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Percentage Calculator

Every common percentage question in one place.

What do you want to work out?

What is X% of Y?

%

15.00% of 240.00

36.00

240.00 × 0.15 = 36.00

Common percentage conversions

PercentageFractionDecimalOf 240
5%1/200.0512.00
10%1/100.124.00
20%1/50.248.00
25%1/40.2560.00
33.3%1/30.33380.00
50%1/20.5120.00
75%3/40.75180.00

How the Percentage Calculator works

Four different questions get called 'percentage', and mixing them up is the usual source of errors. This calculator keeps them separate: a share of a number, one number as a share of another, change between two numbers, and reversing a percentage back to the original.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate a percentage of a number?

Multiply by the percentage divided by 100. 15% of 240 is 240 × 0.15 = 36. A quick mental method: 10% is 24, half of that is 5% = 12, and 24 + 12 = 36.

How do I calculate percentage change?

Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100. From 80 to 100 is (100 − 80) ÷ 80 = 25% increase. Note the base is always the original value, which is why a 25% rise followed by a 25% fall does not return you to the start.

What is the difference between percentage and percentage points?

If a rate moves from 5% to 7%, that is a rise of 2 percentage points but a 40% increase. News reports mix these up constantly, usually in whichever direction sounds more dramatic.

How do I reverse a percentage?

Divide rather than multiply. If a price is $120 after a 20% increase, the original was 120 ÷ 1.20 = $100. Subtracting 20% from $120 gives $96, which is wrong because the 20% was applied to the smaller original figure.

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