What is my net price?
Type a list price and up to four discounts, or switch to College and type a year’s costs and your grants. The net price calculator shows what is left to pay, and for discounts the one percent that does the same job.
- Net price
- $8,059.35
Your net price is $8,059.35.
- Total discount
- $4,339.65
- Single equivalent discount
- 35%
Net price: $8,059.35. Your net price is $8,059.35.
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Computes the net price after one or more discounts off a list price, with the single equivalent discount, or a college’s net price: the cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships.
Example with the default inputs (Net price of A discounted price, List price $12,399.00, Discount 1 35%): Your net price is $8,059.35.
Method: Discounts: net = list × (1 − d₁) × (1 − d₂) × …; single equivalent discount = 1 − (1 − d₁)(1 − d₂)…. College: net price = tuition + housing + books + transportation + other − grants and scholarships.
- Each discount comes off the price left after the ones before it (a chain or series of discounts).
- College net price counts gift aid only; loans and work-study do not lower it, because they are repaid or earned.
- Over several years the yearly cost and aid stay the same.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Net price of A discounted price, List price $12,399.00, Discount 1 35%, Discount 2 15%, Discount 3 3%, Discount 4 12% gives Net price $5,847.54, Single equivalent discount 52.8386%.Source: Olivier, Business Math: A Step-by-Step Handbook, §6.1 Figuring Out the Cost: Discounts (Formula 6.3 N = L × (1 − d₁)(1 − d₂)…; Ski-Doo: N = $5,847.54, single equivalent discount 52.84%), https://math.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Applied_Mathematics/Business_Math_(Olivier)/06:_Marketing_Applications_(What_Is_It_Going_to_Cost_Me)/6.01:_Figuring_Out_the_Cost_-_Discounts__(How_Much)
- Net price of A discounted price, List price $80.00, Discount 1 20% gives Net price $64.00, Total discount $16.00, Single equivalent discount 20%.Source: Olivier, Business Math: A Step-by-Step Handbook, §6.1 (Formula 6.1 N = L × (1 − d); a 20% discount means paying 80% of the list price), https://math.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Applied_Mathematics/Business_Math_(Olivier)/06:_Marketing_Applications_(What_Is_It_Going_to_Cost_Me)/6.01:_Figuring_Out_the_Cost_-_Discounts__(How_Much)
- Net price of College, Tuition and fees $11,000.00, Housing and food $12,000.00, Books and supplies $1,200.00, Transportation $1,500.00, Other personal costs $2,300.00, Grants and scholarships $9,500.00, Years 4 gives Cost of attendance $28,000.00, Net price $18,500.00, Net price for all years $74,000.00.Source: NCES, Condition of Education, Price of Attending an Undergraduate Institution (net price = total cost of attendance − grant and scholarship aid), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cua
How it works
A discounted price. With a list price L and discounts d₁ to d₄ in percent (any you leave empty are skipped):
- Net price = L × (1 − d₁ ÷ 100) × (1 − d₂ ÷ 100) × (1 − d₃ ÷ 100) × (1 − d₄ ÷ 100)
- Total discount = L − net price
- Single equivalent discount = (1 − (1 − d₁ ÷ 100)(1 − d₂ ÷ 100)…) × 100%
College. For one year:
- Cost of attendance = tuition and fees + housing and food + books and supplies + transportation + other personal costs
- Net price = cost of attendance − grants and scholarships
- Net price for all years = net price × years (the same each year)
Rules. In College, grants and scholarships may not be more than the cost of attendance: then there is no answer and the page says so. Discounts are from 0% to 100%; the list price from $0 to $1,000,000,000,000; each college amount from $0 to $10,000,000; years from 1 to 10.
Exact arithmetic. Every step is an exact fraction of the decimals you type, rounded once for display.
Output format. Money shows in dollars and cents, rounded half up from its exact value. The single equivalent discount shows as a percent with at most 4 decimals.
Worked examples by hand
Olivier’s Ski-Doo: $12,399 with 35%, 15%, 3% and 12% off. 0.65 × 0.85 × 0.97 × 0.88 = 0.4716136; × 12,399 = $5,847.54 (5,847.541986 exactly); single equivalent discount 1 − 0.4716136 = 52.8386%.
$80 with 20% off. 80 × 0.8 = $64; total discount $16.
One year of college. 11,000 + 12,000 + 1,200 + 1,500 + 2,300 = $28,000; − $9,500 of grants = $18,500; × 4 years = $74,000.
Other questions people ask
How do I calculate the net price after a discount?
Multiply the list price by 1 minus the discount rate: N = L × (1 − d). With a 20% discount you pay 80% of the list price, so $80 becomes $64.
How do multiple discounts work?
Each discount comes off the price left after the one before it: N = L × (1 − d₁) × (1 − d₂) × …. Olivier’s example: a $12,399 Ski-Doo with 35%, 15%, 3% and 12% off nets $5,847.54, not 12,399 × (1 − 0.65).
What is a single equivalent discount?
The one discount that gives the same net price as a chain of discounts: 1 − (1 − d₁)(1 − d₂)…. For 35%, 15%, 3% and 12% it is 52.84%, less than the 65% you get by adding them.
What is a college’s net price?
The cost of attendance minus the grants and scholarships you get. NCES defines the cost of attendance as tuition and required fees, books and supplies, and room, board and other expenses. Loans and work-study do not lower the net price, because you repay or earn them.
Is this the same as a school’s own net price calculator?
No. Each college’s calculator estimates the grants you would get from your family’s finances. Here you type the grants and costs yourself, for example from an aid offer, to compare schools on the same footing.
Does the order of discounts matter?
No. Multiplying is the same in any order, so 10% then 20% nets the same price as 20% then 10%.