Percentage Change Calculator | Increase and Decrease

What is Percentage Change?

The concept of percentage change is essential to assessing risk, budget management, and many other activities. With a percentage change calculation, individuals can accurately measure and compare the differences between two different sets of data. Understanding how to calculate percentage change is a skill that is invaluable in a number of fields, such as finance, economics, marketing, and statistics.

With that in mind let’s take a closer look at the percentage change calculator, how it is used, and how it can be applied to different scenarios.

How to Use the Percentage Change Calculator?

The Eacademy percentage change calculator automatically applies the percentage change calculation.

All you need to be able to use it is knowledge about the two different numerical values that you are comparing. Simply input the first numerical value in the field at the top of the calculator, and the second numerical value in the field below it. The calculator will automatically show you the relative percentage change and the absolute difference between those two values.

The calculator makes it easy to compare differences that occurred in a budget after a specific period of time, compare the sizes of different pieces of land, and apply countless other comparisons.

How do you calculate Percentage Change?

Calculating percentage change is fairly straightforward. One of two formulas can be used depending on the change itself. If the change in values is one in which the initial number grows, the positive change calculation is applied. If the initial value decreased, the negative change formula can be applied.

Positive change formula

The positive percentage change formula looks at the difference between two values in which the initial value grew by a specific amount. It can be expressed with the following formula:

Percentage Increase = (New Value – Initial Value) / Initial Value x 100

If the absolute difference between the new value and the initial value is established beforehand, the formula can be simplified to:

Percentage Increase = (Increase / Initial Value) x 100

Negative change formula

Similarly, the negative percentage change formula assesses the percentage change between two values in which the initial value decreased by a certain margin. The formula for the negative percentage change is almost the same as the positive percentage change. Only the Initial value and the new value are switched around.

Percentage Decrease = (Initial Value – New Value) / Initial Value x 100

It can also be simplified much like the previous formula. Just determine the difference between the two values and apply it in the same way.

Percentage Decrease = (Decrease / Initial Value) x 100

Percentage Change Example

Let’s take a quick example to apply the formulas we’ve just mentioned. If we’re managing the marketing budget for your company, and the initial value is 2000$, but the budget grew by 1500$ over a period of time, for a new value of 3500$, we can express that in the form of a percentage increase. Since we know the difference between the two values already, we can apply the simplified percentage increase formula:

Percentage Increase = (Increase / Initial Value) x 100 = (1500/2000) x 100 = 75%

A nice round 75% increase. Similarly, if our imaginary marketing budget decreased by 450$, we could express that with the simplified percentage decrease formula:

Percentage Decrease = (Decrease / Initial Value) x 100 = (450/2000) x 100 = 22.5%

Our percentage decrease this time was 22.5%, which does contain decimals, but this is to be expected with real-world values.

How is Percentage Change Used?

The value change of a stock or significant market index over time is frequently tracked in finance using percentage change. It is also employed to evaluate the worth of various currencies.

Businesses also use percentage changes in balance sheets to show how assets have changed over the course of various quarters or years. Additionally, they disclose trends in their revenue over the same quarter last year using percentage changes in their quarterly reports.

What are the benefits of Percentage Change calculators?

Percentage change calculators are a valuable tool for businesses, as they allow for quick and accurate comparisons of data. They provide an efficient way to analyze changes in values over different time periods, allowing for accurate predictions of future trends. Moreover, they enable businesses to make well-informed decisions about their investments and identify risks associated with their investments.

The ability to compare multiple sets of data with a single calculator allows businesses to assess the differences in performance between different products or services. Percentage change calculators can in theory help businesses maximize returns and minimize losses, maximize profits, and make better decisions overall. Therefore, these calculators are invaluable tools for businesses of all sizes, as they enable individuals and businesses to make better decisions and maximize their investments.

Download your own Percentage Comparison PDF

If the Eacademy Percentage Change calculator helped you get the numbers you needed, there is no need to memorize the percentage or write it down. Clicking the “Download PDF” button will provide you with a simple breakdown of the values you used, and the percentage change result you received. Try it out and see for yourself!