Percentage Difference Calculator (Calculate percent difference between V1 and V2)

About this Calculator:

Calculate the percent difference between two numbers. Percentage difference is usually calculated when you want to know the difference in percentage between two numbers and when there is no direction of change; no old and new value.  To calculate the difference relatively, from an old number to a new number, you would calculate percentage change.

Related calculations can be done with Percentage Calculator, Percentage Change Calculator and conversions can be solved with Decimal to Percent, Percent to Decimal, Fraction to Percent, or Percent to Fraction.

Percentage difference formula:

Percentage difference equals the absolute value of the change in value, divided by the average of the 2 numbers, all multiplied by 100.  We then append the percent sign, %.

Percent difference = ( | ΔV |/ ( ∑V/2) ) * 100 = ( | (V₁ - V₂) | / ((V₁ + V₂)/2) ) * 100

For example one, to calculate the percentage difference:

• What is the percentage difference between 5 and 7?
• Let V₁ = 5 and V₂ = 7 and plug numbers into our formula ( | (V₁ - V₂) | / ((V₁ + V₂)/2) ) * 100
• ( | (5 - 7) | / ((5 + 7)/2) ) * 100
• = ( |-2| / (12/2)) * 100
• = ( 2/6 )* 100
• = 0.3333 * 100
• 33.33% difference

Note that if we let V₁ = 7 and V₂ = 5 we would still have a difference of 33.33%.

References

Percent Difference Equations Formulas Calculator from AJ Design Software, last visited 22, Feb. 2011.

Wikipedia contributors. "Percent difference" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, last visited 18 Feb. 2011.

Percent Change, Increase, Difference from Dr. Math, last visited 22, Feb. 2011.