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Discount stacking simulator: reorder the stack, watch the total move

Percentage discounts compound no matter what order you apply them in. The moment a stack mixes in a dollar-off coupon or a price floor, the sequence matters — and the checkout order a retailer's system picks may not be the one you assumed. Build a stack below, reorder it, and see exactly where the money comes off.

Why percentage-only stacks are order-free

Each percentage multiplies: a $100 item at 20% then 50% off goes $100 → $80 → $40. Reverse the order and it goes $100 → $50 → $40 — the same endpoint, because multiplication is commutative. That's the rule our stacked discount calculator is built on.

Dollar coupons break the symmetry. A $10 coupon applied first shrinks the base the percentage acts on, so "$10 off, then 20% off" lands cheaper than "20% off, then $10 off" on the same item ($72 vs $70 — run it above and compare). Price floors are the other order-sensitive piece: a floor applied after a deep discount can raise the final price back up, while the same floor applied first does nothing at all.

One honest caveat: which order actually applies at checkout is decided by the retailer's system, not by you. The simulator shows what each sequence would cost — the terms for what each store allows live in our retailer rules library, and the per-retailer stacking facts are documented in our coupon stacking guide. When the discounted total still needs gift cards on top, the gift card splitter shows how much cash is left after the balances drain.

This simulator models the discounts you enter, in the order you enter them — it is a planning tool, not a price quote. Real checkout sequencing, coupon eligibility and price floors are decided by each retailer's system; check the official terms before you buy.