Percentage of a Total in Excel

If you want to calculate the percentage difference between the two numbers, also called the percentage of the total, you can use the following formula.

Percentage difference between the two numbers

In order to calculate the percentage difference in Excel, follow these steps.

  1. Enter the total value into cell A2.
  2. Into cell B2, enter the value that you want to calculate the percentage of cell A2.
  3. Inside the cell, D2 enter the following formula.

Because 100% equals 1, we have two options here.

Multiply the result by 100

You can multiply the result by 100 and use the following formula.

It will give the following result: 31.25.

Format cell to percentages

Instead of multiplying the result by 100, you can format the value into percentages. Here’s how.

Click cell D2 and choose the percent style. You can find it in Home >> Number >> Percent Style.

It will display the value in percentage form.

By default, after you click the Percent Style button, the value is displayed as an integer. If you want, you can increase the decimal precision by clicking the Increase Decimal.

Each time you click the button, the precision will increase. Press it twice to get this result.

Calculating percentage difference for multiple values

If you want to calculate the percentage of a total for multiple cells, it’s a good idea to use absolute references.

Enter this formula into cell D2, and use the autofill feature to calculate a value for the rest of the cells.

This is what we get.

Tomasz Decker is an Excel specialist, skilled in data analysis and financial modeling.