About this Inflation Calc
Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising. A dollar today will not buy the same amount of goods in 10 years. This tool estimates future prices based on a compounded annual inflation rate.
Who this calculator is for
- People planning savings goals, retirement, or future budgets.
- Households comparing today's prices with what they may pay later.
- Anyone trying to understand how inflation affects purchasing power.
When to use it
- Forecast the future cost of a purchase or expense.
- Adjust a salary or retirement target for future buying power.
- Compare how price changes compound across multiple years.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the Current Price of an item (or a salary amount).
- Estimate the annual Inflation Rate (Historical US average is ~3%).
- Enter the number of Years into the future.
- The result shows the Future Price required to match today's value.
Key assumptions
- The rate is treated as a constant annual average.
- Compounding happens once per year.
- Taxes, fees, and other one-off changes are not included separately.
Accuracy and testing
Review formula sources, default test cases, assumptions, unit handling, rounding rules, and changelog for this calculator.
How this calculator works
Future Value = Present Value × (1 + Rate/100)^Years
This uses the standard compound interest formula.
Inputs explained
Inflation Rate
The annual percentage increase in prices. Central banks target 2%, but actual rates vary.
Understanding your results
The Future Price represents the amount of money you would need in the future to buy what the Current Price buys today. The Increase shows the raw dollar amount lost to inflation.
Example scenarios
Groceries
$100 basket today. 3% inflation. In 10 years, costs $134.39.
Retirement
Need $50,000/yr today? In 20 years at 3%, you need $90,305/yr to maintain the same lifestyle.
Key Features
- Compound Growth Logic
- Future Cost Projection
- Visualizes Erosion of Value
Tips & Best Practices
- Investments need to return *more* than the inflation rate to actually grow your wealth (Real Rate of Return).
- Hyperinflation (rates > 50%) destroys currency value very quickly.
Glossary of Terms
- Purchasing Power
- The value of a currency expressed in terms of the amount of goods or services that one unit of money can buy.
- CPI
- Consumer Price Index. A measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services.