Percentage Change Calculator

The percentage change calculator helps you determine the percentage increase or decrease between two values. This tool can be useful in various scenarios such as financial analysis, economics, statistics, or any situation where you need to compare two quantities and understand the relative change between them in percentage terms.

What does percentage change mean?

The percentage change, also known as Percent Change, refers to the ratio of the difference in a quantity to its initial value, multiplied by 100. It measures the increase or decrease in a value or quantity over time and is expressed as a percentage of the original value. For instance, if the price of a stock rises from $40 to $50, it represents a 25% increase. Conversely, if the price drops from $50 to $40, it indicates a 20% decrease.

Percentage change formula

The formula for calculating percent change is:

$$ \text{Percentage Change} = \left( \frac{\text{Final Value} - \text{Initial Value}}{\text{Initial Value}} \right) \times 100 $$

Where,

• Final Value: This is the value at the end of the period or after the change has occurred. It's often referred to as the "new" or "current" value.

• Initial Value: This is the starting value or the value at the beginning of the period before any change has occurred. It's often referred to as the "old" or "original" value.

How to calculate percent change?

To calculate the percentage change between two values, follow these steps:

1. Identify the initial and final values.
2. Subtract the initial value from the final value.
3. Divide the result by the initial value.
4. Multiply the result by 100 to express the change as a percentage.

Example #1: Increase percent change

Suppose the initial value (old value) is $50, and the final value (new value) is $70.

Now, use the percentage change formula to calculate percentage change:

• \(\text{Percentage Change} = \left( \frac{\text{Final Value} - \text{Initial Value}}{\text{Initial Value}} \right) \times 100\)

Adding up the values into the percent change formula:

• \(\text{Percentage Change} = \left( \frac{70 - 50}{50} \right) \times 100\)

Now, perform the percent change calculation:

• \(\text{Percentage Change} = \left( \frac{20}{50} \right) \times 100\)
• \(\text{Percentage Change} = (0.4) \times 100\)
• \(\text{Percentage Change} = 40\%\)

So, the percentage change from $50 to $70 is a 40% increase. You can save your time by using the percent change calculator for this calculation.

Example #2: Decrease percent change

Suppose the initial value (old value) is $70, and the final value (new value) is $50.

Now, again put all these values into the percent change equation:

• \(\text{Percentage Change} = \left( \frac{50 - 70}{70} \right) \times 100\)

Finally, perform the calculation:

• \(\text{Percentage Change} = \left( \frac{-20}{70} \right) \times 100\)
• \(\text{Percentage Change} = (-0.2857) \times 100\)
• \(\text{Percentage Change} = -28.57\%\)

So, in this case, the percentage change from $70 to $50 is a decrease of approximately 28.57%.

How to use this percentage change calculator?

• First, enter the initial value (old value) and the final value (new value) into the given sections

• Hit on the Calculate button

The percentage change calculator quickly shows you the percent change and the difference between values along with step-by-step solutions.