Discount Calculator

Enter a price and a percent off to see the sale price and exactly what you save, updated live as you type. The second calculator runs the math backwards and recovers the original price when all you know is the discounted one.

Discount Calculator tool

Price after a discount

You pay
You save

Original price before the discount

Original price

How to use it

  1. Type the original price and the percent off.
  2. Read the sale price and your savings.
  3. Use the second box when you know the sale price and want the original.

Worked example

Input: $80 at 25% off
Result: Pay $60.00, save $20.00
Input: $60 after 25% off
Result: Original was $80.00

Percent off, stacked discounts and reverse math

Taking a percentage off is quickest as a single multiplication. A 25 percent discount leaves 75 percent of the price, so $80 becomes 80 times 0.75, which is $60. Working with what remains avoids the two-step subtraction most people fumble in a store.

Stacked discounts do not add up. Twenty percent off followed by another 20 percent at the register is not 40 percent off. The second cut applies to the already reduced price, so $100 goes to $80 and then to $64, which is 36 percent off in total. The extra-percent field above shows the true combined figure.

Reverse percentages catch people out just as often. If a jacket rings up at $60 after 25 percent off, the original was 60 divided by 0.75, which is $80. Adding 25 percent back to $60 would wrongly give $75.

Common uses

  • Checking a sale price before you buy
  • Comparing two competing offers
  • Working out stacked or coupon discounts
  • Recovering the original price from a sale tag

Frequently asked questions

Multiply the price by what is left after the discount. For 30 percent off, multiply by 0.70. A $50 item becomes $35, and you save $15.
No. The second discount applies to the reduced price, so two 20 percent cuts total 36 percent off, not 40. The calculator above shows the real combined percentage.
Divide the sale price by one minus the discount. A $60 tag after 25 percent off means 60 divided by 0.75, so the original was $80.
Discounts come off first, then tax is charged on the reduced amount. That is why the register total is lower than a tax estimate based on the original ticket price.