Price Change Calculator
The real percentage behind a price change — whether it rose or fell from an old price to a new one.
“It went up $10” and “it went up 20%” tell very different stories depending on the starting price. This calculator turns any old and new price into the honest percentage change.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Old price, New price
- What you get
- Percentage change, Amount of change
- Formula shown
- Yes — every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
How is this calculated?
Change = new price − old price. Percentage = change ÷ old price × 100. A negative percentage means the price fell.
Results are estimates for general information only — always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Price Change Calculator
- 1 Enter Old price
- 2 Enter New price
- 3 Press Calculate. You get Percentage change, Amount of change, and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 4 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result — that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
$50 rising to $60
A straightforward increase on a low-priced item.
You enter
- Old price
- $50.00
- New price
- $60.00
You get
- Percentage change
- 20.0%
- Amount of change
- $10.00
$10 on a $50 price is a 20% increase, while the same $10 on a $200 item would be only 5% — the percentage, not the amount, tells you how big the change really is.
$120 falling to $99
A discount, showing how a decrease is reported.
You enter
- Old price
- $120.00
- New price
- $99.00
You get
- Percentage change
- -17.5%
- Amount of change
- $-21.00
The price dropped by $21, or 17.5% of the old price. Returning from $99 to $120 would need a 21.2% rise, because each direction is measured against a different base.
Guides that go with it
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Frequently asked questions
Why is the change divided by the old price and not the new one?
Because a change is measured from where it started. Going from $50 to $60 is a $10 rise, which is 20% of the old price but only 16.7% of the new one. Dividing by the new price would make every increase look smaller than it is.
What does a negative percentage mean?
It means the price fell. A drop from $120 to $99 is a change of −$21 and −17.5%, and the calculator shows both figures with a minus sign. Percentages are not symmetric: recovering from $99 back to $120 needs a 21.2% rise, which is larger than the 17.5% fall.
Is this the same as the inflation rate?
No. Inflation measures the average change across a whole basket of goods and services, while this tool measures one pair of prices you typed in. An item can rise 20% in a year while overall inflation is far lower, and the reverse happens too. Use the Inflation Calculator for the general price level and this one for a specific item.
The pack got smaller but the price stayed the same — is that a price rise?
Yes, and this calculator cannot see it, because it compares two prices rather than two unit prices. Work out the cost per unit — per 100 g, per litre, per sheet — for the old and the new pack, then enter those as the old and new price. That is the only way to compare like with like when sizes change.