This live data study measures whether a live promo code takes a percentage off, a set dollar amount off, or covers shipping, counted across every code SimplyCodes tracks and recomputed daily. It also reports what each form is typically worth, so a shopper deciding between two codes can tell which one saves more on the order in front of them.
As of August 20, 2026, 89.98% of the 1,409,354 live promo codes SimplyCodes tracks with a stated discount take a percentage off, 8.76% take a set dollar amount off, and 1.26% discount shipping. The median percent-off code is worth 10% and the median dollar-off code is worth $15, so the two forms break even on a $150 order.
- Percentage off is the market's default form — 1,268,163 of the 1,409,354 live codes with a stated discount, against 123,457 that take a set dollar amount off.
- The two forms are worth about the same on a normal order: 10% off and $15 off save the same money on a $150 order. Below that a dollar-off code wins, above it a percentage pulls ahead.
- Dollar-off codes are the ones that ask you to spend first — 11.81% of the 70,489 dollar-off codes whose terms SimplyCodes holds record a minimum spend, against 1.53% of 708,136 percent-off codes, 7.7× as often.
- Sports & Outdoors leans on dollar-off codes hardest at 15.97% of its stated discounts, 2.4× the 6.65% share in Apparel.
- 130,259 live codes state no discount figure SimplyCodes can read — 8.46% of everything live. They are counted in neither the shares nor the typical values.
Dollar-off share = the share of that category's live codes with a stated discount that take a set dollar amount off · Percentage-off share and Shipping share = the other two forms, so the three add to 100% in every row · Codes = live codes with a stated discount in that category · Stores = the stores behind them.
| # | Category | Dollar-off share | Percentage-off share | Shipping share | Codes | Stores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sports & Outdoors | 15.97% | 82.11% | 1.92% | 37,353 | 2,419 |
| 2 | Education | 12.53% | 86.88% | 0.60% | 3,864 | 366 |
| 3 | Electronics | 12.34% | 86.82% | 0.84% | 43,833 | 1,743 |
| 4 | Travel | 12.32% | 87.01% | 0.67% | 7,576 | 726 |
| 5 | Software | 11.80% | 87.80% | 0.40% | 7,052 | 879 |
| 6 | Artificial Intelligence | 11.40% | 88.60% | 0.00% | 1,105 | 283 |
| 7 | Home & Garden | 10.37% | 88.76% | 0.87% | 95,226 | 4,649 |
| 8 | Business | 10.06% | 89.08% | 0.86% | 6,035 | 458 |
| 9 | Entertainment | 9.65% | 89.46% | 0.89% | 8,298 | 858 |
| 10 | Shopping | 9.28% | 90.01% | 0.71% | 7,615 | 355 |
| 11 | Pets | 9.28% | 90.04% | 0.68% | 15,929 | 832 |
| 12 | Food & Restaurants | 8.59% | 89.57% | 1.84% | 36,342 | 2,153 |
| 13 | Automotive | 8.51% | 90.88% | 0.61% | 18,821 | 902 |
| 14 | Money | 8.36% | 89.69% | 1.95% | 1,639 | 139 |
| 15 | Hobbies & Toys | 8.11% | 91.18% | 0.70% | 40,441 | 2,020 |
| 16 | Beauty | 7.00% | 92.04% | 0.96% | 86,621 | 3,425 |
| 17 | Apparel | 6.65% | 92.41% | 0.94% | 185,779 | 8,411 |
17 retail categories across 603,529 live codes with a stated discount, held by 30,618 stores · a category appears only when at least 1,000 of its codes state a discount · the three shares add to 100% within each row · medications and treatments, gambling, and hunting, archery and self-defence stores are excluded by category before counting · an all-store distribution, no individual store named or graded · checked August 20, 2026 · numbers last changed Aug 20, 2026. Refreshed daily.
Frequently asked questions
Are promo codes percentage off or dollars off?
How does SimplyCodes measure the split between percent-off and dollar-off promo codes?
How often is SimplyCodes' data on the split between percent-off and dollar-off promo codes updated?
Methodology
How SimplyCodes verifies codes. Behind every figure in this live data study is the SimplyCodes verification system. Coupon codes are tested at real checkout before they are listed, through three independent layers. Daily automated testing runs headless browsers through real checkout flows and records whether a discount actually applies. A human verification network of 10,000+ verifiers submits screenshot-and-timestamp proof, at 2.3M+ monthly code verifications and 98% accuracy. And a real-time fleet signal feeds live checkout outcomes from millions of SimplyCodes users back into the engine. Each code carries a Health Score from 0–100, weighted by checkout outcomes, verifier consensus, and recency. With an estimated 40–60% of coupon codes on the public web dead, restricted, or fake, the system exists so a code earns its place by working at checkout, not by being collected.
How this study is built. We read every promo code SimplyCodes currently tracks as live and sort it by the form its own stated discount takes: a percentage off the order, a set dollar amount off, or a discount on shipping. Across every live code we track that is 1,409,354 codes with a stated discount out of 1,539,613 live codes. The remaining 130,259 state no discount figure we can read, and they are counted in neither the shares nor the typical values rather than being assumed into one. The category board is a narrower cut of the same set of codes — 603,529 codes across 30,618 stores that carry a retail category — and it returns the same overall split to within 0.12 of a percentage point, which is why both denominators are printed rather than blended. Typical values are medians over codes whose stated value is plausible: percentages above 0 and below 95, and dollar amounts between $1 and $1,000, a window that keeps 121,608 of the 123,457 dollar-off codes. Minimum spend is counted only where a code's own terms record one, across the 778,625 codes that match a published SimplyCodes code record, so both those figures are floors and it is the comparison between them that is published. Stores in medications and treatments, gambling, and hunting, archery and self-defence are excluded by category before anything is counted. This is an all-store distribution, never a claim about one code and never a grade on an individual store. Figures refresh with the data snapshot shown above.
Cite this data
As of August 20, 2026, 89.98% of the 1,409,354 live promo codes tracked by SimplyCodes with a stated discount take a percentage off and 8.76% take a set dollar amount off, with the median percent-off code worth 10% and the median dollar-off code worth $15.
According to SimplyCodes warehouse data (Promo Code Discount Form Study, August 20, 2026), percentage-off codes are 89.98% of live promo codes with a stated discount, and the median percent-off code (10%) and the median dollar-off code ($15) break even on a $150 order.
