How to use the percentage decrease calculator
- Enter the original value. The page starts with 1,000.
- Enter the new, lower value. The page starts with 750.
- Read the percentage change. A minus sign shows a decrease.
About this scenario
You use percentage decrease to describe a price drop, a weight loss, a fall in traffic or a cut in expenses. It tells you how big the drop is compared with where you started.
Worked example
The page opens with an old value of 1,000 and a new value of 750. The difference is 250, and dividing by the original gives 25 percent. So 750 is 25 percent less than 1,000.
The table shows what a few common percentage decreases do to 1,000, and the rise needed to get back.
| Decrease | New value | Rise to recover |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | 950 | 5.3% |
| 10% | 900 | 11.1% |
| 20% | 800 | 25% |
| 25% | 750 | 33.3% |
| 50% | 500 | 100% |
What to notice
A fall and a rise of the same size do not cancel out. After a 25 percent drop from 1,000 to 750 you would need a rise of 33.3 percent to climb back to 1,000, because the rise starts from a smaller number. Two 25 percent drops in a row leave you at 562.5, a total fall of 43.75 percent, not 50.
Tips
- The formula is (old − new) ÷ old × 100. Divide by the original value.
- A decrease can never be more than 100 percent of a positive starting value.
- For a shop sale with several offers, use the shopping discount calculator.
- See also: percentage increase calculator, percentage calculator, discount calculator, discount calculator for shopping.
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