Item #2 receives the discount.
Stacked bar chart comparing regular price vs. BOGO deal price for both items.
| Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| Regular Price Item #1 | $49.99 |
| Regular Price Item #2 | $39.99 |
| Regular Price Both Items | $89.98 |
| BOGO Price Item #1 | $49.99 |
| BOGO Price Item #2 | $0.00 |
| BOGO Price Both Items | $49.99 |
| Total Savings | $39.99 |
| Actual Percent Savings | 44.44% |
In a BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) deal, you pay full price for the first item and get the second item at no charge. The free item is typically the lower-priced of the two. While the promotion sounds like a 50% discount, your actual savings depends on the price difference between the two items.
When both items cost the same, your true discount is exactly 50%. But when the free item costs less than the first, your real savings percentage drops. For instance, if you buy a $100 item and get a $40 item free, you save only 28.6% of the combined price — not 50%.
A clothing store runs a “Buy One Get One Free” sale. You pick a jacket priced at $69.99 and a shirt priced at $49.99. How much do you actually pay?
Notice the true discount is 41.67%, not 50%, because the free item costs less than the paid item.
BOGOF deals work with both equal and different-priced items, but the savings math changes significantly:
To maximize your BOGOF savings, choose two items that are as close in price as possible. The bigger the gap between the prices, the further your actual discount falls below 50%.
Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF) means you purchase one item at full price and receive a second item completely free. The free item is typically the lower-priced one when the two items have different prices.
Only when both items have exactly the same price. If Item #1 costs $100 and Item #2 costs $60, BOGO Free saves you $60 out of $160 — that is 37.5%, not 50%. The actual discount depends on the price difference between the two items.
Retailers almost always make the cheaper item the free one. If you bring a $100 jacket and a $60 shirt to the register, the $60 shirt is free and you pay $100 total — not the other way around.
Yes. Most BOGO Free promotions work with different-priced items. The lower-priced item is typically the one made free. This calculator handles both equal and different-priced scenarios.
Your actual percentage saved equals the free item's price divided by the combined regular price of both items, multiplied by 100. With equal prices the max savings is 50%. With different prices it is always less than 50%.