Money & Pricing Tables
Discount Price Table
A percentage discount is a multiplication, and treating it as a subtraction is what makes sale pricing confusing. Taking 30% off means multiplying by 0.70, not subtracting 30 from the price. The distinction is invisible on a single item and obvious the moment a second discount is applied on top of the first.
That is the point of the third table. Two successive discounts multiply rather than add: 20% followed by another 20% leaves 0.80 × 0.80 = 0.64, which is 36% off the original, not 40%. Retailers are not obliged to explain this, and a "20% extra 20% off" event is meaningfully smaller than it reads.
The middle table gives the reframing that makes discounts comparable with quantity offers. A 50% discount is identical to getting 100% extra free, because both halve the effective unit price. A 30% discount is only 42.9% extra free, which is why "30% off" and "30% extra free" are not the same deal and the one that sounds bigger is not always the better one.
All the cells are computed from the multiplier, so the price and the saving always sum back to the original. If you are checking a till receipt, that is the test: the discount and the final price must add up to the pre-discount figure.
Price after a percentage discount
| Original price | 10% off | 15% off | 20% off | 25% off | 30% off | 40% off | 50% off | 60% off | 70% off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | $9.00 | $8.50 | $8.00 | $7.50 | $7.00 | $6.00 | $5.00 | $4.00 | $3.00 |
| $20.00 | $18.00 | $17.00 | $16.00 | $15.00 | $14.00 | $12.00 | $10.00 | $8.00 | $6.00 |
| $25.00 | $22.50 | $21.25 | $20.00 | $18.75 | $17.50 | $15.00 | $12.50 | $10.00 | $7.50 |
| $50.00 | $45.00 | $42.50 | $40.00 | $37.50 | $35.00 | $30.00 | $25.00 | $20.00 | $15.00 |
| $75.00 | $67.50 | $63.75 | $60.00 | $56.25 | $52.50 | $45.00 | $37.50 | $30.00 | $22.50 |
| $100.00 | $90.00 | $85.00 | $80.00 | $75.00 | $70.00 | $60.00 | $50.00 | $40.00 | $30.00 |
| $150.00 | $135.00 | $127.50 | $120.00 | $112.50 | $105.00 | $90.00 | $75.00 | $60.00 | $45.00 |
| $200.00 | $180.00 | $170.00 | $160.00 | $150.00 | $140.00 | $120.00 | $100.00 | $80.00 | $60.00 |
| $250.00 | $225.00 | $212.50 | $200.00 | $187.50 | $175.00 | $150.00 | $125.00 | $100.00 | $75.00 |
| $500.00 | $450.00 | $425.00 | $400.00 | $375.00 | $350.00 | $300.00 | $250.00 | $200.00 | $150.00 |
| $1,000.00 | $900.00 | $850.00 | $800.00 | $750.00 | $700.00 | $600.00 | $500.00 | $400.00 | $300.00 |
The multiplier is (1 − rate), not the amount saved. Taking 30% off $100 leaves $70, and taking a further 30% off $70 leaves $49 — not $40, because the second discount applies to a smaller base.
Amount saved, and the multiplier to apply
| Discount | Multiplier | Saved on $100 | Price on $100 | Equivalent extra quantity free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% off | 0.9000 | $10.00 | $90.00 | 11.1% |
| 15% off | 0.8500 | $15.00 | $85.00 | 17.6% |
| 20% off | 0.8000 | $20.00 | $80.00 | 25% |
| 25% off | 0.7500 | $25.00 | $75.00 | 33.3% |
| 30% off | 0.7000 | $30.00 | $70.00 | 42.9% |
| 40% off | 0.6000 | $40.00 | $60.00 | 66.7% |
| 50% off | 0.5000 | $50.00 | $50.00 | 100% |
| 60% off | 0.4000 | $60.00 | $40.00 | 150% |
| 70% off | 0.3000 | $70.00 | $30.00 | 233.3% |
The last column reframes the discount as free product: 50% off is the same as 100% extra free, while 30% off is only 42.9% extra. Shops prefer the framing that sounds larger.
Two discounts applied one after the other
| First | Second | Combined effect | Price on $100 | Not the same as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% off | 10% off | 19% off | $81.00 | 20% off |
| 20% off | 20% off | 36% off | $64.00 | 40% off |
| 30% off | 30% off | 51% off | $49.00 | 60% off |
| 40% off | 40% off | 64% off | $36.00 | 80% off |
| 50% off | 50% off | 75% off | $25.00 | 100% off |
| 60% off | 60% off | 84% off | $16.00 | 120% off |
Stacked discounts multiply, they do not add. Two 20% discounts give 36% off in total, not 40%, because the second one applies to the already reduced price.
How to Use These Tables
- Single discount: multiply by (1 − rate). A $250 item at 30% off costs 250 × 0.70 = $175.
- Stacked discounts: multiply the multipliers, then subtract from 1. Two 20% discounts give 1 − 0.80 × 0.80 = 36% off.
- Comparing with a quantity offer: a d% discount equals d ÷ (100 − d) × 100% extra free. 20% off is 25% extra free.
- Recovering the original price: divide by the multiplier, never add the percentage back. $70 after 30% off came from 70 ÷ 0.70 = $100, not from 70 × 1.30.
Common Questions
Are two 20% discounts the same as 40% off?
No. The second discount applies to the already reduced price, so the combined effect is 36% off. The gap widens as the discounts get larger: two 50% discounts give 75% off, not 100%.
Is 30% off the same as 30% extra free?
No, and the discount is the better of the two by a wide margin. 30% off means paying 70 for what cost 100, while 30% extra free means paying 100 for 130 — which works out at 23.1% off. The equivalent of 30% off is 42.9% extra free.
How do I get back to the original price?
Divide by the multiplier rather than adding the percentage back. After a 25% discount the multiplier is 0.75, so a price of $60 came from 60 ÷ 0.75 = $80. Adding 25% to 60 gives 75, which is wrong.
Does the order of two discounts matter?
No. Multiplication commutes, so 20% then 30% is the same as 30% then 20% — both leave 0.56 of the original. What matters is the number of discounts, not their sequence.
What is the difference between a discount and a rebate?
A discount reduces the price at the till, while a rebate is claimed afterwards and may be taxed differently or never claimed at all. A $50 rebate on a $500 item is worth noticeably less than $50 off at the counter once the effort and the breakage rate are counted.
More Money & Pricing Tables
Sources
- Advertising and pricing — guides for business — Federal Trade Commission
- Unit pricing and retail price comparison guidance — National Institute of Standards and Technology, Office of Weights and Measures
- Consumer price index — measuring price change — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Filed with Finance calculations.