Inflation Calculator

Use Inflation Calculator

Shows both sides of inflation: what the same basket of goods will cost later, and what money kept today will actually buy by then.

Amount todayInflation rate %Years

These two figures are not mirror imagesAt 3% for ten years, prices rise 34.4% but buying power falls 25.6%, not 34.4%. One number multiplies and the other divides, so a calculator quoting a single percentage is answering only half the question.

Explore finance calculators

Find related browser-local tools for nearby tasks without starting another search.

Browse all finance calculators

About Inflation Calculator

Inflation is usually explained with one number, and one number is not enough, because it answers two different questions that people routinely confuse. The first is what a basket of goods will cost in future: that figure grows. The second is what money set aside today will actually buy by then: that figure shrinks. They are not mirror images of each other, and assuming they are is the most common mistake in retirement planning and long-range budgeting. At three per cent for a decade, prices rise by about thirty-four per cent while buying power falls by roughly twenty-six. Both are correct, they describe the same economy, and they differ because one calculation multiplies while the other divides. This page shows both side by side so the gap between them is visible rather than something you have to work out.

Using Inflation Calculator

Compounding is applied annually, so a rate of three per cent over ten years means each year's prices are three per cent above the year before rather than thirty per cent being spread across the decade.
The future cost is your amount multiplied by that compounding factor: what the same goods and services will be priced at once inflation has run its course.
The future buying power is your amount divided by the same factor: what today's money would purchase then, expressed in today's prices so it is directly comparable.
Both percentages are shown because they answer different questions. The total price rise describes the cost side; the buying power lost describes the saving side.
Negative rates are accepted, which models deflation. Costs fall and buying power rises, which is the reverse of the usual case and worth seeing when planning around it.

Where inflation calculator helps

Judging a salary that has not moved

Enter your salary and the years since the last rise. The buying power figure is what that unchanged salary is now worth in the money of when it was set, which is usually more sobering than the price-rise figure.

Planning a long-term savings target

A target set in today's money needs inflating to the date you will spend it. Use the future cost figure as the real target rather than the number that felt right today.

Before you use the result

A single average rate is a simplification. Real inflation varies year to year, and the categories that matter to you - rent, energy, food, childcare - often move faster or slower than the headline figure.
Official inflation measures a basket that may not resemble yours. Someone paying rent in a city experiences different inflation from someone with a fixed mortgage, even in the same year and country.
This shows the effect of inflation alone. It makes no allowance for interest earned, investment returns, tax, or wage growth, all of which push in the other direction.
Projecting decades ahead compounds the uncertainty in the rate itself. A one-point error over thirty years produces a very different answer, so treat long horizons as illustrative rather than predictive.
Past inflation figures are historical fact; future ones are assumptions. The calculator applies the rate you give it and takes no view on whether that rate is plausible.

Questions about Inflation Calculator

Why are the two percentages different?

Because they measure from different starting points. A 34% price rise means prices are 1.34 times higher; the buying power figure divides by 1.34, giving 0.744, so 25.6% of purchasing power is gone. Both describe the same change.

What inflation rate should I use?

For general planning, a long-run average for your country is a reasonable starting point. For a specific cost such as rent or school fees, use a figure for that category if you can, since it may differ substantially from the headline rate.

Does this account for interest on savings?

No. It isolates inflation. To see whether savings keep up, compare this result with the compound interest calculator using your actual return.

Can I model deflation?

Yes. Enter a negative rate and costs fall while buying power rises, which is the arithmetic reverse of inflation.

Is anything I type sent anywhere?

No. The whole calculation is arithmetic performed in this tab, and this site has no endpoint that receives data.