# How to calculate the discount percentage between two prices in Excel

Divide the sale price by the original and subtract from 1: `=1-C2/B2`, formatted as a percentage.

**Excel:** `=1-C2/B2` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Product | Original price | Sale price | Discount |
| Headphones | 79.99 | 59.99 |  |
| Office chair | 249 | 199 |  |
| Laptop | 1299 | 974.25 |  |
| Desk lamp | 45 | 36 |  |
| Mouse pad | 18.5 | 14.8 |  |

Formula in D2, filled to D6: `=1-C2/B2`

Result: 25.0%; 20.1%; 25.0%; 20.0%; 20.0%

## How it works

`C2/B2` is the share of the original price you still pay: 59.99 of 79.99 is 75%. One minus that is the share taken off: 25%. The discount is always measured against the original price.

## Other ways

- `=(B2-C2)/B2`: Spells it out: the amount saved divided by the original price. Same result.
- `=(B2-C2)/C2`: Divides by the sale price, a common mistake. (Gives a bigger number: the headphones show 33.3% instead of 25%.)

## Common mistakes

- Dividing by the sale price instead of the original makes every discount look bigger.
- If prices were rounded (like 59.99), the discount comes out as 25.003%. Round it for display: `=ROUND(1-C2/B2,3)`.

## Questions

**How do I calculate the amount saved?**

Subtract: `=B2-C2`.

**How do I find the sale price from a discount percentage?**

Multiply by 1 minus the discount: `=B2*(1-D2)`.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/discount-percentage-from-two-prices