This discount calculator takes a price and a percentage and shows the price after the discount and how much you save, in Saudi riyals. The Discount % tab works out the percentage off between an old and a new price, or the original price from a sale price. The other two tabs handle successive discounts, buy X get Y offers and volume discounts, and you can add 15% VAT to the discounted price.
How to calculate a discount
A discount is an amount taken off the original price and quoted as a percentage of it. Multiply the price by the percentage and divide by 100 to get the amount off, then subtract it. The quicker route is to multiply by what is left: 20% off means you pay 80% of the price, so multiply by 0.80.
Discount = Price × % ÷ 100 · Sale price = Price × (1 − % ÷ 100)
What is 10%, 20%, 30% or 50% off?
Each cell shows the price after the discount in SAR; the amount saved is the gap between that cell and the price at the start of the row. For any other price, tap one of the preset percentages under the calculator.
| Price | 10% off | 15% off | 20% off | 25% off | 30% off | 50% off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 90.00 | 85.00 | 80.00 | 75.00 | 70.00 | 50.00 |
| 250 | 225.00 | 212.50 | 200.00 | 187.50 | 175.00 | 125.00 |
| 500 | 450.00 | 425.00 | 400.00 | 375.00 | 350.00 | 250.00 |
| 1,000 | 900.00 | 850.00 | 800.00 | 750.00 | 700.00 | 500.00 |
Mental shortcuts: 10% off is the price divided by 10, 20% is twice that, 25% is a quarter and 50% is half. 15% is a tenth plus half a tenth, so on SAR 300 it is 30 + 15 = SAR 45.
How to calculate the discount percentage between two prices
When a shelf label shows a crossed-out price and a new one, the discount percentage is the difference divided by the original price, times 100. Always divide by the old price, never the new one.
% off = (Was − Now) ÷ Was × 100
Finding the original price before the discount
If you only know the sale price and the percentage, divide the sale price by what is left of 100. Adding the percentage back on gives a number below the real original.
Successive discounts: why 20% then 10% is not 30%
Successive (stacked) discounts apply a second reduction to the already discounted price, as when a seasonal sale is followed by a coupon at the checkout. The second discount works on a smaller amount, so the total is less than the two percentages added together. Multiply what is left after each discount, then subtract the result from 100.
Total % = 100 − (100 − d1) × (100 − d2) ÷ 100
The Successive tab takes up to four discounts and shows the price after each step.
Buy X get Y offers and volume discounts
"Buy 2 get 1 free" is a disguised discount: you take three items and pay for two, so the whole basket is a third off, 33.33%, not 50% or 100%. "Second one half price" is 25% off the pair.
A volume discount is a percentage off the whole order when you buy more units, the way a wholesaler prices for shops.
Is the discount applied before or after VAT?
A discount given by the seller comes off the price first, and VAT is charged on what remains, because Saudi VAT is due on the consideration the buyer actually pays. That is why the calculator adds VAT to the discounted price when you tick the VAT option.
Shelf prices for consumers in Saudi stores are normally shown VAT-inclusive, so the VAT option is mainly for anyone pricing before tax: a wholesaler, or a quote to a business. If the shelf price already includes VAT, taking the percentage straight off it gives almost the same figure: SAR 230.00 inclusive with 20% off becomes 184.00, the same as the third example above. Rounding can move it by one halala. The real mistake is adding VAT to a price that already includes it.
What a discount does to your profit margin
Every riyal of discount comes out of your profit, not your cost. With a 40% margin on the selling price, a 20% discount halves the profit on each item, so you have to sell twice as many to earn the same. Switch on "For retailers: effect on my profit margin" and enter your margin to see the margin after the discount and how much extra volume you need.
New margin = (m − d) ÷ (100 − d) · Extra units = d ÷ (m − d)
Common discount mistakes
- Adding up successive discounts: 20% then 10% is 28% in total.
- Dividing by the new price to get the percentage, which inflates it.
- Adding the percentage back to a sale price to find the original; divide by what is left of 100 instead.
- Treating "buy 1 get 1 free" as 100% off; it is 50% off the pair.
- Adding VAT to a price already marked "VAT inclusive".
- Giving a discount larger than your margin without noticing, so every sale loses money.
What to do with the result
As a shopper, compare the effective price per item across offers; that figure shows which deal is cheaper. As a store owner, check the margin table before you announce a promotion, then download the working as a PDF for your partner or store manager, or send them the Share as link URL so the calculator opens with your figures. To set a selling price from cost at a target margin, use the profit margin and selling price calculator.
When promotions change every week
One offer takes a minute to work out. A shop with hundreds of items, seasonal sales, coupons and volume pricing for some customers needs the right price at the till and a clear record of what sold at a discount. At Microtec we offer retailers across the Kingdom O-Green, a cashier and point of sale system for retail. Try it with your own items and this season's offers before you decide.