PwC was created by the merger of two networks of firms — Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand — each with historical roots going back some 150 years. Set out below are some key milestones in the history of both firms.
| 1849 | Samuel Lowell Price sets up business in London |
| 1854 | William Cooper establishes his own practice in London, which seven years later becomes Cooper Brothers |
| 1865 | Price, Holyland and Waterhouse Join forces in partnership |
| 1913 | Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte opens office in St. Petersburg |
| 1916 | Price, Waterhouse and Co opens office in Petrograd |
| 1957 | Coopers Brothers and Co (UK), McDonald, Currie and Co (Canada) and Lybrand, Ross Bros and Montgomery (US) merge to form Coopers and Lybrand |
| 1982 | Price Waterhouse World firm formed |
| 1989 | Price Waterhouse opens Representative Office in Moscow |
| 1990 | Coopers & Lybrand opens office in Moscow |
| 1998 | Worldwide merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand to create PricewaterhouseCoopers |
| 2010 | PricewaterhouseCoopers opens office in Ulaanbaatar |
| 2010 | PwC has refreshed its branding. The new branding includes a simplified logo consisting of the initials "pwc" in lower-case type. This formal shortening of the brand name will provide consistency and ease of use for PwC firms around the world. |