Fill in any two fields — original price, markdown %, or sale price — we'll solve the third
💡 Why This Matters Whether you're clearing inventory or checking if a "sale" is actually a good deal, knowing the real markdown percentage matters. This tool works either direction — know your original price and target markdown and it finds your sale price, or know both prices and it tells you the real markdown %.
Markdown and discount describe the exact same math — retailers say "markdown," shoppers say "percent off." The only real difference is which side of the register is doing the talking.
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Markdown is the dollar amount cut from the original price: markdown = original price − sale price. As a percentage, it's markdown ÷ original price × 100. Rearranged, sale price = original price × (1 − markdown% ÷ 100) — the formula this calculator uses whenever you leave the sale price field blank.
Markdown and discount are the same idea from different sides of the counter — a retailer marking an item down 20% is the same math as a shopper getting 20% off. A markdown can never legitimately exceed 100%, since that would mean paying the customer to take the item.
This calculator handles straight percentage-off pricing math. It doesn't account for stacked discounts, tiered clearance schedules, or how a markdown interacts with your original markup — check the Double Discount or Triple Discount calculators if you're layering multiple reductions.
If you're the seller, compare the resulting sale price against your original cost to make sure you're still clearing a profit after the markdown. If you're the shopper, use it to sanity-check whether an advertised "sale" is really as deep a cut as it claims.
Example: A $100 item gets marked down 20%. Markdown = $100 × 20 ÷ 100 = $20. Sale price = $100 − $20 = $80. Leave the sale price field blank instead, enter $100 original and 20% markdown, and the calculator gives you that same $80.
Markdown (in dollars) = original price − sale price. Markdown percent = 100 × markdown ÷ original price. Sale price = original price × (1 − markdown% ÷ 100).
Yes — markdown and discount describe the same price reduction, just from different sides of the counter. Retailers usually say "markdown," shoppers usually say "discount" or "percent off."
No — a markdown over 100% would mean paying the customer to take the item. Practical markdowns range from 0% to just under 100%.