Table of Contents
How bulk price changes are calculated #
When you fill more than one field in the Price Update: Bulk Pricing Editor for WooCommerce, they do not run in the order you typed them. They run in a fixed sequence. This reference lists that sequence so you can predict the result of any combination.
The sequence #
For each product price, the tool starts from the current price of the chosen type and applies these steps in order. A step is skipped when its field is left at the default.
| Step | Field | Effect on the running price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Direct price | If set, replaces the price entirely with this value, ignoring the original. |
| 2 | Percentage | price = price + (price x percentage / 100). |
| 3 | Multiply | price = price x multiplier. |
| 4 | Divide (Pro) | price = price / divisor. |
| 5 | Add | price = price + amount. |
| 6 | Subtract (Pro) | price = price – amount. |
| 7 | Rounding function (Pro) | Rounds to the nearest coefficient (Round, Floor, or Ceil). |
| 8 | Store decimals | Rounds to your WooCommerce price decimal setting (usually 2). |
| 9 | “Pretty prices” (Pro) | Shapes the price to a charm ending when the threshold is above 0. |
| 10 | Safety clamp | A negative result is set to 0. |
Worked example #
Original price 100, with Percentage = 10 and Add = 5:
- Percentage: 100 + (100 x 10 / 100) = 110.
- Add: 110 + 5 = 115.
The percentage is calculated on the original 100, not on 105, because Percentage runs before Add.
Things to watch #
- Direct price overrides everything before it, but Percentage, Multiply, and the rest still run on top of the direct value. To set a plain flat price, use Direct price alone.
- Multiply must stay above 0. A Multiply of 0 aborts the whole run, so no field takes effect.
- Percentage and Multiply overlap. Percentage of -20 and Multiply of 0.8 both mean “20% off”. Use one, not both, or they stack.
- Rounding and pretty prices are separate. Rounding snaps to a step; pretty prices then shapes the ending. If both are on, pretty prices has the final say.
The takeaway #
For predictable results, change one thing per run and use Preview prices to confirm. See the guide on editing WooCommerce prices in bulk for the full workflow.