Finance
Year-over-Year Growth Calculator
Calculate year-over-year (YoY) growth rate, find the current period value, or work back to the prior period value. Supports positive and negative growth.
Fill in the inputs above to calculate year-over-year growth.
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YoY Growth Formulas
Growth Rate
Rate = ((Current − Prior) ÷ |Prior|) × 100
Current Value
Current = Prior × (1 + Rate)
Prior Value
Prior = Current ÷ (1 + Rate)
When to Use YoY Growth
YoY growth is the standard metric for investor reporting, annual strategy reviews, and benchmarking against industry peers. It eliminates seasonal noise by always comparing the same period.
For retail businesses with significant holiday seasonality, comparing December 2024 to December 2023 is far more informative than comparing December 2024 to November 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is year-over-year (YoY) growth?
Year-over-year growth compares a metric (revenue, users, profit, etc.) from one period to the same period in the previous year. It removes seasonal fluctuations and gives a cleaner view of trend than month-over-month. A positive YoY rate means the metric grew; negative means it declined.
How do you calculate YoY growth?
YoY Growth Rate = ((Current Period Value − Prior Period Value) ÷ |Prior Period Value|) × 100. For example, revenue of $1.25M this year versus $1.00M last year gives YoY growth of ((1.25 − 1.00) ÷ 1.00) × 100 = 25%.
What is a good YoY growth rate?
It depends on the industry and stage. Early-stage startups often target 100%+ YoY growth. Mature tech companies consider 15–30% strong. For traditional businesses, 5–10% is healthy. Any YoY growth should be contextualised against industry benchmarks and macroeconomic conditions.
How is YoY different from month-over-month (MoM) growth?
Month-over-month measures sequential change from one month to the next, which can be distorted by seasonal patterns. Year-over-year compares the same calendar period across two years, eliminating seasonality. Businesses use both: MoM for operational monitoring, YoY for strategic reporting.
Can YoY growth be negative?
Yes. A negative YoY rate means the metric declined compared to the previous year. This is called a YoY decline or contraction. For revenue, a negative YoY rate typically signals serious underlying challenges — though temporarily negative YoY can occur after a one-time spike in the prior year.