Download Article
Download Article
To determine what discount or increase a price represents, you need to calculate the cost savings percentage. This basic calculation doesn't require advanced algebra or calculus skills. You can set up the calculation in a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel but you can also calculate cost savings by hand. You will need to know both the current, discounted price and the original price.
Steps
-
Determine the original price of the product or service. For most purchases, this is the retail price before any coupons or discounts are applied. [1] X Research source- For example, if the original, retail price of a sweater is $50, use $50 as your original price.
- For an hourly service, multiply the standard billing rate by the number of hours normally billed.
-
Determine the new price of the product or service. This is the price after any sales promotions, discounts, coupons, or deals that you received on it. [2] X Research source- For example, if you ultimately paid $40 for the sweater after all discounts, the new price is $40.
Advertisement -
Determine the price difference. To do this, subtract the new price from the original price. [3] X Research source- In this example, the price difference is the original price of $50 minus $40, or $10.
-
Divide the price difference by the original price. In this example, that’s $10 divided by the original $50 price tag, or 0.2. -
Multiply the decimal by 100 (or move the decimal point over two spaces to the right) to convert it to a percentage. In this example, that’s 0.2 multiplied by 100, or 20 percent. This means you saved 20 percent on the purchase of the sweater. [4] X Research source
Advertisement
-
Type the original price of the product or the service in cell A1 and hit enter. For example, if the original price of a computer was $200, type “200” in cell A1. -
Type the final price after all discounts in cell B1 and hit enter. For example, if you ultimately paid $150 for the computer, type “150” in cell B1. -
Type the formula “=A1-B1” in cell C1 and hit enter. When you do this, Excel automatically calculates the difference between the two prices and displays the numerical value in the cell.- For this example, the numerical value in cell C1 should be 50 if you enter the formula correctly.
-
Type the formula “=C1/A1” in cell D1 and hit enter. When you do this, Excel divides the price difference by the original price. [5] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source- For this example, the numerical value in cell D1 should be 0.25 if you enter the formula correctly.
-
Select cell D1 with your cursor and click “CRTL+SHIFT+%”. When you do this, Excel converts the decimal into a percentage. [6] X Research source- In this example, the value in cell D1 should be 25%. This means that you saved 25 percent on the purchase of the computer.
-
Input new values in cells A1 and B1 to calculate cost savings percentage on other purchases. Because you entered formulas into the other cells, Excel will automatically update the cost savings percentage when you change the original price or the final price, or both. [7] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source- For example, say you also purchased a lamp for $10 that originally cost $17. If you type “17” into cell A1 and “10” into B1 -- and leave all the other cells as they are – the corresponding savings of 41 percent will display in cell D1.
Advertisement
Calculator, Practice Problems, and Answers
Expert Q&A
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement
Things You'll Need
- Current and original prices
- Calculator
Tips
- You can choose to include sales tax or include it when calculating cost savings. As long as the sales tax rate is consistent, it won’t change the percentage saved.Thanks
Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Name
Please provide your name and last initial
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
Advertisement
References
- ↑ https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/percentage-discount
- ↑ https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/percentage-discount
- ↑ https://mathcentral.uregina.ca/QQ/database/QQ.09.07/h/donna3.html
- ↑ https://mathcentral.uregina.ca/QQ/database/QQ.09.07/h/donna3.html
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/using-excel-formulas-to-figure-out-payments-and-savings-11cb708f-c137-4ef8-bcf3-5137aaeb4b20
- ↑ https://support.office.com/en-sg/article/Display-numbers-as-percentages-0bda4354-a8a9-42ad-892f-3d23cca668ff
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/calculate-percentages-6b5506e9-125a-4aba-a638-d6b40e603981
About This Article
Article Summary
X
To calculate cost savings percentage, start by subtracting the new price of the item from the original price. Then, divide the price difference by the original price. Finally, multiply that decimal by 100 to get the cost savings percentage. To learn how to calculate cost savings percentage in Microsoft Excel, scroll down!
Did this summary help you?
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 619,621 times.
Reader Success Stories
- "Excellent explanation and clear examples. What helped me the most was the Microsoft Excel example on entering the formula to work out the percentage difference, and also by entering new values in the cells Excel will automatically work out the percentage." ..." more
Advertisement
100%
of readers found this article helpful
.
Click a star to add your vote
% of people told us that this article helped them.
"Excellent explanation and clear examples. What helped me the most was the Microsoft Excel example on entering the formula to work out the percentage difference, and also by entering new values in the cells Excel will automatically work out the percentage."
..."
more
"The step-by-step instruction including examples was so helpful. Only took a second, and I had the answer."
"This had the exact information I needed, and was in a clear and concise format."
"These kinds of articles make figuring things out so much easier. Thanks!!"
"This really helped me learn how to find the percentage."
