# How to calculate what percentage one number is of another in Excel

Divide the part by the whole: =B2/C2, and format the result as a percentage.

**Excel:** `=B2/C2` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Rep | Sales | Target | Of target |
| Ana | 48200 | 50000 |  |
| Ben | 61750 | 55000 |  |
| Cara | 39900 | 60000 |  |
| Dev | 50000 | 50000 |  |

Formula in D2, filled to D5: `=B2/C2`

Result: 96.4%; 112.3%; 66.5%; 100.0%

## How it works

"What percent of" is a division: the part over the whole. 48,200 out of 50,000 is 0.964, which the Percent format shows as 96.4%. Results over 100% mean the part is bigger than the whole: Ben beat his target.

## Other ways

- `=IFERROR(B2/C2,0)`: Shows 0 instead of #DIV/0! when a target is missing.

## Common mistakes

- Multiplying by 100 and then applying the Percent format shows 9640%. Use one or the other.
- Keep the division the right way round: part divided by whole.

## Questions

**How do I calculate X% of a number?**

Multiply: 15% of 80 is `=80*15%` or `=80*0.15`.

**How do I show the shortfall from target?**

`=C2-B2` gives the amount; `=1-B2/C2` gives it as a percentage.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-29.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/what-percentage-of-a-number