How to Find Percent Off: 3 Fast Methods (With Examples)
A store tag says 30% off a $70 jacket. What do you actually pay? Here are three ways to answer, from fastest to most exact.
Method 1: Multiply by what you keep
If 30% comes off, you pay 70%. Multiply the price by 0.70: $70 × 0.70 = $49. This one-step method is the fastest on a phone calculator.
Method 2: Find the savings, then subtract
Find 30% of $70: 0.30 × 70 = $21. Subtract: $70 − $21 = $49. Two steps, but you also learn how much you saved.
Method 3: The 10% trick for mental math
Move the decimal one place left to get 10%: $7.00. Multiply by 3 for 30%: $21. Subtract from $70 and you have $49. This works for any discount that is a multiple of 5 (use half of 10% for 5%).
Watch out: discounts do not add up
“30% off, plus an extra 20% at checkout” is not 50% off. You pay 0.70 × 0.80 = 0.56 of the price, which is a 44% total discount. On our $70 jacket that is $39.20, not $35.
Finding the percent off from two prices
If you know the original and sale prices, divide the drop by the original. $70 down to $49 is $21 ÷ $70 = 30% off. That is a percentage decrease, so the percentage decrease calculator handles it directly.
Try it with your own numbers.
Open the percent off calculator