Free Percentage Calculator - Master Percentage Calculations

Our comprehensive percentage calculator helps you quickly calculate percentages, find percentage changes, determine discounts, calculate tips, and solve various percentage problems. Whether you're shopping for discounts, calculating tax rates, determining tip amounts, or working on math homework, this calculator provides accurate results with detailed explanations.

What You Can Calculate

  • • Percentage of a number (What is X% of Y?)
  • • What percentage one number is of another
  • • Percentage change (increase/decrease)
  • • Add/subtract percentages from values
  • • Discount calculations for shopping
  • • Tip calculations for restaurants
  • • Tax calculations and markups

Key Features

  • • Multiple calculation modes
  • • Step-by-step formula explanations
  • • Real-world application examples
  • • Calculation history tracking
  • • Mobile-friendly interface
  • • Instant results as you type

Percentages are used everywhere in daily life - from calculating discounts and tips to understanding statistics and financial data. Our calculator makes it easy to handle any percentage calculation quickly and accurately.

Percentage Calculator

Enter the percentage value

Enter the total value

Percentage Formulas Reference Guide

Finding Percentage

X% of Y = (X × Y) ÷ 100

Percentage of Total

X is what % of Y = (X ÷ Y) × 100

Percentage Change

% Change = ((New - Old) ÷ Old) × 100

Add/Subtract Percentage

Y + X% = Y × (1 + X/100)

Y - X% = Y × (1 - X/100)

Practical Percentage Examples

Shopping Discount Example

Problem: A $80 jacket is 25% off. What's the sale price?

Solution: 25% of $80 = $20 discount

Sale Price: $80 - $20 = $60

Use "What is X% of Y?" tab: 25% of 80 = 20

Restaurant Tip Example

Problem: Bill is $45. You want to tip 18%.

Solution: 18% of $45 = $8.10

Total: $45 + $8.10 = $53.10

Use "What is X% of Y?" tab: 18% of 45 = 8.10

Grade Calculation Example

Problem: Got 42 out of 50 questions right. What's the percentage?

Solution: (42 ÷ 50) × 100 = 84%

Grade: 84% (B grade)

Use "X is what % of Y?" tab: 42 is what % of 50 = 84%

Salary Increase Example

Problem: Salary increased from $50,000 to $55,000. What's the % increase?

Solution: ((55,000 - 50,000) ÷ 50,000) × 100 = 10%

Result: 10% salary increase

Use "% Change" tab: From 50000 to 55000 = 10%

Sales Tax Example

Problem: Item costs $100, sales tax is 8.5%. What's the total?

Solution: $100 + (8.5% of $100) = $100 + $8.50

Total: $108.50

Use "Add/Subtract %" tab: 100 + 8.5% = 108.50

Investment Growth Example

Problem: $1,000 investment grew to $1,200. What's the return?

Solution: ((1,200 - 1,000) ÷ 1,000) × 100 = 20%

Return: 20% profit

Use "% Change" tab: From 1000 to 1200 = 20%

Percentage Calculation Tips & Best Practices

Quick Mental Math Tips

  • • 10% = move decimal point one place left
  • • 50% = divide by 2
  • • 25% = divide by 4
  • • 20% = divide by 5
  • • 1% = move decimal point two places left
  • • For 15%: calculate 10% + 5% (half of 10%)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • • Don't confuse percentage points with percentages
  • • Remember: % change uses original value as base
  • • 100% increase means doubling, not adding 100
  • • Always check if you need the % or the actual amount
  • • Verify calculations with reverse calculations
  • • Be careful with consecutive percentage changes

💡 Pro Tip: When dealing with consecutive percentage changes (like 20% increase followed by 10% decrease), you cannot simply add or subtract the percentages. Each change must be calculated based on the new value from the previous calculation.

Understanding Different Types of Percentage Problems

Basic Percentage Types

Part-to-Whole Percentage

Finding what percentage one number is of another.

Formula: (Part ÷ Whole) × 100

Percentage of a Number

Finding a specific percentage of a given number.

Formula: (Percentage ÷ 100) × Number

Percentage Change

Measuring increase or decrease between two values.

Formula: ((New - Old) ÷ Old) × 100

Advanced Applications

Compound Percentages

When percentages are applied multiple times, like compound interest or consecutive discounts.

Percentage Points

The difference between two percentages (e.g., interest rate changing from 5% to 7% is a 2 percentage point increase).

Relative vs Absolute Change

Understanding when to use percentage change vs absolute change in different contexts.

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