How to Use the Discount Calculator
The Simple Answer
The Discount Calculator finds the sale price and what you save from a percent or dollar discount. It can stack a second or third discount and add sales tax to show the total.
What the tool does
A percentage discount comes off the current price. When there is more than one, each applies to the price left after the one before it. Adding the percentages would overstate the saving, which is why the real total is shown.
How to use it
- Enter the original price and choose a percentage or a dollar amount off.
- If a second discount applies on top, such as an extra coupon, enter it in the next box.
- Optionally add a sales tax rate to see the total.
- Read the sale price and the savings.
A worked example
Take a $100 item with 30% off, then 20% off. The first discount takes the price to $70 and the second takes it to $56. You save $44, which is 44%, not 50%. A dollar discount never takes the price below zero, and tax, if you enter a rate, is charged on the sale price.
Things to know
- Discounts are applied in the order you enter them. Stores differ: some apply a coupon before a sale, some after.
- The tax rate is the one you enter. The page does not look it up.
- For buy-one-get-one offers, use the BOGO Calculator.
- Everything is calculated in your browser. The prices you enter are never sent anywhere.
Common questions
Is 30% off then 20% off the same as 50% off? No. Each discount applies to the price left by the one before. On $100 you pay $56, so the total saving is 44%.
Does the order of the discounts matter? For two percentages, the final price is the same either way. A dollar discount mixed with a percentage can change the result, so enter them in the order the store applies them.
Discount Calculator: Open the Discount Calculator and try your own numbers.