Price percentage change measures how much a price has risen or fallen relative to its original level. Whether you're tracking a stock, comparing retail prices, monitoring property values, or calculating a discount, the formula is the same — only the context changes.
A positive result means the price increased. A negative result means it decreased. Use our free calculator to compute any price change instantly, or work through the examples below.
The formula is identical in every case — these examples show it applied across the most common real-world situations.
A 30% return since purchase. Used to track individual positions and compare performance across holdings.
A 20% price increase on a grocery item — useful for tracking inflation on everyday purchases.
30% off the original price. Helpful for checking whether an advertised discount is genuine.
15% appreciation since purchase. Commonly used to assess investment returns on property.
Fuel up 11.3% — often used to calculate the impact on monthly transport costs.
10% reduction in supplier cost — directly improves margin if selling price stays the same.
Stock prices are the most common use case. Here's the full working for two scenarios.
£12.50, new price = £14.0014.00 − 12.50 = 1.501.50 ÷ 12.50 = 0.120.12 × 100 = 12%£22.00, new price = £17.6017.60 − 22.00 = −4.40−4.40 ÷ 22.00 = −0.20−0.20 × 100 = −20%When calculating change across more than one period, you cannot simply add or subtract percentages — apply each change to the running price sequentially.
£100 × 1.20 = £120£120 × 0.90 = £108(108 − 100) ÷ 100 × 100 = +8%Have a price to check?
Enter old and new price — get the percentage change instantly
Use the free calculatorPrice percentage change = (New Price − Old Price) ÷ Old Price × 100. A positive result means the price increased; a negative result means it decreased.
Subtract the opening or purchase price from the current price, divide by the opening price, then multiply by 100. For example, a stock moving from £10.00 to £11.50 gives: (11.50 − 10.00) ÷ 10.00 × 100 = 15% increase.
Use the formula: (New Price − Old Price) ÷ Old Price × 100. A positive result is your percentage increase. A negative result means the price actually fell.
Yes — the formula works with any currency or unit. The percentage result is dimensionless, so it doesn't matter whether you're working in pounds, dollars, euros, or pence.
A doubling is always a 100% increase. For example, £50 rising to £100: (100 − 50) ÷ 50 × 100 = 100%, regardless of the actual price values.
Price percentage change uses the original price as the baseline and shows direction (up or down). Percent difference uses the average of both prices and is always positive — used when neither price is clearly the "original." For most price tracking, percentage change is the right formula. See our full comparison.