Discount Impact Calculator
See how much margin a 10/20/30% discount eats, and how many extra units you'd need to break even.
| Discount | Sale price | Contribution/unit | Units to break even | Volume lift needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $76.50 | $38.50 | 1,221 | +22% |
| 15% | $72.25 | $34.25 | 1,373 | +37% |
| 20% | $68.00 | $30.00 | 1,567 | +57% |
| 25% | $63.75 | $25.75 | 1,826 | +83% |
| 30% | $59.50 | $21.50 | 2,187 | +119% |
| 40% | $51.00 | $13.00 | 3,616 | +262% |
| 50% | $42.50 | $4.50 | 10,445 | +944% |
About this tool
Every founder under-estimates how much margin a discount eats. A 30% discount on a 40% margin product cuts your contribution by 75%. This tool shows the real margin hit per discount tier, and how much unit-volume uplift you'd need to come out flat.
Why discounts are sneaky-expensive
A 30% discount feels like a 30% margin hit. It isn't. On a $50 product with $30 cost, full-price contribution is $20. At 30% off ($35 sale price), contribution drops to $5 — a 75% cut to margin. To break even on contribution you'd need to sell 4× as many units. Most promos lift volume 15–35%.
When discounts work anyway
- • Clearing dead stock — contribution > 0 beats writing it off
- • Acquisition campaigns where first-purchase LTV justifies first-order loss
- • Bundle / threshold discounts (less margin damage per dollar discounted)
- • Loyalty tier rewards — discount tied to retention behaviour
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