Calculate sale prices, savings, and stacked multiple discounts. Find the original price from a discounted price instantly.
Discount Calculator
Single Discount
You Save
Sale Price
Original
Stacked Discounts (e.g. 20% then 10%)
Find Original Price (reverse)
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How to Calculate Discounts and Stacked Discounts
This calculator handles three common discount scenarios: a single percentage discount, stacked multiple discounts applied sequentially, and reverse calculation (finding original price from a sale price).
Single Discount Formula
Sale Price = Original Price × (1 − Discount%). Savings = Original Price × Discount%.
Stacked Discounts: Why They're Not Additive
A 20% discount followed by a 10% discount is not 30% off. The second discount applies to the already-reduced price. $200 → 20% off = $160 → 10% off = $144. Total discount = (200−144)/200 = 28%, not 30%. The combined discount formula: 1 − (1−d1)(1−d2).
Reverse Calculation
Original Price = Sale Price / (1 − Discount%). Useful when you know the post-discount price and want to verify the pre-discount price, or when comparing "marked up then discounted" items to their true market value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Multiply the price by 0.20 to find the discount amount, then subtract from the original. Example: 20% off $150 = $150 × 0.20 = $30 savings | Sale price = $150 − $30 = $120. Shortcut: multiply by 0.80 directly: $150 × 0.80 = $120.
No — stacked discounts are multiplicative, not additive. 20% + 10% = 28% combined (not 30%). The formula is: Combined = 1 − (1−0.20)(1−0.10) = 1 − 0.72 = 0.28 = 28%. This matters significantly in retail and wholesale pricing negotiations.
Original Price = Sale Price / (1 − Discount%). If you paid $75 after a 25% discount: Original = $75 / (1 − 0.25) = $75 / 0.75 = $100. Common mistake: adding the discount percentage back to the sale price ($75 + 25% = $93.75) — this is wrong because the percentage base changed.
A discount reduces the price at the point of sale — you pay less immediately. A rebate is a partial refund after purchase — you pay full price, then submit a claim to receive cash back later. Rebates have lower redemption rates (many people forget or don't bother), so they appear to offer the same saving but cost the seller less on average.