Free discount impact calculator
See how many more sales a discount needs just to break even, whether the lift you expect covers it, and what a price rise would let you lose instead.
- Cost
- 100% free
- Updates
- As you type
- Not needed
Your numbers · prefilled with starting guesses
Per sale, order or deal.
Price minus cost to deliver.
Off the full price.
Check a real promotion (optional)
Expected in the period without a discount.
From running the discount.
You need 60% more sales just to break even.
Gross profit per sale
$400 → $250
A 15% price cut takes 37% of each sale's profit.
Break-even sales lift
+60%
1.60× the sales you'd make at full price.
Or raise price 15%
−27%
You could lose this share of sales and still earn the same gross profit.
Your promotion
100 sales at full price earn $40,000. With 15% off and 30% more sales you'd earn $32,500: $7,500 less gross profit. You'd need 160 sales to break even.
Extra sales needed to break even, by margin and discount
The row nearest your margin is outlined. The deeper the colour, the harder the discount is to earn back.
| Margin ↓ · Discount → | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% | 30% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% | +33% | +100% | +300% | never | never | never |
| 30% | +20% | +50% | +100% | +200% | +500% | never |
| 40% · you | +14% | +33% | +60% | +100% | +167% | +300% |
| 50% | +11% | +25% | +43% | +67% | +100% | +150% |
| 60% | +9% | +20% | +33% | +50% | +71% | +100% |
| 70% | +8% | +17% | +27% | +40% | +56% | +75% |
| 80% | +7% | +14% | +23% | +33% | +45% | +60% |
Trade instead of giving it away
If you must move on price, get something back for it:
- A longer contract or commitment
- Payment upfront instead of monthly
- A bigger order or more seats
- A case study, review or referral
- A smaller package at a lower price
- Extra service or onboarding instead of money off
Why small price changes matter so much
In Marn and Rosiello's 1992 Harvard Business Review study of pricing, a 1% price cut would have wiped out about 11% of the average company's operating profit. Price moves profit far more than the same change in volume, because the cost of each sale stays the same.
Break-even lift = discount ÷ (gross margin − discount). Price-rise room = rise ÷ (gross margin + rise). Both assume the cost to deliver each sale stays the same and leave out fixed costs.
How the Discount Impact Calculator works
- 01
Enter price, margin and discount
Your full price, gross margin (price minus cost to deliver) and the discount you're considering.
- 02
Read the break-even lift
See how many more sales the discount needs just to earn the same gross profit, and how much profit each discounted sale loses.
- 03
Check a real promotion
Optionally enter sales at full price and the extra sales you expect, to see whether the promotion gains or loses gross profit.
- 04
Compare with a price rise
See how much volume you could lose with the same-sized price rise and still earn the same.
- 05
Use the table
See break-even lifts across common margins and discounts, with your margin highlighted.
Built and maintained by Swapan Kumar Manna, go-to-market and AI search strategist. Updated .
Questions about the Discount Impact Calculator
What it does, what it costs, and how far to trust the result.
01How much more do I need to sell to cover a discount?
Divide the discount by your gross margin minus the discount. At a 40% margin, 10% off needs 10 ÷ 30 = 33% more sales; 20% off needs 100% more (double); 30% off needs 300% more (four times).
02What happens if the discount is bigger than my margin?
Every discounted sale then loses money, so no increase in sales can make it up. The calculator shows this as impossible.
03Is raising prices safer than discounting?
Often. At a 40% margin, a 10% price rise keeps gross profit level even if you lose up to 20% of sales (10 ÷ (40 + 10)). The same 10% discount needs 33% more sales.
04Why do small price changes affect profit so much?
Because the cost of each sale doesn't change. In Marn and Rosiello's 1992 Harvard Business Review study, a 1% price cut would have wiped out about 11% of the average company's operating profit.
05What should I offer instead of a discount?
Trade price for something of value: a longer contract, payment upfront, a bigger order, a case study or referral, a smaller package at a lower price, or extra service instead of money off.
06Is the discount impact calculator free?
Yes, completely free, with no sign-up and no email. It runs in your browser and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
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