Percentage calculator
This page has four small calculators, one for each common percentage question: your marks as a percentage, a percentage of a number, what percentage one number is of another, and how much a value has gone up or down. Use the one that matches your question. The answer updates as you type.
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Pick the question you need
Marks percentage
e.g. 870 marks out of 1,100 in your exams
Percentage
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What is X% of Y?
e.g. what is 15% of 200? (a discount, tip or tax)
Answer
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X is what percentage of Y?
e.g. 30 marks out of 200 is what percent?
Answer
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Percentage change from X to Y
e.g. a price went from 200 to 250: how much is that in percent?
Change
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How to calculate marks percentage
Divide the marks you obtained by the total marks, then multiply by 100. For example, 870 out of 1,100 gives 870 ÷ 1,100 × 100 = 79.09%.
This is the figure that matric, intermediate and university admission forms ask for, as do most job applications in Pakistan. Forms usually want it to two decimal places, so the calculator shows two.
For a combined result, add the obtained marks from each exam and divide by the combined total. If you scored 950 out of 1,100 in matric and 880 out of 1,100 in intermediate, your combined percentage is 1,830 out of 2,200, which is 83.18%. Some admission merit formulas give different weights to each exam, so check the formula your university publishes.
If your result is a CGPA rather than marks, use the GPA and CGPA calculator, which converts a CGPA into a percentage or into marks.
The other three formulas
X% of Y is Y × X ÷ 100. For example, 15% of 200 is 30.
X as a percentage of Y is X ÷ Y × 100. For example, 30 out of 200 is 15%.
Percentage change from X to Y is (Y − X) ÷ X × 100. For example, going from 200 to 250 is a 25% increase. The change is always measured against the starting value, not the final one.
Why a fall and a rise of the same size are different percentages
This catches out more people than any other percentage question, and it comes up constantly in financial news.
If a value falls from 100 to 50, it has dropped by 50%. To get back from 50 to 100, it needs to rise by 100%, not by another 50%. The percentages are different because the starting value has changed: the first calculation divides by 100 and the second divides by 50.
This has a real cost for investors. A portfolio that loses 20% needs to gain 25% to get back to where it started. A 50% loss needs a 100% gain to recover, and an 80% loss needs a 400% gain. Losses are harder to recover from than they look, which is why protecting your capital matters so much.
Percent and percentage points are different
These two terms measure different things, and mixing them up causes real confusion.
If an interest rate moves from 4% to 6%, it has risen by two percentage points. It has also risen by 50 percent, because 2 is half of 4. Both statements are true and describe the same change, but a headline saying the rate "rose 50%" gives a very different impression from one saying it rose two points.
A simple rule: use percentage points when you compare two percentages, and use percent for the relative change in anything else.
Percentages applied one after another do not add up
A 10% increase followed by a 10% decrease does not take you back to where you started. Starting at 100, a 10% rise gives 110. A 10% fall from 110 gives 99, so you finish 1% lower than you began. The gap grows as the percentages get larger.
Discounts work the same way. A 20% discount followed by another 10% off is a 28% discount in total, not 30%, because the second discount is taken from the price that has already been reduced.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate marks percentage?
Divide the marks you obtained by the total marks and multiply by 100. For 870 out of 1,100, that is 870 ÷ 1,100 × 100 = 79.09%.
How do I calculate the percentage of matric and inter together?
Add your obtained marks from both exams, divide by the combined total marks and multiply by 100. For example, 950 and 880 out of 1,100 each gives 1,830 out of 2,200, which is 83.18%. Some university merit formulas weight the exams differently, so check their published formula.
How do I find a percentage of a number?
Multiply the number by the percentage and divide by 100. For 15% of 200, that is 200 × 15 ÷ 100 = 30.
What is the difference between percent and percentage points?
Percentage points measure the gap between two percentages, while percent measures relative change. A rate that moves from 4% to 6% has risen by two percentage points, which is also a rise of 50 percent.
Why is a percentage change not reversible?
Because it is always measured against the starting value, and that value changes. A fall from 100 to 50 is a 50% drop, but a rise from 50 back to 100 is a 100% increase.
Do successive discounts add up?
No. Twenty percent off followed by ten percent off is 28% off in total, not 30%, because the second discount is taken from the already reduced price.
What if the starting value is zero?
Percentage change cannot be calculated from zero, because any increase from zero would be infinitely large in relative terms. Reports usually describe these changes in absolute numbers instead.