Skip to content
Calixo

Percentage Error Calculator

Find the percentage error between a measured and an actual value.

Inputs

Saved Scenarios

— select 2+ to compare

Percentage Error

2.00%

Spark says

How it's calculated

Formula

Error%=∣Measured−Actual∣∣Actual∣×100Error\% = \dfrac{|Measured - Actual|}{|Actual|} \times 100
Measured
— Your observed or experimental value
Actual
— The true or accepted value

What is the Percentage Error Calculator?

Percentage error measures how far a measured or estimated value is from the true value, as a percentage of the true value.

How to use it

  1. 1 Enter your measured (observed) value.
  2. 2 Enter the actual (accepted or true) value.

Worked examples

Measured 98, actual 100

Percentage error is 2%.

Try it

Frequently asked questions

Why use absolute value in the formula?

Percentage error is typically reported as a positive magnitude regardless of whether the measured value is above or below the actual value.