Percentage Points Calculator
A percentage point is the gap between two rates that are already percents. From 10% to 12% is 2 percentage points. Measured against the starting rate, the same move is a 20% increase, not a 2% increase. Enter a starting rate and an ending rate to see the points, the relative change, and the basis points.
How to calculate percentage points
Subtract the starting rate from the ending rate. Both numbers stay in percent units, so the answer is in percentage points, not a percent of some other amount.
percentage points = ending rate - starting rate
- Subtract the starting rate from the ending rate: 12 - 10 = 2 percentage points.
- For the relative change, divide the gap by the starting rate and multiply by 100: 2 / 10 × 100 = 20%.
- For basis points, multiply the points by 100. 2 points is 200 basis points, and 0.25 points is 25 basis points.
A negative answer means the rate fell. From 8% to 6% is -2 percentage points.
Percentage points vs percent change
Points describe the plain gap between two rates. Percent change describes that gap as a share of the starting rate. The same move gives two different numbers.
| Start | End | Points | Relative change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 12% | +2 | +20% |
| 8% | 6% | -2 | -25% |
| 40% | 50% | +10 | +25% |
| 3.25% | 3.50% | +0.25 | +7.692% |
| 2% | 4% | +2 | +100% |
Why headlines mix them up
A report that says an unemployment rate "rose 1%" is unclear. If the rate went from 5% to 6%, it rose 1 percentage point, or 20% in relative terms.
Write "points" for the gap between two rates. Write "percent" for a relative change. Giving both numbers, such as "up 1 point, or 20%", leaves no doubt.
Basis points
Finance uses basis points to describe small rate moves without decimals.
- 1 percentage point = 100 basis points.
- 0.01 percentage points = 1 basis point.
- A loan rate that moves from 4.00% to 4.25% rises 0.25 points, or 25 basis points.
Starting rates of zero and 100
If the starting rate is 0%, the point gap still equals the ending rate. The relative change has no answer, because the formula divides by zero.
If the starting rate is 100%, one percentage point equals one percent. That is the only case where the two measures match.
Not the same as
Percentage points, percent change, and basis points answer different questions about the same two rates.
- Percentage change Percentage change divides the gap by the starting value. 10 to 12 is 2 points and also a 20% increase. Open percentage change
- Increase by a percent Adding 2% to a 10% rate gives 10.2%. Adding 2 percentage points gives 12%. Use the increase tool for the first case. Open increase or decrease by a percent
- Percentage points vs percent The guide explains why a 2-point rise is not a 2% rise, including the basis-point scale. Read percentage points vs percent
Related tools
Percentage-point questions
Only when the starting rate is 100%. From 10% to 12% the gap is 2 percentage points and the relative change is 20%.
2 percentage points, which is a 20% increase of the original rate and 200 basis points.
-2 percentage points, a 25% decrease of the original rate, or -200 basis points.
100. A move from 3.25% to 3.50% is 0.25 percentage points, or 25 basis points.
Add the points directly. A 10% rate plus 2 percentage points is 12%. Adding 2% of the rate instead gives 10.2%.
Report points for the plain gap between two rates, and percent change for the relative size of the move. When space allows, give both.
The point gap still equals the ending rate. The relative percent change has no answer, because the starting rate is zero.