Percentage Calculator

Percentages are the arithmetic of everyday money, and they are also where confident people quietly go wrong. A jacket reduced by 40 percent and then by a further 20 percent is not 60 percent off; it is 52 percent off, because the second discount applies to the already reduced price. A salary cut of 10 percent followed by a rise of 10 percent leaves you worse off than you started. The Percentage Calculator handles these relationships correctly so you are not relying on an intuition that is reliably wrong.

The tool covers the questions that actually come up: what is X percent of a number, what percentage one number is of another, and the percentage increase or decrease between two values. Shoppers use it for sale prices, freelancers for tax and commission, students for exam marks, and small business owners for margin and markup, which are two different calculations that are constantly confused.

Because each calculation is independent and instant, you can check a figure someone else has given you rather than accepting it. That is worth doing whenever the number affects a price, an invoice or a grade.

How to use the Percentage Calculator

1. Choose the type of calculation you need from the available modes.
2. Enter the base value, such as the original price or the total marks available.
3. Enter the percentage, or the second value if you are comparing two numbers.
4. Read the result along with the working, so you can see how it was derived.
5. Repeat with adjusted numbers to compare scenarios before deciding.

Examples

• A shopper checks whether a "30 percent off, extra 15 percent at checkout" offer really means 45 percent off.
• A freelancer works out the VAT to add to a net invoice and the total the client will pay.
• A student converts a score of 47 out of 60 into a percentage to see which grade band it falls in.

Frequently asked questions

Why do two stacked discounts not simply add up?

The second discount is applied to the price after the first reduction, so it is a percentage of a smaller number. Multiply the remaining fractions instead of adding the percentages.

What is the difference between margin and markup?

Markup is profit as a percentage of cost; margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. A 50 percent markup is only a 33 percent margin.

How do I reverse a percentage increase?

Divide by one plus the percentage as a decimal. To remove a 20 percent addition from 120, divide by 1.2 to get 100, rather than subtracting 20 percent.

What is a percentage point?

It is the arithmetic difference between two percentages. Moving from 5 percent to 7 percent is a rise of two percentage points but a 40 percent relative increase.

Read our related guide for more on getting the most from the Percentage Calculator.

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