How do I calculate the sale price after a percentage discount?

Multiply the original price by (1 minus the discount rate). For example, a $120 item with a 25% discount has a sale price of $120 x (1 - 0.25) = $120 x 0.75 = $90. The dollar saving is $120 - $90 = $30.

What is the combined discount when two discounts are applied in sequence?

Two sequential discounts are not simply added together. A 20% discount followed by a 10% discount gives a combined saving of 1 - (0.80 x 0.90) = 1 - 0.72 = 28%, not 30%. The second discount is applied to the already-reduced price. This calculator handles both the first and an optional second stacked discount.

How do I work backwards to find the original price from a sale price?

Divide the sale price by (1 minus the discount rate). If an item now costs $75 after a 25% discount, the original price was $75 / 0.75 = $100. This is often called reverse percentage or finding the original from the discounted value.

Percentage Discount Calculator

Enter an original price and a discount percentage to instantly find the sale price, the dollar amount saved and your effective saving rate. Add an optional second stacked discount to see the true combined saving after both discounts apply.

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Standard formula Sale price = Original price x (1 - Discount / 100). Results are exact to the cent.

1. Price and Discount

Original price

Discount percentage

Currency symbol (optional)

2. Optional Second Discount

Second (stacked) discount (0 = none)

A second discount is applied to the price already reduced by the first discount. Two sequential discounts are never simply added together.

Discount Results

Original Price

Before discount

Sale Price
-
After discount(s)

You Save

Dollar amount off

Effective Discount

Combined saving rate

Calculation Breakdown

Original price-

First discount-

Price after first discount-

Second discount-

Saving from second discount-

Final sale price-

Savings Summary

Total dollar saving-

Saving from discount 1-

Saving from discount 2-

Effective combined discount-

Multiplier applied-

You pay-

Summary: Enter a price and discount above.

How to Calculate a Percentage Discount

A percentage discount reduces an original price by a set proportion. The two core formulas are:

Sale price = Original price x (1 - Discount% / 100)
Dollar saving = Original price - Sale price = Original price x (Discount% / 100)

For example, a $120.00 item with a 25% discount has a sale price of $120.00 x 0.75 = $90.00. The saving is $30.00.

Worked Example

Step	Calculation	Result
Original price	Given	$120.00
Discount percentage	Given	25%
Multiplier	1 - 25/100	0.75
Sale price	$120.00 x 0.75	$90.00
Dollar saving	$120.00 - $90.00	$30.00

These are the default values in the calculator above, so you can verify the output matches.

Stacked (Sequential) Discounts

When two discounts are applied one after the other, the second applies to the already-reduced price. A 20% discount followed by a 10% discount does not equal 30% off. The effective combined discount is:

Combined = 1 - (1 - d1/100) x (1 - d2/100)

For 20% then 10%: 1 - 0.80 x 0.90 = 1 - 0.72 = 0.28, so a combined saving of 28%, not 30%. Retailers often advertise two discounts separately because "20% off, then an extra 10% off" sounds larger than "28% off".

Reverse Percentage: Finding the Original Price

If you know the sale price and the discount percentage and want to find the original price, divide the sale price by the multiplier:

Original price = Sale price / (1 - Discount% / 100)

For example, if an item costs $90.00 after a 25% discount, the original price was $90.00 / 0.75 = $120.00.

Common Discount Multipliers

Discount	Multiplier	You pay	You save
5%	0.95	95% of original	5%
10%	0.90	90% of original	10%
15%	0.85	85% of original	15%
20%	0.80	80% of original	20%
25%	0.75	75% of original	25%
30%	0.70	70% of original	30%
40%	0.60	60% of original	40%
50%	0.50	50% of original	50%
75%	0.25	25% of original	75%

Related Calculators

Maths and Stats Calculators: full hub for percentage, ratio, and algebra tools.
Discount Calculator: find the discount percentage given original and sale prices.
Discount Stacking Calculator: combine multiple sequential discounts accurately.
Percentage Change Calculator: calculate increase or decrease between two values.
Percentage Calculator: general-purpose percentage tool for any percentage problem.

Method: Sale price = Original price x (1 - Discount / 100). For stacked discounts, the second multiplier is applied to the post-first-discount price: Final price = Original x (1 - d1/100) x (1 - d2/100). Standard arithmetic percentage discount formula.

This calculator provides exact arithmetic results for the inputs entered. It does not account for GST, rounding to the nearest cent by retailers, or any other pricing adjustments. For NZ GST calculations, see the GST Calculator.

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