Discount Calculator

What This Tool Does

This calculator finds the discounted price and the amount you save when a percentage discount is applied to an original price. It also works in reverse — enter the final price and discount to find the original price, or the original and final price to find the discount rate.

You can also use this Simple Interest Calculator.

How It’s Calculated

Discounted Price = Original Price − (Original Price × Discount % ÷ 100)

Worked example: An item priced at ₹1,200 with a 25% discount.

• Savings: 1,200 × 25 ÷ 100 = ₹300
• Discounted price: 1,200 − 300 = ₹900

To reverse it and find the original price from a discounted price of ₹900 at 25% off:

• Divide the discount percentage by 100 and subtract from 1: 1 − 0.25 = 0.75
• Original price: 900 ÷ 0.75 = ₹1,200

Edge Cases and Special Rules

• Tax timing matters: Whether a discount is applied before or after tax changes the final amount. A discount applied to a tax-inclusive price gives a different result than one applied to the pre-tax price with tax added afterward.
• Stacked discounts don’t simply add up: Two discounts of 20% and 10% applied one after another isn’t the same as a single 30% discount. On a ₹1,000 item: 20% off brings it to ₹800, then 10% off that brings it to ₹720 — an effective discount of 28%, not 30%.
• Rounding: Final prices are typically rounded to the nearest currency sub-unit (paise, cents), which can cause tiny discrepancies on very small purchases.
• Currency doesn’t change the formula: Whether you’re working in INR, EUR, or another currency, the percentage math is identical — only the rounding convention for that currency’s smallest unit might differ.

Types of Discounts

Not all “discounts” work the same way. A percentage discount reduces the price by a set percentage, as calculated above. A flat amount discount subtracts a fixed sum regardless of price. Quantity discounts reduce cost per unit as you buy more, common in bulk or wholesale pricing. Deal-based discounts, like “buy one get one” or “2 for 1,” don’t reduce a listed percentage at all — they change how many units you get for the price, which needs a different calculation entirely.

Who Uses This

• Shoppers checking exactly how much a sale price saves them
• Retailers and marketers setting promotional pricing before a sale
• Anyone comparing two different deals structured differently, like a flat discount versus a percentage off
• Buyers verifying that a listed discount adds up correctly at checkout

Discount vs. Margin

These get confused because both involve percentages of a price, but they measure different things. A discount is a reduction from the selling price, calculated as a percentage of that price. A margin (or markup) relates the selling price to the cost price, showing how much profit is built in. A 20% discount and a 20% margin are unrelated calculations working from different baselines — don’t assume one tells you anything about the other.

FAQ

What is the discount formula? Discounted price equals original price minus (original price multiplied by the discount percentage, divided by 100).

How do I find the original price from a discounted price? Divide the discounted price by (1 minus the discount as a decimal) — for a 25% discount, divide by 0.75.

Does a discount apply before or after tax? It depends on how the retailer structures pricing — check whether the listed price includes tax before assuming which applies.

Do two discounts stack to their sum? No — applying discounts sequentially results in a smaller combined discount than simply adding the two percentages.

How do I calculate a discount in Excel? Subtract the discounted price from the original in one cell, divide by the original price, and multiply by 100 to get the percentage.

Try It Above

Enter your original price and discount percentage in the calculator above to get your final price and savings instantly. Results are for general calculation purposes only.