining fractions, they do not add.
- For sellers, calculate the volume increase a discount needs before offering it.