What this calculator does
A percentage increase calculator answers one specific question: if a value goes up by a given percentage, what does it become? Enter the original value and the percentage increase, and the new value and the amount added both come out directly, without touching decrease or difference at the same time.
The formula behind it is short: new value equals the old value multiplied by one plus the increase expressed as a decimal. Reversing the calculator, entering the original and new values instead, gives the percentage increase itself, which is the version most often needed for wages, prices and test scores that have already changed.
The formula
To calculate percentage increase from an original value and a percentage, multiply the original value by (1 + percentage ÷ 100). To calculate the percentage increase itself from two known values, subtract the original from the new value, divide by the original, then multiply by 100.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Original value | The starting figure before the increase is applied. |
| Percentage increase | How much bigger the new value is, as a percentage of the original. |
| New value | The original value after the percentage increase has been applied. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Original value | The starting figure, before the increase. |
| Calculate | Choose whether to work out the new value from a known percentage, or the percentage from a known new value. |
| Percentage increase (used when solving for new value) (%) | The percentage increase to apply, only used when solving for the new value. |
| New value (used when solving for % increase) | The value after the increase, only used when solving for the percentage increase. |
When to use it
Working out a pay rise
A salary and an agreed percentage rise give the new salary directly, which is the everyday version of how to calculate percentage increase most people search for.
Checking a price rise
A shelf price before and after a rise, run through the second mode of this calculator, gives the exact percentage the price went up by, useful for comparing rises across different products.
Tracking improvement over two attempts
A test score, a sales figure or a personal best that has improved between two readings can be expressed as a single percentage increase figure for a report or a trend line.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
What does a $200 value become at different percentage increases?
A fixed $200 original value, run through a range of percentage increases.
| Percentage increase | New value | Amount added |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | 210.000 | 10.000 |
| 10% | 220.000 | 20.000 |
| 15% | 230.000 | 30.000 |
| 20% | 240.000 | 40.000 |
| 50% | 300.000 | 100.000 |
| 100% | 400.000 | 200.000 |
What percentage increase took $200 to each of these new values?
The same $200 starting point, against a range of new values, solving for the percentage increase each time.
| New value | Percentage increase | Amount added |
|---|---|---|
| $210 | 5.00% | 10.000 |
| $220 | 10.0% | 20.000 |
| $230 | 15.0% | 30.000 |
| $250 | 25.0% | 50.000 |
| $300 | 50.0% | 100.000 |
| $400 | 100.0% | 200.000 |
Questions
What is the percentage increase formula?
Percentage increase = (new value − original value) ÷ original value × 100. To go the other way and find the new value directly, multiply the original value by (1 + percentage ÷ 100).
How do I calculate percentage increase between two numbers?
Subtract the smaller (original) number from the larger (new) number, divide the result by the original number, then multiply by 100. If the new number is smaller than the original, the same formula gives a negative result, meaning a decrease rather than an increase.
Is percentage increase the same as percentage points?
No. A rate that moves from 20% to 25% has increased by 5 percentage points, but by 25% in relative terms (5 ÷ 20 × 100). The two describe the same change differently, and mixing them up is a common source of confusion in statistics.
What is the difference between this and a percentage change calculator?
This page is built specifically around increases: entering an original value and a rise gives the new value directly. For decreases, or when the direction of change is not known in advance, the percentage change calculator handles both directions and the symmetric percentage difference in one place.
For decreases as well as increases, or the symmetric percentage difference between two values, see the percentage change calculator. For a single number that is some percentage of another, use the percentage calculator.