Easy Percentages

Making sense of percentages without the fuss

There’s nothing quite like standing in the aisle of a store, clutching a coffee maker labelled “30% off” and realising you’ve no idea what that actually means in rands, dollars, pounds, Norwegian Krone, anyone? Worse yet, try explaining compound interest to a younger cousin using mental arithmetic alone and watch their eyes glaze over. Moments like these made me yearn for a simple, distraction‑free tool that could answer “What is 15% of 200?” or “How much has this price increased?” without adverts or hidden subscriptions. That itch led me to build Easy Percentages, a fast, simple, ad‑free percentage calculator designed to help anyone calculate percentages without scrolling through formulae or wading through pop‑ups.

Easy Percentages isn’t a novel idea so much as an exercise in doing one thing well. Where most percentage calculators are bogged down by invasive ads or unintuitive layouts, this site greets you with a clean heading – “Percentage Calculator” – and a promise: “Easy Percentages helps you calculate percentages for free”. There’s no login, no trackers, just a few input fields and buttons.

Why bother building it?

Two reasons. First, percentages permeate everyday life more than we realise – discounts, tip calculations, loan repayments, statistical reports – yet many people are still uneasy working them out. Second, existing tools were either too complicated or cluttered with advertising. I wanted something you could bookmark, trust and use within seconds. As the About page says, “We aim to simplify the complexities of percentage calculations and provide a user‑friendly tool that anyone can use”. That mission resonated with me.

How it works

The homepage offers three calculators, each wrapped in pale pastel boxes so you know where to start. You can:

• Find a percentage of a number. Type in a value, enter the percentage and press Calculate. The result appears instantly. There’s also a Clear button if you need to start over.
• Calculate one number as a percentage of another. Ever wondered what percentage 30 is of 120? This tool does that, again with a single click.
• Compute percentage increase or decrease. Enter an initial and a final value to see how much change has occurred. Handy for tracking savings goals or weight changes without whipping out a calculator.

If you head to the About page, you’ll find a short guide that breaks the process down into three steps: choose your calculation type, input your values and hit Calculate. Clear instructions remind you that you can reset the fields with the Clear button whenever you like. This isn’t rocket science, but explicitly stating the steps makes the tool feel welcoming.

Features that matter

I built Easy Percentages around five principles:

1. Simplicity. The interface is clean and intuitive, with no adverts or unnecessary distractions. You shouldn’t need a manual to work out a discount.
2. Accuracy. The calculations are precise, so you can trust the results. In my tests I compared them against spreadsheets and other calculators to make sure they align.
3. Variety. Beyond simple “what is X% of Y” queries, the site handles percentage changes and fraction‑to‑percentage conversions. More features may follow once the Learn section goes live.
4. No cost. The site is completely free. There are no hidden fees, subscriptions or usage limits. This was non‑negotiable from the start.
5. Accessibility. Because it’s web‑based, you can use Easy Percentages on any device with a browser – laptop, tablet or phone. I’ve tested it on slow connections to ensure it loads quickly.

A couple of anecdotes

When I first shared a prototype with friends, one described how they were trying to teach their child about discounts using a noisy shopping‑centre calculator and a piece of paper. They later wrote back saying, “We used your site; he finally understood how 10% off works!” Another friend used the percentage increase tool to visualise salary growth over three years and discovered he’d actually lost ground after inflation. These may be small stories, but they remind me why little utilities matter.

What’s next

The Learn page currently shows a “Coming Soon…” notice. The plan is to publish short articles explaining the mathematics of percentages, why percentages are everywhere and how to avoid common mistakes. I also plan on introducing more bespoke calculators for specific industries or use cases. For now, the site remains intentionally simple. You won’t find complex graphs or AI features, just a reliable way to answer those nagging percentage questions.

Easy Percentages was born out of a personal need and a frustration with existing tools over a quiet Sunday afternoon. If it helps even a handful of people feel more confident about percentages – whether they’re calculating tips, assessing discounts or analysing spreadsheets – then it has done its job. And if the next time you’re in that supermarket aisle, you reach for your phone rather than mental gymnastics, I’ll consider it a win.