What is a Percentage?
A percentage is a way to express a number as a fraction of 100. The word "percent" comes from the Latin "per centum," meaning "by the hundred." Percentages are used everywhere in everyday life—from calculating discounts in stores, determining tax amounts, measuring test scores, to analyzing statistical data in finance and business.
This free online percentage calculator makes it easy to calculate percentages, percentage increases, and percentage decreases instantly. Whether you're figuring out a sale price, calculating a tip, determining a test score, or analyzing business growth, this tool handles all the calculations for you. Manual percentage calculations can be error-prone, especially when dealing with decimal numbers or complex calculations. Our calculator eliminates errors and saves you time.
The calculator works entirely in your browser—no data is sent to servers, ensuring complete privacy. It's completely free, requires no registration, and works on all devices, including smartphones and tablets.
When to Use a Percentage Calculator
Calculating Discounts and Sales Prices
When shopping during sales, promotional events, or clearance sales, a percentage calculator helps you determine the final sale price and savings. Calculate discounts instantly (e.g., 20% off $99.99 = $79.99), compare deals across stores, and make informed purchasing decisions based on actual savings.
Calculating Tips and Taxes
Calculate tips at restaurants (e.g., 18% tip on $50 = $9) or sales tax on purchases (e.g., 8% tax on $100 = $8). A percentage calculator makes these everyday calculations instant and accurate, eliminating mental math errors and ensuring you calculate the correct amounts.
Analyzing Growth and Changes
Business owners, students, and professionals use percentage calculators to analyze growth (e.g., revenue increased from $1000 to $1500 = 50% increase), calculate test scores (e.g., 85 out of 100 = 85%), and measure changes over time. Essential for financial analysis, academic performance tracking, and data interpretation.
Financial Planning and Budgeting
Calculate percentage allocations in budgets (e.g., 30% of income for housing), determine interest rates, calculate loan payments, and analyze financial ratios. A percentage calculator helps you make informed financial decisions and understand how percentages affect your budget and investments.
How to Use the Percentage Calculator
Using our percentage calculator is simple and straightforward. Follow these steps:
- Select calculation type: Choose between "％ Of", "％ Increase", or "％ Decrease" depending on what you need to calculate.
- Enter the number: Input the original number you want to calculate a percentage of, or the starting value for increase/decrease calculations.
- Enter the percentage: Input the percentage value (0-100). You can use decimals like 12.5 for 12.5%.
- Click Calculate: The calculator instantly displays your result with a clear explanation of the calculation.
Examples:
- What is 25% of 200? Enter 200 as the number and 25 as the percentage. Select "％ Of" and calculate. Result: 50.
- Percentage increase: If a price increases from $50 to $75, what's the percentage increase? Enter 50 as the original number, calculate (75-50)/50 * 100 = 50% increase.
- Percentage decrease: If a value decreases from 200 to 150, what's the percentage decrease? Enter 200 as the original number, calculate (200-150)/200 * 100 = 25% decrease.
Features
Calculate Percentage of a Number
Find what percentage a number is of another number, or calculate what a percentage of a number equals.
Calculate Percentage Increase
Determine the percentage increase from one value to another, useful for tracking growth or price increases.
Calculate Percentage Decrease
Find the percentage decrease from one value to another, helpful for discounts or reductions.
Instant Results
Get results immediately with clear explanations. No waiting, no errors—just accurate calculations instantly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate the percentage of a number?
To calculate the percentage of a number, use the formula: (Percentage ÷ 100) × Number. For example, to find 25% of 200, calculate (25 ÷ 100) × 200 = 50. Our calculator does this automatically—just enter the number and percentage, select "％ Of", and click Calculate.
What is the formula for percentage increase and decrease?
For percentage increase: ((New Value - Original Value) ÷ Original Value) × 100. For percentage decrease: ((Original Value - New Value) ÷ Original Value) × 100. Our calculator handles both automatically. For increase, enter the original number and the percentage you want to increase by, then select "％ Increase". For decrease, select "％ Decrease".
Can I calculate percentages for discounts or taxes?
Yes! Our percentage calculator is perfect for calculating discounts and taxes. For discounts, use "％ Decrease" to find the sale price. For example, if an item costs $100 and has a 20% discount, enter 100 and 20, select "％ Decrease", and calculate to get $80. For taxes, use "％ Increase" to add the tax amount to the base price. For instance, if an item costs $50 and tax is 8%, enter 50 and 8, select "％ Increase", and calculate to get $54.
Is this calculator free to use?
Yes! Our percentage calculator is completely free to use. There's no registration required, no hidden fees, and no usage limits. You can calculate percentages as many times as you need without any cost or restrictions. All calculations happen in your browser, ensuring complete privacy and speed.
Does it work on mobile devices?
Yes! Our percentage calculator is fully responsive and works perfectly on mobile devices, tablets, and desktop computers. The interface is optimized for touch screens, making it easy to enter numbers and view results on any device. Perfect for calculating percentages on the go, whether you're shopping, working, or studying.
What are common percentage calculation mistakes?
Common mistakes include confusing "percentage of" with "percentage increase/decrease," forgetting to divide by 100 when converting percentages to decimals, and misplacing the decimal point. Our calculator eliminates these errors by handling all calculations automatically. Simply enter your numbers and select the calculation type—the calculator does the math correctly every time. For related calculations, explore our discount calculator for sale prices or our simple calculator for basic math.
Limitations & Important Considerations
While our percentage calculator handles most percentage calculations seamlessly, there are a few limitations to be aware of:
- Percentage Range Limits: The calculator accepts percentages between 0 and 100 for most calculations. Percentages outside this range (negative percentages or values over 100%) may produce unexpected results. For percentage increases that result in values over 100%, ensure you understand that this represents growth beyond the original value.
- Decimal Precision: The calculator provides results with up to 2 decimal places for currency and general calculations. While this is suitable for most practical use cases (shopping, tips, taxes), extremely precise scientific or financial calculations may require more decimal places.
- Complex Percentage Calculations: The calculator handles basic percentage operations (percentage of, increase, decrease). For more complex calculations like compound percentages, weighted averages, or statistical analysis, you may need specialized calculators or formulas.
- Context-Specific Applications: While the calculator provides accurate mathematical results, real-world applications may have additional factors. For example, calculating discounts may require considering tax, shipping costs, or additional fees that aren't included in the percentage calculation itself.
Calculating percentages doesn't have to be complicated. With our free online percentage calculator, you can calculate percentages, percentage increases, and percentage decreases instantly with accuracy. Whether you're calculating discounts, taxes, test scores, or analyzing business data, this tool makes percentage calculations quick and error-free.
Use this percentage calculator for tips, taxes, and markups. For sale prices and percent off, use our Discount Calculator. More tools: Simple Calculator, Hours Calculator, all calculators.