Inflation Calculator
Project the future cost of an item and the lost buying power of money over time at any inflation rate. Common rate presets included.
%
Quick rates:
Cost in 10 years to buy what costs 1,000.00 today
1,343.92
Buying power of 1,000.00 in 10 years
744.09
in today's purchasing power
Cumulative inflation
34.4%
over the period
Inflation is the rate at which the general price level rises — and equivalently, the rate at which your money loses purchasing power. This calculator projects what an item costing a given amount today will cost in N years at a chosen rate, plus how much buying power that same amount will have in those N years.
We don't pull live CPI data — you supply the inflation rate (or pick one of the common presets). Most central banks target 2% inflation; emerging markets often run 5–10%; high-inflation periods can spike higher.
How to use
- Enter an amount in any currency (the math is unit-free).
- Enter the annual inflation rate, or pick a quick preset.
- Enter how many years into the future you want to project.
- Read the future cost (what you'll need to spend), buying power (what your money is worth in today's terms), and cumulative inflation over the period.
Frequently asked questions
- Where does the inflation rate come from?
- You provide it. The calculator doesn't pull live CPI data, so the result is a projection at whatever rate you enter. Most central banks target 2%; emerging-market and high-inflation environments often see 5–10%+.
- What's the difference between "future cost" and "buying power"?
- Future cost asks: what will I need to spend in N years to buy something that costs X today? Buying power asks: what will X today be worth in today's purchasing-power terms after N years of inflation? They're reciprocals.
- How do I use this to plan retirement?
- Take your target annual retirement spending today, project forward using the calculator, and the result is roughly what you'll need each year of retirement in nominal terms. Pair with the Compound Interest Calculator to see whether your projected savings cover that.
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