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Inflation Calculator

Enter an amount, an inflation rate, and a number of years to see how prices and buying power change.

Inflation quietly raises prices and chips away at what your money can buy. Enter a present amount, an annual inflation rate, and a number of years to see two things side by side: the future cost of the same goods and how much real buying power that amount will have lost. Everything runs in your browser and stays currency agnostic, so it works for any currency you have in mind.

How to use

  1. Enter the present amount of money or the current price of the goods.
  2. Enter the annual inflation rate as a percentage, for example 6.
  3. Enter the number of years to project ahead.
  4. Read the future cost, the future purchasing power, and the value lost to inflation.
  5. Adjust any field to compare scenarios, or press Reset to start over.

Examples

  • At 6 percent inflation, goods costing 100,000 today would cost about 179,084.77 in 10 years, while that same 100,000 would buy only about 55,839.48 worth of today's goods.
  • At 5 percent inflation over 20 years, a 50,000 basket would cost about 132,664.89, and 50,000 would shrink to about 18,844.47 in buying power.
  • With a 0 percent rate, the future cost and purchasing power both stay equal to the present amount, since nothing erodes.

FAQs

What is the difference between future cost and purchasing power?
Future cost is how much more you will need to pay for the same goods after inflation, calculated as present amount times (1 + rate/100) raised to the number of years. Purchasing power is what your present amount will actually be worth in today's goods after the same period, calculated as present amount divided by that same factor.
What inflation rate should I use?
Use a rate that reflects your situation. Many people use a long-run average such as 3 to 4 percent for general prices, but specific categories like healthcare or education can run higher. The tool accepts any rate you enter, so you can test a range.
Does this use compound or simple inflation?
It uses compounding, which is how inflation works in practice. Each year's increase builds on the previous total, so the effect grows faster the longer the time horizon.
Which currency does this calculator use?
None in particular. It works purely with the numbers you type and formats them with thousands separators, so you can read the results in whatever currency you have in mind.
Can I enter zero years or a zero rate?
Yes. With zero years or a zero rate, nothing erodes, so the future cost and the purchasing power both equal the present amount. Negative values for the amount, rate, or years are not allowed.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.

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