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BOGO Calculator (Buy X Get Y Deals)

Work out what a buy-one-get-one or buy X get Y deal really saves: effective discount per item, price per item, the cost of the quantity you need and why an odd extra item can halve the saving.

Regular price per item

Items you pay full price for (buy X)

Items you get with the deal (get Y)

Discount on the deal items

Items you want to buy

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How it works

items per deal = X + Y · deal price = X × price + Y × price × (1 − discount) · effective discount = 1 − deal price ÷ (items per deal × price) · basket cost = full deals × deal price + leftover items (first X at full price, the rest at the deal price)

A buy X get Y offer is a percentage discount in disguise, spread over every item in the deal. Buy one get one free is 50% off each item; buy two get one free (3 for 2) is 33.33% off; buy one get one half off is only 25% off. The saving only applies to complete deals, so buying an odd number of items in a BOGO free offer lowers the discount on your basket — three items cost the same as four in a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

Worked example

Items cost $6.00 and the offer is buy 1 get 1 at 100% off (free). Each deal is 2 items for $6.00, so the effective discount per item is 50.00% and each item costs $3.00. Buying 3 items costs $12.00 instead of $18.00 — you save $6.00, a 33.33% discount on your basket, because the third item is paid at full price.

Sources: Wikipedia — Buy one, get one free · USA.gov — Consumer protection and shopping

Frequently asked questions

What does BOGO mean?

Buy one, get one. "BOGO free" means you get a second item free when you buy one; "BOGO 50% off" means the second item is half price. Some stores require you to take both items to receive the discount.

Is buy one get one free the same as 50% off?

Per item, yes — two items for the price of one is 50% off each. The difference is that you must buy two: if you only need one, a 50% off sale is the better deal.

How much is buy one get one half off?

You pay 1.5 items for 2, which is a 25% discount on each item — half of what BOGO free gives you.

What discount is buy 2 get 1 free (3 for 2)?

You pay for 2 of every 3 items, so each item is 33.33% off. Buy 3 get 1 free is 25% off, and buy 4 get 1 free is 20% off.

Does sales tax apply to the free item?

It depends on the place: some jurisdictions tax only the amount you actually pay, others tax the regular price of the free item. Check the receipt or local rules.

Related calculators

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Stack two or three discounts the way stores actually apply them — one after another — to get the final price and the single discount that equals the stack.

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Compare unit prices between a bulk pack and a regular size and see whether buying big actually saves money.

Unit Price Comparison Calculator

Compare up to four package sizes by unit price — even when one is in ounces and another in pounds, grams or litres — with multipacks and coupons, and see which is the better buy and how much you save.

Estimate only. Store promotions, taxes, fees and refund rules vary — check the terms on the shelf, the receipt or the provider’s quote.