Discount calculation: sale price, savings and percentage

A discount reduces an original price by a given percentage. Several situations can be confusing: finding the real reduction between two prices, calculating the amount saved, or combining successive discounts.

The Bethemesh discount calculator handles all three cases automatically.

Discount formulas

Savings = Original price × Discount / 100

Final price = Original price × (1 − Discount / 100)

A 20% discount on €100 therefore saves €20 and gives a final price of €80.

To find the percentage from two prices:

Discount = (Original price − Final price) / Original price × 100

Why successive discounts do not simply add up

For €100 with 20% off and then another 10%, the first discount gives €80. The second applies to €80, producing €72. The effective discount is therefore 28%, not 30%.

Discount and margin

For a business, a discount lowers the selling price while purchase or production cost often remains unchanged. A product costing €60 and normally sold for €100 has a €40 gross margin. After a 20% discount, its price is €80 and the margin falls to €20.

Check the effect with the margin calculator. If you need to separate net price and VAT, use the VAT calculator.

Key point

For a 20% discount, multiply the price by 0.80. For successive discounts, apply each remaining-price coefficient one after another instead of adding the percentages.