Inflation Calculator
Project what something will cost after years of inflation and what your money will be worth, or work out the average yearly inflation between two prices.
Result
Enter your values and select Calculate to see the result.
How to use this calculator
- Future cost and value: enter today’s amount, an annual inflation rate and a number of years.
- Average inflation rate: enter a starting price, an ending price and the years between them.
- Use your country’s official inflation figures for realistic rates.
Formula
- Future cost:
amount × (1 + r)ᵗ - Future value of today’s money:
amount ÷ (1 + r)ᵗ - Average rate:
(end ÷ start)^(1/t) − 1
where r is the yearly rate as a decimal and t the number of years.
Worked example
3% inflation for 10 years
Something costing 100 today would cost 100 × 1.03¹⁰ ≈ 134.39. Put the other way, 100 would buy only about 74.41 worth of today’s goods.
Average inflation
A price rising from 100 to 150 over 10 years is an average of 4.14% a year.
Assumptions and limitations
- Uses one constant rate; real inflation changes from year to year.
- Inflation differs by country and by category of spending (housing, food, energy).
- This tool does not contain historical price-index data.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn’t 10 years at 3% simply 30%?
Inflation compounds: each year’s increase applies to prices that have already risen, so the total is about 34.4%.
Where can I find official inflation rates?
National statistics offices publish consumer price indices (CPI) — for example the US Bureau of Labor Statistics or the UK Office for National Statistics.