Year-over-year growth calculator

Enter last year's figure and this year's figure to see how much it changed, as an amount and as a percentage.

Currency

Year-over-year growth

Compare a figure with the same figure a year earlier, as an amount and as a percentage.

$
$
Year-over-year change
Enter your numbers

This calculator gives estimates for illustration only. It is general information, not financial advice, and it does not allow for tax, fees, inflation or changes in interest rates.

How to calculate year-over-year growth

Year-over-year growth, often shortened to YoY, compares a figure with the same figure twelve months earlier. Subtract last year's figure from this year's, divide the answer by last year's figure, and multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

Formula: (this year − last year) ÷ last year × 100

A worked example

Last year
$120,000.00
This year
$150,000.00
Year-over-year change
+25%
Change in amount
+$30,000.00

When year-over-year is useful

Comparing the same period a year apart removes the effect of seasons. A shop's December sales will almost always beat its November sales, so comparing December with the December before says more about whether the business is growing.

  • Business figures such as revenue, profit or customer numbers
  • Personal figures such as salary, rent, bills or a savings balance
  • Published figures such as prices or house values

What to watch for

  • A starting figure of zero has no percentage change, because you cannot divide by zero.
  • A very small starting figure produces a very large percentage, which can look more impressive than it is.
  • One unusual year, good or bad, distorts the comparison on both sides of it.
  • If last year's figure was negative, the calculator measures the change against its size, so an improvement shows as a positive percentage.

Common questions

Year over year. It means comparing a figure with the same figure from one year earlier.

It means the figure fell. Whether that is bad depends on what you are measuring: falling sales are unwelcome, falling costs usually are not.

Year over year compares with the same period twelve months earlier. Month over month compares with the previous month, so it reacts faster but is affected by seasonal swings.

Yes. The calculation works for any two numbers, such as visitors, subscribers or units sold. Ignore the currency symbol.

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