Calculate a Discounted Price

Excel & Google Sheets

How it works

One minus the discount is the fraction of the price the customer still pays: 25% off means paying 75%, so an $80 lamp becomes 80 × 0.75 = $60. Keeping the percent-off in its own cell (C2) means one formula copies down the whole price list, with each row picking up its own discount. Format column C as a percentage so 25% is stored as 0.25 — the math depends on it. When discounts stack, they multiply rather than add: 20% off then an extra 10% off is =B2*(1-0.2)*(1-0.1), which leaves 72% of the price — a 28% total discount, not 30%, because the second discount applies to the already-reduced price.

B2

The original price.

(1-C2)

The fraction the customer pays — 1 minus the percent-off in C2 (25% → pays 75%).

When to use it

Use it on quotes, promo price lists, and clearance sheets — anywhere each product carries its own percent-off and you need the final price the customer sees.

Common mistakes

• ✕Adding stacked discounts together.

  ✓20% off then a 10% coupon is not 30% off. On $100: =B2*(1-0.2)*(1-0.1) gives $72, not $70 — the coupon applies to the already-discounted $80. Multiply the discounts, never add them.

• ✕Entering the discount as 25 instead of 25%.

  ✓=B2*(1-25) multiplies the price by −24 and the quote goes negative. Store 25% (or 0.25) in the cell, then =B2*(1-C2) works.

• ✕Computing the amount saved when you wanted the price.

  ✓=B2*C2 is the discount amount ($20 off), not the sale price. The customer pays =B2*(1-C2), or equivalently =B2-B2*C2.