Percentage Increase Calculator

The percentage increase formula

Percentage Increase = ((New Value − Original Value) ÷ Original Value) × 100

First find the difference by subtracting the original value from the new value. Then divide that difference by the original value, which tells you the increase as a fraction of where you started. Multiplying by 100 turns that fraction into a percentage.

Worked examples

• A salary rises from $50,000 to $53,500: (53,500 − 50,000) ÷ 50,000 × 100 = 7%
• Website visitors grow from 800 to 1,000: (1,000 − 800) ÷ 800 × 100 = 25%
• A price doubles from 20 to 40: (40 − 20) ÷ 20 × 100 = 100%
• A plant grows from 12.5 cm to 15 cm: (15 − 12.5) ÷ 12.5 × 100 = 20%

When to use a percentage increase calculation

Use it whenever you want to compare a new, larger value with an earlier one on a common scale — for example a pay rise, a rent or price change, growth in sales or visitors, or a change in a measurement over time. Expressing the change as a percentage makes it easy to compare increases that start from different amounts.

The original value can't be zero, because growth from nothing has no defined percentage. If the new value is smaller than the original, use the percentage decrease calculator instead.