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Percentage Increase Calculator

Calculate percentage increase and absolute growth, or find the original value before an increase.

How to use this tool

Compare a larger new value with its non-zero original value, or reverse a stated increase to recover the original value.

Transparent method

Formula and method

Increase % = ((new − original) ÷ |original|) × 100. Reverse: original = final ÷ (1 + increase ÷ 100).

Worked examples

  • Standard increase: 100 to 120 is a 20% increase and an absolute increase of 20.
  • Larger increase: 50 to 75 is a 50% increase and an absolute increase of 25.
  • Reverse increase: a final value of 120 after a 20% increase corresponds to an original value of 100.
  • Starting values matter: 100 to 150 is a 50% increase, while returning from 150 to 100 is approximately a 33.333333% decrease.

Assumptions and limits

  • The original value cannot be zero.
  • The new value must be greater than or equal to the original value.
  • Reverse mode accepts a percentage increase of zero or greater.
  • Negative values follow the shared formula and direction is determined by the signed difference.

What is percentage increase?

Percentage increase measures how much a value grew relative to the magnitude of its original value. It differs from the absolute increase, which is simply the new value minus the original value.

Percentage increase formula

Subtract the original value from the new value, divide by the absolute original value and multiply by 100: ((new − original) ÷ |original|) × 100.

For 100 to 120, the calculation is (120 − 100) ÷ 100 × 100 = 20%. The absolute increase is 20.

Salary raises and increases over 100%

For a salary raise, use the earlier salary as the original value and the new salary as the new value. The calculator measures the gross percentage change and does not account for tax or benefits.

An increase can exceed 100%. Moving from 40 to 100 is a 150% increase because the gain of 60 is one and a half times the original 40.

Find the original value before an increase

Divide the final value by 1 plus the increase written as a decimal. A final value of 120 after a 20% increase gives 120 ÷ 1.2 = 100.

The focused reverse mode accepts a non-negative increase. A negative percentage describes a decrease and belongs in a different calculation context.

Percentage increase in Excel and Google Sheets

If A1 is the original and B1 is the new value, use =(B1-A1)/ABS(A1), then apply percentage formatting. To recover an original value from final value A1 and increase rate B1, use =A1/(1+B1).

When entering the rate as 20 rather than 20%, divide it by 100 inside the reverse formula. Always guard against an original value of zero.

Percentage increase, percentage points and common mistakes

A move from 20% to 25% is an increase of 5 percentage points but a relative percentage increase of 25%. These measures answer different questions.

Common mistakes include dividing by the new value, treating percentage points as relative change, rounding before later calculations and assuming that equal increases and decreases cancel out.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate percentage increase?

Subtract the original value from the new value, divide by the absolute original value and multiply by 100.

What is the percentage increase formula?

CorelyUp uses ((new − original) ÷ |original|) × 100, which keeps the direction consistent when negative values are involved.

Can percentage increase be over 100%?

Yes. An increase exceeds 100% when the gain is larger than the magnitude of the original value.

How do I find the original value before an increase?

Divide the final value by 1 plus the increase as a decimal. For example, 120 ÷ 1.2 gives an original value of 100.

How do I calculate a salary increase?

Enter the earlier gross salary as the original value and the new gross salary as the new value. The result does not account for taxes or benefits.

What happens if the original value is zero?

Percentage increase from zero has no finite conventional result because the formula divides by the original value. CorelyUp reports an error instead of Infinity.

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