Percentage Increase Formula:
From: | To: |
Percentage increase measures the relative growth from an original value to a new value, expressed as a percentage of the original value. It's commonly used to track growth rates, price changes, performance improvements, and other comparative metrics.
The calculator uses the percentage increase formula:
Where:
Explanation: The formula calculates the difference between the new and old numbers, divides by the old number to get the relative change, then multiplies by 100 to convert to a percentage.
Details: Percentage increase is fundamental in financial analysis (stock growth, inflation), business metrics (sales growth), scientific research (experimental results), and everyday life (price comparisons).
Tips: Enter both old and new numbers. The old number cannot be zero (division by zero is undefined). Numbers can be positive or negative, whole numbers or decimals.
Q1: What if the percentage increase is negative?
A: A negative result indicates a percentage decrease rather than an increase.
Q2: How is this different from percentage difference?
A: Percentage increase compares a new value to an original value, while percentage difference compares any two values without directionality.
Q3: What's the maximum possible percentage increase?
A: There's no theoretical maximum. Going from 0.0001 to 100 would be a 999,999,900% increase.
Q4: How do I calculate percentage increase over multiple periods?
A: For compound growth, use the formula: (Final Value / Initial Value)^(1/Periods) - 1
Q5: Why is percentage increase often more meaningful than absolute increase?
A: Percentage increase provides context relative to the starting point, making comparisons more meaningful across different scales.