Discount Calculator

To calculate a percentage discount, multiply the original price by the discount percentage (expressed as a decimal). For example, a 20% discount on a $100 item means you save $20 ($100 × 0.20) and pay $80. The formula is: Savings = Original Price × (Discount % / 100), Final Price = Original Price − Savings.

A discount is the amount or percentage taken off the original price — it represents how much you save. The sale price (or final price) is what you actually pay after the discount is applied. For example, on a $50 item with a 30% discount, the discount amount is $15 and the sale price is $35.

Stacking discounts are multiplicative, not additive. If an item is already 30% off and you get an additional 20% off the reduced price, you do not save 50% total. Instead, you save 30% first (leaving 70% of the original price), then 20% off that remaining amount. Mathematically: $100 × 0.70 × 0.80 = $56. Your total savings is $44, or 44% — not 50%. This calculator's Stacked Discounts tab lets you enter up to 5 sequential discounts and see the breakdown step by step.

Shopping List mode lets you compare savings across multiple items at once. Add each item with its name, original price, and any applicable discounts (including stacked discounts). The calculator shows a summary table with the original price, savings, and final price for each item, plus a grand total for your entire cart. This is especially useful during Black Friday or holiday shopping when you want to see the real impact of multiple deals before checking out. For example, you can add a $120 jacket on 30% off clearance, a $45 shirt with a 20% discount, and a $200 pair of shoes with two stacked discounts (25% + 10%), then see the combined savings across all three items in one view.

To use the Shopping List, switch to "Stacked Discounts" tab and click "Shopping List." Add each item you plan to buy by entering its name, original price, and any discounts. If an item has multiple sequential discounts (like a clearance sale followed by a coupon), add them as stacked layers — just enter each discount percentage. Once you have added all your items, the summary table shows the savings and final price for each item, along with your total cart savings. This helps you prioritize which deals are worth pursuing and prevents overestimating your savings from stacked discounts.

You can stack up to 5 discounts per item. In practice, most retail scenarios involve 2–3 layers (e.g., a clearance discount followed by a coupon code, plus a loyalty card discount). The calculator applies each discount sequentially — each one reduces the price from the previous layer, not the original price.

If you know the original price and what you paid, subtract the sale price from the original to find your savings. Then divide the savings by the original price and multiply by 100. For example, if an item originally cost $120 and you paid $90, you saved $30. The discount percentage is ($30 / $120) × 100 = 25%. Our Reverse Mode calculator does this automatically.

"Buy one get one 50% off" (BOGO 50%) is equivalent to a 25% discount on the total if you buy two identical items at the same price. For example, two $50 shirts: you pay $50 + $25 = $75 for $100 worth of goods, which is a 25% discount. However, these deals only save you money if you actually need both items. Buying things you do not need because they are "on sale" is the opposite of saving money.

In most US states, sales tax is calculated on the discounted (sale) price, not the original price. For example, if an item is marked down from $100 to $80 with an 8% sales tax, you pay $6.40 in tax ($80 × 0.08), not $8.00 ($100 × 0.08). However, tax rules vary by state and locality, so check your local regulations for specifics.

Retailers typically offer their deepest discounts during seasonal clearances: January (winter clothing, electronics), July (summer apparel), Black Friday/Cyber Monday (November, electronics and general merchandise), and end-of-season transitions. Major holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day also feature significant sales. For appliances and furniture, holidays that fall on weekends tend to have the best promotions.

Some retailers inflate the "original" price just before a sale to make the discount look bigger than it really is. To spot this: check historical prices using tools like CamelCamelCamel for Amazon products, compare prices across multiple retailers, and be skeptical of discounts that seem too good to be true. A legitimate discount should reflect a genuine reduction from a sustained market price, not an artificially inflated anchor price.