Online Tool Store
Inflation Calculator
Project future prices and purchasing power at your chosen inflation rate, with a year-by-year breakdown and dollar-and-percent buying power loss.
This works right here on your device — nothing gets sent out.
Equivalent future cost
$1,343.92
Purchasing power
$744.09
Inflation multiplier
1.34×
Price increase
$343.92
Purchasing power lost
$255.91
Cumulative inflation
34.39%
| Year | Equivalent cost | Cumulative change |
|---|
Projection only. This uses the constant rate you enter, not live or historical CPI data.
How inflation is calculated
- Enter an amount and the period you want to project.
- Enter an average annual inflation rate.
- Review the equivalent future cost, purchasing power, inflation multiplier, purchasing power lost, cumulative change, and yearly breakdown.
The formulas
Inflation compounds in the same way as compound growth. The inflation multiplier is (1 + rate)years. The equivalent future cost is amount × multiplier, and the future purchasing power of an unchanged amount is amount ÷ multiplier. Purchasing power lost is the difference between the starting amount and that purchasing power figure — how much of today's value the same unchanged amount would no longer be able to buy. The rate is converted from a percentage to a decimal before calculation.
Example: 1,000 growing at 3% inflation for 10 years has a multiplier of 1.34×, giving an equivalent cost of 1,343.92. An unchanged 1,000 would retain purchasing power equivalent to about 744.09 today — a purchasing power loss of about 255.91.
FAQ
What does the future cost result mean?
It estimates how much money would be needed at the end of the period to buy what the starting amount buys today, assuming the entered rate remains constant.
What does purchasing power mean here?
It estimates how much today’s buying power the same unchanged amount would retain after inflation. At positive inflation, purchasing power falls even though the number of currency units stays the same.
Does this calculator use historical CPI data?
No. It is a projection using the constant annual rate you enter. Use an official national statistics calculator when you need country-specific historical CPI comparisons.
Can I enter a negative inflation rate?
Yes. A rate below zero models deflation, which lowers the projected equivalent cost and increases the future purchasing power of an unchanged amount.
Are my financial values saved or uploaded?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, and the amount, years, rate, and selected currency are not uploaded to Online Tool Store.
What is the inflation multiplier?
It is (1 + rate) raised to the number of years — the factor prices are multiplied by over the period. A multiplier of 1.34× means prices are projected to be 34% higher, the same figure as the cumulative inflation percentage expressed as a factor instead of a percent.
What's the difference between price increase and purchasing power lost?
Price increase is the extra future dollars needed for the same purchase (future cost minus the starting amount). Purchasing power lost is the reverse view, expressed in today's dollars: how much of the starting amount's current buying power an unchanged sum would no longer have after inflation. They describe the same erosion from two different reference points — future prices versus today's value.
How we compare
| Feature | Online Tool Store | Calculator.net | US-Calculator.com | Best-Calculators.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year-by-year breakdown table | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Purchasing power lost, in dollars and percent | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Inflation multiplier shown | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-currency (USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, LKR, INR) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Calculator.net, US-Calculator.com, and Best-Calculators.com all offer a custom-rate future-cost projection like ours, but Inflation Calculator adds a full year-by-year breakdown, both a dollar and percent view of purchasing power lost, and support for currencies beyond the US dollar.