Percentage Change Calculator
Enter a starting and ending value to see the percentage increase or decrease between them.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
Frequently asked questions
What's the formula for percentage change?
(New value − Old value) ÷ Old value × 100. A positive result is an increase; a negative result is a decrease.
Is percentage change the same as percentage point change?
No - if a rate goes from 20% to 25%, that's a 5 percentage point increase, but a 25% percentage change ((25−20)÷20×100). Mixing the two up is a common reporting mistake.
How do I calculate percentage change when the old value is negative?
The formula still applies: (new − old) / |old| × 100, but using the absolute value of the old number in the denominator avoids a misleading sign flip - most financial and scientific contexts define percentage change this way specifically to keep the result intuitive.
Can percentage change be greater than 100%?
Yes - if a value more than doubles, the percentage change exceeds 100%. Going from 10 to 25 is a 150% increase: (25-10)/10*100 = 150%. There's no upper limit on increases, but a decrease can never exceed -100% (a value can't drop below zero relative to itself).
What does it mean if the percentage change is 0%?
It means the starting and ending values are identical - there was no increase or decrease. Entering 80 for both the starting and ending value returns 0%.
How do I calculate the percentage change from 50 to 75?
(75 − 50) ÷ 50 × 100 = 50%. The ending value is 50% higher than the starting value.
Is 'percent change' the same as 'percent difference'?
Not quite - percentage change treats one value as the original and the other as the new value, so the order matters (going from 50 to 100 is +100%, but 100 to 50 is −50%). Percent difference is typically symmetric, comparing two values against their average rather than treating either as the baseline.