Percent Off Calculator
Quickly work out the sale price and how much you save when an item is a given percent off.
Sale price, savings and the percent off between two prices
The calculator takes the percentage off the original price and shows what you pay and what you save. With the defaults, 30% off $80 is a $56 sale price and a $24 saving. A quick check: 30% off means you pay 70%, and $80 × 0.70 = $56.
If a tag shows both prices but not the percentage, work it out as (original − sale) ÷ original × 100. A jacket marked down from $129.99 to $89.99 is 30.77% off.
Stacked discounts are not added together
A 20% off sale plus an extra 10% off at checkout is not 30% off. The second discount applies to the already reduced price:
- $80 less 20% = $64.00
- $64 less 10% = $57.60
You save $22.40, which is 28% off the original, not 30% ($56). The general rule is combined = 1 − (1 − first) × (1 − second). To check a stacked deal here, run the first discount, then enter the result as the original price and run the second.
With two percentages, the order doesn't change the result. With a percentage and a fixed dollar coupon, it does. On $80, taking 30% off first and then $10 leaves $46; taking $10 off first and then 30% leaves $49. The store's rules decide the order.
Finding the original price from the sale price
To go backwards, divide the sale price by what's left after the discount: original = sale ÷ (1 − percent ÷ 100). An item selling for $42 at 30% off was originally $42 ÷ 0.70 = $60.
A common slip is adding 30% back to $42, which gives $54.60 and is wrong, because the 30% was taken from the larger original price. This reverse calculation is also a quick way to check whether a "was" price on a tag is consistent with the discount advertised.
Percent off or dollars off
When a store lets you choose between, say, $20 off and 25% off, find the break-even price: dollar amount ÷ percentage. Here $20 ÷ 0.25 = $80.
- Below $80, the dollar coupon wins. On a $60 purchase, 25% is only $15.
- Above $80, the percentage wins. On $120, 25% is $30.
- At exactly $80, both save $20.
Add sales tax after the discount
The calculator shows the price before tax. Sales tax is generally charged on what you actually pay after a store discount, so apply it to the sale price, not the original. Say your local rate is 8%: the $56 sale price becomes $56 × 1.08 = $60.48 at the register, with $4.48 of tax, compared with $86.40 at full price. How coupons are taxed can vary by state, so your receipt is the final word.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate percent off in my head?+
Find 10% by moving the decimal point one place left, then multiply. On $80, 10% is $8, so 30% is $24 and the sale price is $56. For 25%, divide by four; for 50%, halve the price.
Is 50% off plus an extra 20% off the same as 70% off?+
No. The extra 20% comes off the already halved price, so you pay 80% of 50%, which is 40% of the original. That is 60% off in total, not 70%.
Is buy one, get one 50% off the same as 25% off?+
Only when both items cost the same: you pay 150% for 200% worth of goods, a 25% saving. When prices differ, check which item gets the half-off. If it's the cheaper one, a $40 item and a $30 item save $15 on $70, which is 21.43% off.
What does "up to 70% off" mean?+
It means 70% is the largest discount in the sale, usually on a limited number of items. Most items may be discounted less, so check the percentage on the item you want before assuming the headline figure applies.
Embed this tool on your website
Free to use on blogs, school sites and intranets. Paste this code into your page's HTML; please keep the credit line.
<iframe src="https://utilityapp.lat/embed/math/percent-off-calculator" title="Percent Off Calculator" width="100%" height="660" style="border:0;max-width:760px" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p style="font-size:13px"><a href="https://utilityapp.lat/math/percent-off-calculator">Percent Off Calculator</a> by UtilityApp</p>