Inflation Calculator

See how rising prices change what your money is worth — and what it will cost — over the years.

Equivalent future cost

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How to use this inflation calculator

Enter an amount of money, the number of years you want to look ahead, and the average annual inflation rate you expect. Then pick a mode. Choose Future cost to see what something that costs your amount today would cost after that many years of inflation. Choose Buying power to see how much your today's money would actually feel like — its purchasing power — after inflation has chipped away at it. The result updates instantly as you adjust the sliders.

How this is calculated

Inflation compounds, just like interest. We build a growth factor from your assumed rate: factor = (1 + rate ÷ 100)^years. In Future cost mode we multiply your amount by that factor, because the same goods cost more later. In Buying power mode we divide your amount by the factor, because a fixed sum buys less over time. Total inflation across the whole period is (factor − 1) × 100. This uses a single assumed constant rate — not real CPI data — so treat it as a planning estimate. Educational estimate, not financial advice — see our disclaimer.

A worked example

Say a basket of groceries costs $1,000 today and you assume 3% average inflation over 10 years. The growth factor is 1.03¹⁰ ≈ 1.344. In Future cost mode the same basket would cost about $1,344 a decade from now — roughly 34% more. Flip to Buying power mode and the picture reverses: $1,000 held in cash would only buy about $744 worth of today's goods after ten years. Same factor, opposite direction — that gap is exactly what inflation does to idle money.

Why an assumed rate matters

This tool deliberately uses one constant rate you choose, applied evenly to every year. Real inflation does not behave that way — it jumps around, spiking in some years and easing in others. Historically, long-run inflation in many developed economies has hovered around 2% to 3% per year, but individual years can be far higher or lower. Because results are highly sensitive to the rate, it is worth running a couple of scenarios: a low rate, a moderate rate, and a stress-test high rate.

Tips for using the result

Plan future expenses in tomorrow's dollars. Tuition, a wedding, or a retirement budget will all cost more than today's sticker price — use Future cost mode to size them.
Check what cash really loses. Buying power mode shows why money sitting idle quietly shrinks; investing it is one way to try to keep pace.
Beat inflation with growth. If your savings earn more than the inflation rate, your real wealth rises. See how returns stack up with our compound interest calculator.
Stress-test the rate. Nudge the rate up a point or two to see how much your plan would change — small differences compound into big gaps over decades.