Take 10% off every price
+25%
more sales needed just to stand still.
Should you discount, or raise your price?
Set your margin and the percentage you are considering. This works out how many extra sales a discount has to find, and how many a price rise lets you lose, for the same gross profit. Works for an online shop or any business with a cost per sale.
%
What is left from a sale after what that sale cost you. A shop counts product cost. A service business counts the cost of doing the work. Your P&L has it.
%
The same percentage is tested both ways below.
€
Add it to see money instead of percentages. Switching currency relabels, it does not convert.
€
What a typical order or sale is worth. Add it and the answer comes back in orders, which is usually the number that lands in a meeting.
Add 10% to every price
17%
of your sales you could lose and still make the same profit.
What a discount costs you
Extra sales needed to make the same gross profit after a discount. Your margin row and your chosen discount are highlighted.
What a price rise buys you
Share of your sales you could lose after a price rise and still make the same gross profit. Lose fewer than this and you are ahead.
How it is worked out
With gross margin m, a discount d needs m ÷ (m − d) − 1 extra volume, and a price rise p lets you lose p ÷ (m + p) of volume. Both assume your cost per sale stays the same and nothing else changes. Figures are rounded to the nearest percent.
This compares gross profit before advertising spend. If you run paid media, a discount also moves the return on ad spend you need to break even. That is a separate calculation, and not one this page makes.
Questions
How much extra volume does a 10% discount need?
It depends entirely on your gross margin. At a 50% gross margin, a 10% discount needs 25% more sales volume to make the same gross profit. At a 30% margin, the same 10% discount needs 50% more. The lower the margin, the more punishing the discount.
How much volume can I afford to lose after a price rise?
At a 50% gross margin, a 10% price rise means you could lose 17% of your sales volume and still make the same gross profit. Lose less than that and you are better off, with less work for the same money.
What counts as gross margin?
Sales minus the cost of those sales, expressed as a percentage of sales. For an e-commerce brand that usually means revenue minus product cost, and often minus shipping and payment fees. It is on your profit and loss statement.
Does this include advertising cost?
No. It compares gross profit before advertising spend, and assumes your cost per sale stays the same. If you run paid media, a discount also raises the return on ad spend you need to break even, which this calculator does not show.
The numbers look worse than you expected?
That is usually the point where the ad account is worth a look. Thirty minutes, no pitch.
Book a free auditAdapted from a free tool shared by David Browne (SSC Brain), itself based on the Krystal Clear Accounting discounting and price increase guides. Shared onward in the same spirit.