Inflation Cost and Purchasing Power
Distinguish the future price of the same purchase from the purchasing power of unchanged cash. The entered inflation rate is held constant every year; the tool does not retrieve CPI or forecast inflation.
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing is uploaded
- No signup; device limits apply
Numbers stay on your device. Nothing is sent to a server.
How to use this tool
Enter today’s amount, annual inflation percentage and years. Outputs are in USD, and different spending categories can experience different price changes, so choose a scenario suited to your comparison.
Results and examples
Future cost multiplies by (1 + rate)^years, while remaining purchasing power divides by that factor. They answer different questions and should not be added as if they were separate costs.
Worked example
At 10% for two years, a USD 100 purchase costs USD 121 while unchanged USD 100 has about USD 82.64 of starting purchasing power.
Limitations
- Actual inflation series, exchange rates and wage growth are excluded.
- After-tax investment returns and nominal balance growth are not added.
Fields
| Field | Guidance and constraints |
|---|---|
| Amount today | Accepted range: 0–100000000 · Input step: 100 |
| Annual inflation rate | Accepted range: 0–30 · Input step: 0.1 |
| Years | Accepted range: 1–80 · Input step: 1 |
Data handling
Processing stays in the current browser tab; the site does not upload tool input for the calculation itself.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Does it insert current inflation?
No. The rate is a user-selected assumption.
Why are there two figures?
Future cost and the purchasing power of unchanged money are different views.
Related tools
You do not need to start over. Continue with the tool that fits your next step.
