Percentage Calculator

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Calculator Use

Use this calculator to find percentage of a whole or work out the percentage given numbers and percent values. See how to use percent formulas to calculate percentages and find unknowns in percent equations.

Understanding Percentage

We see percentages everywhere — in shopping discounts, exam scores, interest rates, tip calculations, statistics, and even food labels. Percentages help us understand proportions and compare values.

So it's important to know what percentages are and how to calculate them. With this knowledge you have the power to analyze real-world scenarios in our data-driven society.

What is a Percentage?

A percentage is part of a whole. It is a way to express a number as a fraction of 100, and it is denoted using the percent symbol %.

Calculating percentage allows you to compare ratios when sets are different sizes. If you see an example of 25% it means 25 out of 100, or a quarter of the whole.

Likewise 50% means 50 out of 100, or half of the whole. Percentages can help you understand relative amounts when dealing with different scales or population sizes.

For example, according to Mars, Inc. 20% of the M&M's in a bag of milk chocolate M&M's should be orange. Whether the bag is the standard small 1.69 oz or a large 3 lb bag, regardless of the number of candies in the bag, 20% of them, or 20 out of 100, should be orange.

Using the Percentage Calculator

This percent calculator can calculate a percentage of any amount, find what percentage an amount is compared to the whole, or find what the whole amount is given a number and it's percentage of the whole.

The calculator can also do percentage calculations including adding or subtracting percentages. You can find these options in the calculator dropdown menu.

How to Calculate Percentages

The formula to calculate a percentage is (X / Y) * 100 = P%. Divide X by Y to get percentage as a decimal. Multiply that amount by 100 to get P as a percentage.

Let's explore some typical percentage problems:

Calculate what percent one number is of another: Find what percent of Y is X
Calculate percentage of a number: Find P percent of X
Calculate a value from a known part and percentage: Find X if P percent of it is Y

Some typical percentage problems are outlined here. Use these formulas and follow along on the examples to learn how to calculate percentage.

1. Calculate percentage of a whole using the percentage formula (X / Y) * 100 = P%

Example: A food label says one serving contains 12 mg of a nutrient, and the total RDA for that nutrient is 60 mg. What percentage of the total RDA is provided by one serving of that nutrient?

X is 12, Y is 60, so the equation is (12 / 60) * 100 = P%
Do the math: 12/60 = 0.20
Important! This result will be in decimal form, not percentage form. You need to multiply the result by 100 to get the percentage.
Convert 0.20 to a percent: 0.20 * 100 = 20%
So 12 is 20% of 60.
The short answer: 12 mg of the nutrient is what percent of the total RDA of 60 mg? 12/60 = 0.20, then multiply by 100 to get %
0.20 * 100 = 20% of the RDA

2. Calculate percentage of a number using the percentage formula P% * X = Y

Example: A jacket you'd like to buy is on sale for 10% off. If the price tag says $150, how much will the sale deduct from the price of the jacket?

P is 10%, X is $150, so you want to find 10% of $150. Using the formula the equation is 10% * 150 = Y
Convert 10% to a decimal by removing the percent sign and dividing by 100: 10/100 = 0.10
Substitute 0.10 for 10% in the equation: 10% * 150 = Y becomes 0.10 * 150 = Y
Do the math: 0.10 * 150 = 15
Y = 15
So 10% of $150 is $15
The short answer: How much is a 10% discount off a price of $150?
Multiply 0.10 * 150 = $15

3. Calculate X if Y is P percent of X using the percentage formula Y / P% = X

Example: Your favorite football player is coming back from an arm injury. You read that his current bench press is 65 pounds less than his regular, and that number is 26% of what he typically benches. How much is his regular bench press?

Y is 65, P% is 26, so the equation is 65/26% = X
Convert 26% to a decimal by dividing by 100: 26/100 = 0.26
Substitute 0.26 for 26% in the equation: 65/0.26 = X
Do the math: 65/0.26 = X
X = 250
So 65 is 26% of 250
The short answer: How much is the player's regular bench press if he's lifting 65 pounds less and this is 26% of his regular bench?
65/0.26 = 250 pounds

Showing Trends with Percentages

You may need to calculate percent change, percent increase or percent decrease. We have calculators that can help you determine trends in your data. See the CalculatorSoup® related calculators listed here.

Find percentage change using the Percentage Change Calculator.

Find percentage increase using the Percentage Increase Calculator.

Find percentage decrease using the Percentage Decrease Calculator.

Common Percentage Problems

There are many ways to phrase problems involving percentages. See if you can match your real-world scenario to one of the samples below. Formulas and percentage example problems are included.

What is P percent of X?

The percentage formula: Y = P% * X
Convert percentage to decimal dividing P% by 100
Solution: Solve for Y

Example: Calculate a 15% tip on a bill of $45

Plug the numbers into the percentage formula: Y = 15% * 45
Convert percentage to a decimal: 15/100 = 0.15
Y = 0.15 * 45 = 6.75
15% of $45 is $6.75

Y is what percent of X?

Using the percentage formula: P% = Y ÷ X
Solution: Solve for P%

Example: Your chickens laid 40 eggs and 12 of them are brown. What percent of 40 is this?

Plug the numbers into the percentage formula: P% = 12 ÷ 40
P% = 12 ÷ 40 = 0.3
Convert the decimal to percent: P% = 0.3 × 100 = 30%
12 is 30% of 40
30% of the 40 eggs are brown

Y is P percent of what?

Use the formula: X = Y ÷ P%
First convert percentage to decimal, dividing P% by 100
Solution: Solve for X

Example: You're making cupcakes for your very demanding baker boss. 9 cupcakes must be vanilla, and this needs to be 60% of all the cupcakes. How many total cupcakes do you need?

Plug the numbers into the percentage formula: X = 9 ÷ 60%
Convert percent to decimal
60% ÷ 100 = 0.6
X = 9 ÷ 0.6
X = 15
9 is 60% of 15
You need 15 total cupcakes for 9, or 60% of them, to be vanilla.

What percent of X is Y?

Use the formula: P% = Y ÷ X
Solution: Solve for P%

Example: You have 27 pine trees on your street and 6 of them have pinecones. What percentage of the trees produce pinecones?

Plug the numbers into the percentage formula: P% = 6 ÷ 27
6 ÷ 27 = 0.2222
Convert decimal to percent
P% = 0.2222 × 100
P% = 22.22%
22.22% of 27 is 6
22.22% of the trees on your street have pinecones

P percent of what is Y?

Use the formula: X = Y ÷ P%
Solution: Solve for X

Example: If 20% of the M&M's in your bag are orange, and you have 7 orange candies in your bag, how many total M&M's should you have?

Plug the numbers into the percentage formula: X = 7 ÷ 20%
Convert the percent to a decimal
20% ÷ 100 = 0.2
X = 7 ÷ 0.2
X = 35
20% of 35 is 7
You should have 35 M&M's total for 20% or 7 of them to be orange

Bonus Content! How to Convert Between Percentage, Decimal and Fraction

While we're on the topic, you might be wondering how to convert percentage to decimal or fraction. Or or the inverse, convert a fraction or decimal to a percentage. Follow the examples below to quickly see how it's done. Find links to our calculators in Related Calculators below.

Decimal to Percent

Multiply by 100 and add a percentage sign
Example: 0.44 * 100 = 44%

Percent to Decimal

Remove the percentage sign and divide by 100
Example: 15.6% = 15.6/100 = 0.156

Fraction to Percent

Divide numerator by denominator. Multiply the decimal by 100 to convert to a percentage, and a percent sign.
Example: 4/5 = 0.80 * 100 = 80%

Percent to Fraction

Remove the percentage sign and divide by 100
Example: 30% = 30/100 = 3/10

Related Calculators

Find percentage increase using the Percentage Increase Calculator.

Find percentage decrease using the Percentage Decrease Calculator.

Find percentage change using the Percentage Change Calculator.

Solve decimal to percentage conversions with our Decimal to Percent Calculator.

Convert from percentage to decimals with the Percent to Decimal Calculator.

If you need to convert between fractions and percents see our Fraction to Percent Calculator, or our Percent to Fraction Calculator.