Practical guide

Excel Percentage Change Formula: Increase or Decrease

Percentage change compares the difference with the original value. Keep the original value as the baseline, and format the decimal result as a percentage.

What to do

  1. Place the original value in one cell and the new value in another; subtract original from new and divide by original.
  2. Use the formula example below, then format the result cell as Percentage rather than multiplying by 100 and applying percentage formatting again.
  3. A positive result indicates an increase, a negative result indicates a decrease, and an unchanged value returns zero percent.
  4. Decide how to present a zero original value; percentage change from zero is undefined.

Checks and limitations

  • Dividing by the new value produces a different calculation and is not the standard percentage-change formula.
  • If the baseline is zero, prevent a divide-by-zero error and state that the percentage is undefined.