by In this tutorial, you will lean a quick way to calculate percentages in Excel, find the basic percentage formula and a few more formulas for calculating percentage increase, percent of total and more.
Calculating percentage is useful in many areas of life, whether it is restaurant tipping, reseller commission, your income tax or interest rate. Say, you've been lucky enough to get a 25% off promotion code on a new plasma TV. Is this a good deal? And how much will you eventually have to pay?
In this tutorial, we are going to explore a few techniques that will help you efficiently calculate percent in Excel and learn the basic percentage formulas that will take the guesswork out of your calculations.
Percentage basics
The term "per cent" is derived from the Latin per centum, meaning "by the hundred". As you probably remember from high school math class, a percentage is a fraction of 100 that is calculated by dividing the numerator by the denominator and multiplying the result by 100.
The basic percentage formula is as follows:
For example, if you had 20 apples and you gave 5 to your friends, how much did you give, percentage wise? By performing a simple calculation =5/20*100 you get the answer - 25%.
This is how you normally calculate percentages in school and everyday life. Computing percentage in Microsoft Excel is even easier since Excel performs some operations for you automatically, in the background.
Regrettably, there is no universal Excel formula for percentage that would cover all possible scenarios. If you ask someone "Which percent formula do I use to get the result I want?", most likely, you will get an answer like "Well, that depends on what exactly result you want to achieve."
So, let me show you a few simple formulas for calculating a percent in Excel such as a percentage increase formula, a formula to get percentages of a total and more.
Basic Excel percentage formula
The basic formula to calculate percentage in Excel is this:
If you compare it to the basic math formula for percentage, you will notice that Excel's percentage formula lacks the *100 part. When calculating a percent in Excel, you do not have to multiply the resulting fraction by 100 since Excel does this automatically when the Percentage format is applied to a cell.
And now, let's see how you can use the Excel percentage formula on real-life data. Suppose, you have the number of "Ordered items" in column B and "Delivered items" in column C. To find out the percentage of delivered products, perform the following steps:
- Enter the formula
=C2/B2in cell D2, and copy it down to as many rows as you need. - Click the Percent Style button (Home tab > Number group) to display the resulting decimal fractions as percentages.
- Remember to increase the number of decimal places if needed, as explained in Percentage tips.
- Done! : )
The same sequence of steps shall be performed when using any other percentage formula in Excel.
In the following example, column D displays a rounded percent of delivered items, without any decimal places showing.
Calculating percentage of total in Excel
In fact, the above example is a particular case of calculating percentages of a total. Now, let's investigate a few more examples that will help you make quick work of calculating a percent of a total in Excel on different data sets.
Example 1. The total is at the end of the table in a certain cell
A very common scenario is when you have a total in a single cell at the end of a table. In this case, the percentage formula will be similar to the one we've just discussed with the only difference that a cell reference in the denominator is an absolute reference (with $).The dollar sign fixes the reference to a given cell, so that it never changes no matter where the formula is copied.
For example, if you have some values in column B and their total in cell B10, you'd use the following formula to calculate percentages of the total:
=B2/$B$10
You use a relative cell reference to cell B2 because you want it to get changed when you copy the formula to other cells of column B. But you enter $B$10 as an absolute cell reference because you want to leave the denominator fixed on B10 when auto-filling the formula down to row 9.
Tip. To make the denominator an absolute reference, either type the dollar sign ($) manually or click the cell reference in the formula bar and press F4.
The screenshot below demonstrates the results returned by the formula, the Percentages of Total column is formatted as percentage with 2 decimal places showing.
Example 2. Parts of the total are in multiple rows
In the above example, suppose you have several rows for the same product and you want to know what part of the total is made by all orders of that particular product.
In this case, you can use the SUMIF function to add up all numbers relating to a given product first, and then divide that number by the total, like this:
=SUMIF(range, criteria, sum_range) / total
Given that column A contains all product names, column B lists corresponding quantities, cell E1 is the name of the product you are interested in, and the total is in cell B10, your real-life formula may look similar to this:
=SUMIF(A2:A9 ,E1, B2:B9) / $B$10
Naturally, you can put the product name directly in the formula, like this:
=SUMIF(A2:A9, "cherries", B2:B9) / $B$10
If you want to find out what part of the total a few different products make, add up the results returned by several SUMIF functions, and then divide that number by the total. For example, the following formula calculates the percent of cherries and apples:
=(SUMIF(A2:A9, "cherries", B2:B9) + SUMIF(A2:A9, "apples", B2:B9)) / $B$10
For more information about the SUM function, please check out the following tutorials:
How to calculate percent difference in Excel
Of all formulas for calculating percentage in Excel, a percent change formula is probably the one you would use most often.
Excel formula for percent increase / decrease
To calculate the percentage of difference between two values A and B, the generic formula is:
When applying this formula to real data, it is important that you correctly determine which value is A and which is B. For example, yesterday you had 80 apples and how you have 100, meaning that now you have 20 apples more than before, which is 25% increase. If you had 100 apples and now you have 80, your number of apples has reduced by 20, which is 20% decrease.
Considering the above, our Excel formula for percentage change takes the following shape:
And now, let's see how you can use this formula for calculating percent difference in your spreadsheets.
Example 1. Calculating percent difference between 2 columns
Suppose you have the last month prices in column B and this month prices in column C. Then your percent change formula takes this form:
=(C2-B2)/B2
To calculate the percent difference between two numbers correctly, carry out these steps.
- Enter the formula in any blank cell in row 2, say D2. This will output the result as a decimal number.
- Select the formula cell and click the Percent Style button on the Home tab to convert the decimal number to percentage.
- Drag the formula down to copy it to the below cells.
As the result, the formula calculates the percentage of change in this month (column C) comparted to last month (column B). Positive percentages that show percentage increase are formatted in usual black, while negative percentages (percent decrease) are formatted in red. To have this done automatically, set up a custom format for negative percentages as explained in this tip.
Example 2. Calculating percentage difference between two numbers
In case you have one column of numbers, say column C that lists weekly or monthly sales, you can calculate the percentage change between the previous week/month and the current one using this formula:
=(C3-C2)/C2
Where C2 and C3 are the numbers you are comparing.
Note. Please pay attention that you should skip the first row with data and put your percent difference formula in the 2nd cell, which is D3 in this example.
To display decimals as percentages, apply the percent format to the cells containing your formula, and you will get the following result:
To calculate the percentage of change between a certain number and all other numbers, fix the address of that cell by using the $ sign, e.g. $C$2.
For instance, to calculates the percent increase / decrease for each month compared to January (C2), the formula in D3 is:
=(C3-$C$2)/$C$2
When copying the formula to the below cells, the absolute reference ($C$2) will remain the same, while the relative reference (C3) will change to C4, C5, and so on based on a relative position of the row where the formula is copied.
For more formula examples, please see How to calculate percentage change in Excel.
Calculating amount and total by percentage
As you've just seen, calculating percentages in Excel is easy, and so is calculating amounts and totals if you know the percentage.
Example 1. Calculate amount by total and percentage
Suppose you are buying a new laptop for $950 and they charge 11% VAT on this purchase. The question is - how much do you have to pay on top of the net price? In other words, what is 11% of $950?
The following formula will help:
Assuming that the total value is in cell A2 and percent in B2, the above formula turns into a simple =A2*B2 and returns 104.50.
Remember, when you type a number followed by the percent sign (%) in Excel, the number is interpreted as a hundredth of its value. For example, 11% is actually stored as 0.11 and Excel uses this underlying value in all formulas and calculations.
In other words, the formula =A2*11% is equivalent to =A2*0.11. Naturally, you are free to use the decimal number corresponding to the percentage directly in a formula if this works better for your worksheets.
Example 2. Calculating total by amount and percentage
For example, you friend offered you his old computer for $400, which is 30% off the original price. You want to know what the original price was.
Since 30% is the discount, you deduct it from 100% first to know what percentage you actually have to pay (100% - 30% = 70%). Now you need the formula to calculate the original price, i.e. to find the number whose 70% equals 400.
The formula goes as follows:
Applied to real data, it may take any of the following shapes:
=A2/B2
or
=A2/0.7
or
=A2/70%
Tip. To get an answer to a more difficult question - how to calculate the interest amount of a loan payment knowing an interest rate - check out the IPMT function.
How to increase / decrease a number by percentage
The holiday season is upon us and this indicates a change in your usual weekly spendings. You may want to consider different options to find out your optimum weekly allowance.
To increase an amount by a percentage, use this formula:
For example, to increase the value in cell A1 by 20%, the formula is:
=A1*(1+20%)
To decrease an amount by a percentage:
For instance, to reduce the value in cell A1 by 20%, the formula is:
=A1*(1-20%)
In our example, if A2 is your current expenditures and B2 is the percentage you want to increase or reduce that amount by, here are the formulas you'd enter in cell C2:
Increase by percentage:
=A2*(1+B2)
Reduce by percentage:
Suppose, you have a column of numbers that you want to increase or reduce by a certain percent, and you want to have the updated numbers in the same column rather than add a new column with the formula. Here are 5 quick steps to handle this task: Increase by percentage: Reduce by percentage: Naturally, you are free to replace 20% in the above formulas with the percentage you want. And here's the result - all the numbers in column B are increased by 20%:
In the same fashion, you can multiply or divide a column of numbers by a certain percentage. Simply enter the desired percentage in an empty cell and follow the steps above.=A2*(1-B2)
How to increase / reduce an entire column by a percentage
=1+20%=1-20%
This is how you calculate percentage in Excel. And even if working with percentages has never been your favorite kind of math, by using these basic percentage formulas you can get Excel to do the work for you. That's all for today, thank you for reading!
725 comments
I have a task that has 15 steps to complete and this task is completed on multiple pieces of equipment. Several steps can be conducted at the same time on each piece of equipment. I want to calculate the percentage of completion for each piece of equipment. Each step is assigned a percentage based on time to complete. I want to record this in as simple way as possible. I want to assign the required percentage for each step to a field/column and then record it using 0 for 0%, 0.5 for 50% and 1 for 100% and then have the percentage complete show as a percentage in the end field/column. So if field/column C is assigned 6%, D is assigned 14%, E is assigned 4% and I enter 0.5 in C, 1 in D and 0 in E in the end field/column overall complete percentage I would get 17%. Can you please help with a formula for this?
Hello!
The formula below will do the trick for you:
=SUMPRODUCT(C1:E1,C2:E2)
You can learn more about SUMPRODUCT function in Excel in this article on our blog.
Thank you, Alexander. I'm grateful for your help and will be recommending your site to all at work.
How to use the formula under this circumtance:
If i have 100 bags which utilizes a vehicle 25% and further i add 300 more bags then how much the vehicle utilizes?
Note: Here all three components (100 bags, vehicle utilization and new addition bags) are variable it changes with every row.
Can you publish a formulae for this type of data? it will be very helpful.
Peace!
I need the percentage of spaces cleaned vs not clean by date. For example if on Jan 27 Door 1 was clean and Door 2 was cleaned that space was 100% cleaned.
If Door 1 was cleaned and Door 2 was not cleaned that space was only 50% cleaned.
Thanks.
Hi,
Sorry, I do not fully understand the task. You have not explained how the date relates to your question. If the execution of work is denoted as 0 or 1, then the formula can be
=(A1+B1)/COUNT(A1,B1)
I want to calculate price increase after 2 months given amount and percentage please how do I do it
Hi,
The information you provided is not enough to understand your case and give you any advice, sorry.
Please provide me with an example of the source data and the expected result.
how how to compute the shortages of my cashier
60% and 40% in my supervisor.thanks for answering
i WANT TO CALCULATE THE VALUE OF LET SUPPOSE a= 499 AND B=220 AND WANT TO CALCULATE MULTIPLE OF BOTH VALUES WITH 14%. PLEASE SUGGEST THE VALUE. HOPE IT MAKE SENSE.
Hi,
I hope you have studied the recommendations in the tutorial above. It contains answers to your question
how to divide percentage into two person for eg if A gets 50 % of total sales B should automatically get the 40% of total sales
Hello!
If I got you right, the formula below will help you with your task:
=IF(B1=0.5*A1,A1*0.4,"")
I hope it’ll be helpful.
How toh calculated percentage this value 44.835 to 61.044 value .how many percentage value add toh this value 44.835 than value is 61.044
Hi,
I hope you have studied the recommendations in the tutorial above. It contains answers to your question.
Hi! how do I calculate , total manpower skill-61 persons & unskill -75 person.
need my manpower 70% skill & 30% unskill.
Hello, so I am attempting to calculate a percentage of completed task. The completed task are marked by a "1" in a specific column there are 3 column for each row. i know that what the percentage would be if only one or two task were completed ( 1 task completed = 33%, 2 completed =66%, all 3 task = 100%). A little more information; this spreadsheet is used for QC to ensure 3 task are completed for an organization. The organizations are listed vertically in the spreadsheet and three columns to the right headers are named after the task, each task once completed are marked with a one in the corresponding column/row for the organization. any help will be appreciated.
Hello!
Percentage on each line can be calculated
=SUM(B1:D1)/3
But I'm not sure if this is what you want. Рlease describe your task in more detail.
Hi! how do I calculate14% of R74.20 using excel formula please
Hi,
R74.20 is text. Percentage can only be calculated from a number.
Hi, there can anyone help me? how can I calculate Multiple merge percentage?
Hi there I need to get a percentage between 2 totals that equate to 100% example..
I need to sell 50% retail 50 % services. I would like to be able to have both totals show like this month it was 65% retail and 35% services. How do I do this formula?
Hello!
You can learn more about calculating the total in Excel on our blog. How to calculate percentages based on these results is described in detail in this article above.
I hope I answered your question. If something is still unclear, please feel free to ask.
Hi I need to calculate a KPI measure on deliveries made.
5 deliveries made 1 of those was late. KPI fail anything below 98% however it comes up 80% pass which is a fail.
Surely this is not correct as they might as well say 100% delivery.
I thought it should be around 98% what am I doing wrong.
Thank you
Hello!
I’m sorry but your task is not entirely clear to me. For me to be able to help you better, please describe your task in more detail. Please specify what you were trying to find, what formula you used and what problem or error occurred. Give an example of the source data and the expected result.
It’ll help me understand it better and find a solution for you.
I really love your commitment to providing me with this information.
I just wanted to point out that you have a typo and I am not trying to be critical. But I hope these comments are taken with the best of intentions.
Regards
Hi, I was given a large table that contains several divisions of an organization: Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, and so up to Division 9. Each division has a certain number of tasks complete and some others not complete. The column only indicates "complete"; "not complete".
I am asked to indicate the percentage of the complete tasks and not complete tasks per division. The original table had all the division data together, so I ordered the divisions from 1 to 9, then created a table for each division, then ordered from A-z. Now I have all the complete tasks first and below the not complete. But now, per each division, I had hundreds of rows. So I count from row 2 (row 1 is headings) to the last row (e.g.578), and then from row 2 to the last "complete" (e.g. 98) and I know I have 97 complete tasks. Then to calculate the not complete I take from row 99 to 578 and know that not complete counts for 479. Then I calculate the percentage dividing number of complete and not complete for the total. But it takes forever and a day more. There should be a way to make this easier, but I cannot figure it out. I will be happy to email the table in case my explanation is not clear. Thanks!
Hello!
Unfortunately, without seeing your data it is impossible to give you advice.
I'm sorry, it is not very clear what result you want to get. Could you please describe your task in more detail and send us a small sample workbook with the source data and expected result to support@ablebits.com? Please shorten your tables to 10-20 rows/columns and include the link to your blog comment.
We'll look into your task and try to help.
Quite helpful. Many thanks.
Hi!
What formula can I use to find the time percentage with the given below?
Computing for Submission Time. Target is between 00:05:00 to 00:15:00, actual time is 00:07:48.
Is it possible to convert 00:07:48 to a percent of the target?
Thanks!
from first look i would sugest dividing minutes and seconds in different columns. it will complicate formula a bit
Hi all,
I am trying to work out a weekly percentage average for colleagues.
The total is worked out from any combination of days from Sunday through to Saturday.
The problem I have is that colleagues can work one day or five days. How do I get the formula to understand that?
Hello!
To ignore non-working days, calculate the average using the AVERAGEA function. Please have a look at this article — How to calculate average
Hope you’ll find this information helpful.
Hello, I need to figure out the formula to create in a excel report calculating the percentage of Manual jobs vs Schedule jobs and then the differences "change" in that percent each month
example Sept = 105 jobs 63 manual and 42 schedule for Sept - manual = 60% Schedule 40% - put that formula in my excel and then figure out OCT 107 jobs 60 manual and 47 schedule - manual =56% -schedule =44% - now the difference between Sept and Oct - how do I plug that into my excel
Thanks you
Hello!
If I understand your task correctly, when your data is written in range A1: C2, then the change in percentage points can be calculated in D2 using the formula
=A1/C1-A2/C2
Set the percentage format to D2.
I hope it’ll be helpful.