Discount Percentage Calculator
Find the discount percentage applied between an original price and a sale price.
About the Discount % Calculator
Sometimes you know the before-and-after prices but want to know what percentage discount was actually applied — useful for comparing sales, verifying advertised discounts, or tracking how deep a markdown really went.
How It Works
The calculator subtracts the sale price from the original price to find the dollar amount saved, then divides that by the original price to express the discount as a percentage.
Discount (%) = (Original Price − Sale Price) / Original Price × 100.
Example
Scenario: An item originally priced at $80, now selling for $60.
Result: Amount saved of $20, a discount percentage of 25%.
Assumptions & Limitations
- Assumes the sale price is lower than the original price — if it is higher, the calculator will report a negative discount, indicating a price increase instead.
- If multiple discounts were stacked to reach the final sale price, this calculator reports only the single effective overall discount percentage, not each individual step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an advertised '25% off' always accurate?
Compare the advertised original price to any historical or typical selling price — some retailers inflate the 'original' price before a sale to make the discount percentage look larger than it really is.
How do I find the sale price if I know the original price and discount percentage?
Use the Discount Calculator, which starts from the original price and a known discount percentage to compute the final sale price directly.
Can this handle a price increase instead of a decrease?
Technically yes, but the result will show as a negative discount — for a price increase, the Price Increase Calculator is the more natural tool to use.