Inflation Calculator
See what an amount is worth after years of a given inflation rate.
Comparing money across years without adjusting is meaningless
A salary, a budget line, or a savings target from a decade ago is not comparable to today's figure until both sit in the same year's money. Inflation does not change the digits on a statement — it changes what those digits buy. A balance that has not grown has, in real terms, shrunk by exactly the accumulated inflation over the period.
This is the single most common error in personal financial comparison: treating a nominal increase as a real one. A 3% raise in a 5% inflation year is a pay cut, and a savings account paying 2% while prices rise 4% is losing purchasing power steadily despite the balance going up.
Published inflation is not your inflation
Official consumer price indices measure a fixed basket of goods weighted to represent an average household. Your household is not average. If rent or mortgage interest dominates your spending, your personal inflation rate can run far above the headline figure in a year when housing costs spike; if you own outright and spend mostly on goods that have become cheaper, it can run below. Categories also diverge sharply — education and healthcare have outpaced general inflation for decades in many countries, while consumer electronics have fallen in real terms.
For a general answer, use your country's published index. For a personal one, weight the rate towards the categories that actually consume your budget.
Compounding runs in both directions
Inflation compounds exactly like interest does. At 3% a year, prices do not rise 30% over a decade — they rise about 34%, and money loses about 26% of its purchasing power. Over 25 years at the same rate, roughly half the value is gone. This is why long-horizon plans that ignore inflation understate the target so badly: a retirement figure that looks generous in today's money can be merely adequate by the time it is needed.
How to use it
- Enter the amount you want to compare.
- Enter the annual inflation rate — your country's published index is a reasonable default.
- Enter the number of years between the two points in time.
- Read the adjusted figure as "what this amount is equivalent to" rather than as a prediction.
Before you rely on this
Which inflation rate should I enter?
Your country's published consumer price index gives a general answer. If housing, education, or healthcare dominate your budget, those categories often run above the headline rate, so a slightly higher figure will model your situation better.
Does this predict future prices?
No. It applies one steady rate you choose across the period. Real inflation varies year to year and is not reliably forecastable, so use it to understand the scale of the effect rather than to pin down a future number.
Why does the value fall faster than the rate suggests?
Inflation compounds. At 3% annually, prices rise about 34% over ten years rather than 30%, and purchasing power falls by about 26% rather than 30% — the two figures are not symmetric.
How does this relate to wage negotiations?
A raise below the inflation rate is a real-terms pay cut. Converting last year's salary into this year's money shows the increase needed simply to stand still, which is the correct starting point for any negotiation.
Disclaimer: These calculators produce planning estimates, not financial advice. Results exclude fees, taxes, insurance, and rate changes, and no output here constitutes an offer or a recommendation. Speak to a qualified, regulated adviser before making a financial commitment.