Inflation calculator
Inflation quietly shrinks what your money can buy. Enter an amount, an expected annual inflation rate and a number of years, and this calculator shows two things: what that amount will cost in the future, and how much buying power it loses in today’s terms. It is useful for anyone planning long-term savings, a pension, or a future purchase who wants to see why idle cash loses real value.
How it works
The calculator compounds your rate over the years to get an inflation factor:
factor = (1 + rate ÷ 100)^years
It then applies that factor two ways:
- Future cost =
amount × factor— what something priced at your amount today will cost later. - Buying power =
amount ÷ factor— what your amount will actually buy in the future, in today’s money. - Cumulative inflation =
(factor − 1) × 100— the total price rise over the period.
Example
1,000 at 3.5% inflation over 10 years:
- factor =
1.035^10 ≈ 1.4106 - future cost ≈ 1,410.60
- buying power ≈ 708.92
- cumulative inflation ≈ 41.06%
So a 1,000 expense today costs about 1,411 in ten years, and 1,000 of cash held under the mattress buys only about 709 worth of goods.
| Rate | 10 years | 20 years | 30 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2% | +21.9% | +48.6% | +81.1% |
| 3% | +34.4% | +80.6% | +142.7% |
| 5% | +62.9% | +165.3% | +332.2% |
All calculations happen in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded.