Sale Price Calculator

Original Price

First Discount %

Second Discount % (optional)

Final Price

607.50

Total Saved

292.50

Effective Combined Discount

32.50%

Stacking 25.00% and 10.00% off 900.00 is a combined 32.50% off, not 35.00%. The second discount applies to the already-reduced price.

Formula

Final Price = Price × (1 − D1 ÷ 100) × (1 − D2 ÷ 100)

A stacked discount applies two percentage reductions to the same purchase in sequence, a sale price plus an extra checkout coupon, for instance, and the combined effect is smaller than simply adding the two percentages together.

This trips up more shoppers than almost any other percentage question, because addition feels like the obvious way to combine two discounts. It isn't, and the gap between the intuitive answer and the real one grows larger the more discounts get stacked.

Stacked Discount Formula

Formula

Final Price = Price × (1 − D1 ÷ 100) × (1 − D2 ÷ 100)

Each discount multiplies the result of the previous step, never the original price a second time.

How to Calculate a Stacked Discount

Apply the first discount to the original price
Apply the second discount to that intermediate price
Compare the final price to the original
Divide the total saved by the original price

Stacked Discount Examples

Example 1, Sofa, $900, 25% seasonal sale plus 10% loyalty discount

$607.50

Apply the first discount 900 × (1 − 0.25) = $675.00
Apply the second discount 675 × (1 − 0.10) = $607.50
Total saved 900 − 607.50 = $292.50
Effective combined discount 292.50 ÷ 900 × 100 = 32.50%

A $900 sofa with a 25% sale price and an extra 10% loyalty discount sells for $607.50, a 32.5% combined discount, not the 35% simple addition might suggest.

Example 2, TV, $650, 20% clearance plus 5% email signup discount

$494.00

Apply the first discount 650 × (1 − 0.20) = $520.00
Apply the second discount 520 × (1 − 0.05) = $494.00
Total saved 650 − 494 = $156.00
Effective combined discount 156 ÷ 650 × 100 = 24.00%

A $650 TV at 20% off plus a 5% email signup discount sells for $494, a 24% combined discount, not 25%.

Relationship to Percentage Decrease

This is the clearest illustration on the site of why percentage decreases compound instead of adding. Take the classic case: 30% off, plus an extra 10% off at checkout. On a $100 item, 30% off leaves $70; 10% off that $70 leaves $63. The combined discount is (100 − 63) ÷ 100 × 100 = 37%, not the 40% that adding 30 and 10 would suggest. Every stacked discount on this page follows the same percentage decrease formula applied twice in a row, and the shortfall from simple addition grows larger the more discounts get stacked.

Where Stacked Discounts Show Up

Seasonal Sale Plus Loyalty Discount

A storewide sale price combined with a separate loyalty-program discount at checkout, applied sequentially rather than added together.

Email Signup Plus Clearance

Retailers commonly offer a small email-signup discount on top of an already-discounted clearance price.

Multi-Coupon Checkout

Some online stores allow multiple coupon codes to be applied in one order, each one compounding on the previous discounted subtotal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions specific to combining two discounts, which come up constantly once shoppers notice their receipt doesn't match a naive addition.

Why don't two discounts add together when stacked?

Because the second discount is calculated on the already-reduced price, not the original one. It's removing a percentage of a smaller number, so the combined effect is always less than the sum of the two individual rates.

Does the order I apply two discounts in change the final price?

No, multiplication is commutative, so 30% then 10% gives the identical final price as 10% then 30%. What does change with order is the size of the intermediate discount shown at each step, but the end result is the same.

How do I calculate the single equivalent discount for three or more stacked discounts?

Multiply all the individual "remaining fraction" multipliers together, then convert back to a percentage: Combined % = (1 − (m₁ × m₂ × m₃ × …)) × 100, using the same approach as two-discount stacking, extended to as many discounts as apply.

Are all store promotions actually stackable?

No, many retailers explicitly restrict combining a sale price with an additional coupon, and terms vary by promotion. Always check the specific offer's terms before assuming two discounts will stack at checkout.

How do I verify a cashier or website applied stacked discounts correctly?

Check that the second discount amount was calculated on the already-discounted subtotal, not the original price. If a receipt shows the second discount as a flat percentage of the original price instead, the stacking was applied incorrectly.

What's the maximum possible combined discount from stacking?

It approaches, but never quite reaches, 100% no matter how many discounts are stacked, since each additional discount only removes a percentage of whatever fraction of the price is still left. An item's price is reduced toward zero but never exactly reaches it through percentage discounts alone.

Is stacking discounts the same as compounding interest?

Mathematically, yes, both multiply a sequence of individual multipliers together rather than adding the individual rates, whether the multipliers are below one (discounts) or above one (growth).

Why do some stores explicitly say discounts cannot be combined?

Because stacking reduces the retailer's margin more than either discount alone, so many retailers cap total savings per transaction to a single applicable promotion by policy.

How is a stacked discount different from a bundle discount?

A bundle discount applies one combined rate to a set of items purchased together, calculated once. A stacked discount applies two or more separate percentage reductions sequentially to the same price.

Can a stacked discount combination ever exceed 100% off in an unusual promotion?

Not through ordinary percentage stacking as covered here, each discount only ever removes a fraction of what's left, so the price approaches zero without going below it or turning negative.