Three questions, one tool
Choose the question you are asking. To see what you will pay, enter the price and the discount. To judge a deal, enter the original and sale prices and read the percentage off. To work backwards from a sale tag, enter the sale price and the discount and read the original.
Each result shows the original price, the saving and the final price side by side, plus a bar of how much of the price you are saving.
Why discounts stack differently than you expect
Percentages are applied to the price at the moment they are used. A second discount takes a percentage of an already reduced price, so two discounts always save a little less than their sum. Open More options to add one and see the combined effect.
Spotting a real deal
A large percentage off a price that was inflated beforehand is not a bargain. Compare the sale price with what the item normally sells for elsewhere, and use the original price finder if a tag only shows the discount.
A worked example
A jacket costs 120 and is 30% off, which brings it to 84. A voucher then takes a further 10% off the reduced price, leaving 75.60. You saved 44.40, which is 37% of the original price rather than the 40% you would get by adding the two percentages.
Questions people ask
How do I calculate a discount?
Multiply the original price by the discount percentage as a decimal and subtract that from the price. 25% off 80 is 80 × 0.25 = 20, so the sale price is 60. In one step: 80 × (1 − 0.25) = 60.
How do I find the original price before a discount?
Divide the sale price by (1 − the discount rate). If an item costs 60 after 25% off, the original price was 60 ÷ 0.75 = 80. Adding 25% to 60 would give the wrong answer of 75.
How do I find the discount percentage?
Divide the amount saved by the original price and multiply by 100. If 80 became 60, you saved 20, and 20 ÷ 80 = 25%.
What happens with two discounts?
They apply one after the other, not added together. 25% off, then another 10% off, leaves 0.75 × 0.90 = 67.5% of the price, which is 32.5% off in total.
Is sales tax added before or after the discount?
In most places tax is charged on the discounted price, which is how this calculator treats it. Some coupons are applied after tax, so check how your store handles it.