Compare an original value with a new value to calculate the numeric change and percentage increase or decrease.
Percentage change, discounts, tax, tips and everyday percent-of-number questions.
Enter the original value and the new value. The calculator returns the numeric change, absolute change, percentage change and direction.
A positive result means the new value is higher; a negative result means it is lower. The calculator labels the direction so the sign is easy to interpret.
The standard percentage-change formula is undefined when the original value is zero because it would require division by zero. The numeric change is still meaningful, but a standard percent change is not.
Use percent change when one value is the starting baseline. If neither value should be treated as the baseline, use the percent difference calculator. See how to calculate percentage increase and the percentage decrease formula for worked examples.
A price increasing from $80 to $92 rises by $12. Percent change is (92 − 80) ÷ 80 × 100 = 15%. For a decrease, the result is negative because the new value is smaller.
Base matters: the percent change is always relative to the original value, not the new one. Starting at zero makes the standard percent-change formula undefined; an absolute difference may be more useful in that case.
No. Percent change uses the original value as the denominator; percent difference usually uses the average magnitude of the two values.
See how formulas, sources and limitations are handled across ERICH Calculators.