Discount Profit Calculator
See exactly what a discount costs you in profit — and the maximum discount you can offer before you lose money on every sale.
Contribution profit after discount
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Sale price
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Dollar discount
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Margin before
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Margin after
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Profit lost per sale
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Volume uplift to break even
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Max discount before $0 profit
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"Max discount" is the point where contribution profit reaches exactly zero, accounting for any fees and shipping you've entered — it is a hard ceiling, not a recommended discount.
How it works
Formulas used
Sale price = Regular price × (1 − Discount%) Contribution profit = Sale price − Cost − Fees − Shipping Max discount (no fees) = 1 − (Cost / Regular price) Max discount (with fees) solved from: Price×(1−d)×(1−FeePct) = Cost + FeeFixed + Shipping
Worked example
$30 regular price, $8 cost, 20% discount, no fees:
- Sale price: $30 × 0.80 = $24
- Contribution profit: $24 − $8 = $16 (margin 66.7%, down from 73.3%)
- Max discount before $0 profit: 1 − (8/30) ≈ 73.3%
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Frequently asked questions
Is the max discount a safe number to actually offer?
No — it is the point of exactly zero contribution profit, meaning zero contribution to fixed overhead. Treat it as a hard ceiling, not a target.
Does this include the effect of selling more units?
The "volume uplift" figure shows how many more units you would need to sell to match your original profit — it does not predict whether customers will actually buy more.