What This Calculator Measures
Percentage difference compares two peer values when neither one is designated as the original or reference value.
This calculator uses the absolute difference divided by the arithmetic mean, so swapping the two inputs does not change the result.
Percentage Difference Formula
Formula
|Value 1 − Value 2| ÷ ((Value 1 + Value 2) ÷ 2) × 100
The denominator is the arithmetic mean of the two values rather than either value alone.
If one value is zero the result is 200%. If both are zero, this product reports 0% by an explicit no-difference convention.
How to Calculate It
Step-by-step method
- Find the absolute difference between the values.
- Add the values and divide by two to find their arithmetic mean.
- Divide the absolute difference by the mean and multiply by 100.
For 80 and 100: |80 − 100| = 20 and the mean is 90.