This online percentage calculator shows how a percentage is represented as a fraction of a number. To find a percentage of a number out of a total, simply enter the values in left side of the calculator with the partial number as the numerator (the value on the top) and the total as the value on the bottom (the denominator). The calculator will calculate percentage value numerically, and show you the same value as represented visually.
This percentage calculator also functions as a percentage to fraction calculator. Simply leave the numerator and denominator values blank (or click the ‘Clear’ button) and then enter a percentage. The corresponding values will be shown in the main panel of the fraction calculator.
Because percentages are by definition fractions out of a hundred, if you leave the denominator blank, the calculator will supply 100. If you want to use a different denominator, simply enter the denominator first then, a percentage. For example, to find out what 40% of 200 is, enter 200 in the denominator and then 40% in the percentage to get the result.
You can see in the ‘What is the Percentage’ panel different ways of thinking about the values. As you update the values in the calculator, you can see how the answer is expressed in terms like…
The calculator will approximate percentages to two decimal places, but you'll see the percentage to a larger precision if the calculator rounded it where the main results are presented.
Playing with this percent calculator and seeing how different fractions and percentages change these verbal descriptions will help you understand percentage concepts thoroughly.
If you wish to save settings you enter in the percentage calculator, the “Share this Percentage” link can be copied and pasted into an email, your browser bookmarks or a web page. It will return to this percentage calculator and show the problem exactly as you see it.
A percentage is a useful way to conceptualize a fractional amount of some total in decimal form. We deal with fractional amounts regularly, but often fractions have different denominators which makes comparing them difficult. A percentage by definition is a fraction with 100 as it’s denominator, so comparing two percentages is easier than comparing two arbitrary fractions.
The word “percent” has the Latin root word “cent” in it, which means one hundred. This is the same root word in the English words century or centimeter or centennial, and it of course relates to the monetary cent which is one hundredth of a dollar. The Latin root word in percent should help you remember that percentages are always fractions of 100, and you can find all sorts of other interesting words related to hundreds and percentages if you pay attention. See this link for some more details… Where does the word Percentage come from?
…but here on this calculator page, we’re dealing with math! Those hundredths denominators are very important and they relate directly to using percentages and our decimal numbering system. Percentages are directly to numerical values and back by moving decimal places.
Hundredths are values shown as the two digits to the right of the decimal place in a real number. Because percentages are really another way of expressing hundredths, converting a percent to decimal is a very straight forward process…
12% | = | 12 100 | = | 0.12 |
In other words, 12% is the same as the fraction 12 over 100, which is the same as the decimal value 0.12. Mechanically, converting a percent to a decimal can be done by taking a percentage and moving the decimal two places to the left. Here are a few other examples…
34% | = | 34 100 | = | 0.34 |
56.7% | = | 56.7 100 | = | 0.567 |
100% | = | 100 100 | = | 1.0 |
Note that 100% is the same as 100 parts out of a total 100, which is of course one. That makes sense. If you have 100% of something, you’ve got all of it, not a fractional amount.
Here’s a great video that shows you more about percent to decimal calculations. Percent to Decimal Calculations
The reverse calculation, a decimal to percent, is similar. Here you are starting with a value in hundredths, but we convert it to a simple percentage by moving the decimal two places to the left instead of the right…
0.14 | = | 14 100 | = | 14% |
0.232 | = | 23.2 100 | = | 23.2% |
1.0 | = | 100 100 | = | 100% |
1.25 | = | 125 100 | = | 125% |
Notice in that last example how we started with a real number greater than one, and after moving two decimal places, we calculated a percentage greater than 100. Percentages are fractions of 100, but those fractions can be improper. So 125% is a perfectly fine percentage, it’s just representing a value greater than a whole. You’ll see values like this often when you think about percentage difference amounts, for example if one item costs 125% of another.
Calculating percentages is easy if we know what the total number of something should be, and we’re comparing it to what number we have. Calculating percentages is much like making a fraction, and then, no matter what the total was, just making the denominator 100.
Suppose we have a package that is supposed to contain 10 donuts, but two of them are missing. We know the total number of donuts is supposed to be 10. If we are asked, “What percentage of donuts were eaten?” we know the number of missing donuts is 2, so convert fraction to percent like this…
2 10 | = | 20 100 | = | 20% |
Calculating percentages can be more difficult if the total amount (the value we’re starting with as a denominator) isn’t a factor of 100. That’s what this the fraction to percent calculator on this page does really well for you! Just enter whatever values you need and you’ll get a result, probably as a percentage with a decimal. You’ll be converting fractions to percents with zero stress.
When you are learning how to find percentage differences between numbers, for example determining the percentage change from one value to the next, you are looking at the difference between two values. The important amount is the net change between the first value and the second, so the first step is subtraction. For example, if we started the day with $10 in our pocket and we ended with $15, then the difference (the change) is $5. If we know the amount of difference, how do we calculate the percentage increase?
The percentage increase or percentage decrease determined by looking at a fraction with the starting amount as the denominator and the change as the numerator, so for this example, the starting amount was $10 and the change was $5, so our percentage is calculated like this…
5 10 | = | 50 100 | = | 50% |
Our percentage increase in this example is 50%. You can get more detailed examples about how to calculate percentage change here… Percentage Increase and Decrease Calculations
Are you looking to practice your percentage calculator skills? There are a number of great percentage worksheets on this site at the links below!