Percentage Change Calculator
Calculate the percentage change between two values with our easy-to-use calculator. Whether you're tracking price changes, analyzing growth rates, measuring performance improvements, or calculating investment returns, this tool provides instant and accurate percentage change calculations. Perfect for business analysis, academic work, financial planning, and everyday percentage comparisons.
Calculate Percentage Change
Understanding Percentage Change
What is Percentage Change?
Percentage change measures the relative change between two values, expressing the difference as a percentage of the original value. It's a crucial metric for comparing changes across different scales and contexts.
The Formula
Percentage Change = ((New Value - Original Value) / |Original Value|) × 100
Key Points
- Positive values indicate an increase (growth)
- Negative values indicate a decrease (decline)
- Zero means no change occurred
- Values over 100% mean the value more than doubled
Common Applications
- Stock market and investment returns
- Sales and revenue growth analysis
- Population changes and demographics
- Price comparisons and inflation tracking
- Performance metrics and KPIs
- Scientific measurements and experiments
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ Index
- What is percentage change?
- How do I calculate percentage increase?
- How do I calculate percentage decrease?
- What's the difference between percentage change and percentage point change?
- Can percentage change be negative?
- How do I calculate percentage change when starting from zero?
- What's the formula for percentage change?
- How do I calculate cumulative percentage change?
- When should I use percentage change vs absolute change?
- How do I interpret percentage changes over 100%?
Percentage change is a measure of the relative change between two values, expressed as a percentage. It shows how much a value has increased or decreased relative to its original value.
To calculate percentage increase, subtract the original value from the new value, divide by the original value, and multiply by 100. Formula: ((New Value - Original Value) / Original Value) × 100.
To calculate percentage decrease, subtract the new value from the original value, divide by the original value, and multiply by 100. Formula: ((Original Value - New Value) / Original Value) × 100.
Percentage change measures relative change between values, while percentage point change is the arithmetic difference between two percentages. For example, going from 10% to 15% is a 5 percentage point change but a 50% percentage change.
Yes, percentage change can be negative. A negative percentage change indicates a decrease from the original value, while a positive percentage change indicates an increase.
Percentage change from zero is undefined mathematically because it requires division by zero. In practice, this is often reported as 'infinite' or 'N/A', or the absolute change is reported instead.
The formula for percentage change is: ((New Value - Original Value) / |Original Value|) × 100. The absolute value in the denominator ensures proper calculation for negative original values.
To calculate cumulative percentage change over multiple periods, multiply the growth factors (1 + percentage change as decimal) for each period, subtract 1, and multiply by 100.
Use percentage change when comparing relative changes or when the scale of values varies significantly. Use absolute change when the actual difference is more meaningful than the relative change, or when dealing with percentages themselves.
A percentage change over 100% means the value has more than doubled. For example, a 200% increase means the new value is three times the original (original value plus 200% of it).