Inflation Calculator
Free inflation calculator for purchasing power. See how inflation erodes cash over time, or inflate a past amount to today’s dollars. Educational estimates.
Convert today’s dollars into future (or past) purchasing power using an inflation rate. Useful for salary goals, retirement planning, and understanding why “cash under the mattress” quietly loses value.
What is an inflation calculator?
An inflation calculator answers: what will this money buy later? or what was that old price in today’s dollars? It’s one of the most-searched personal-finance tools because inflation is invisible until you price groceries or plan retirement.
Inflation formula
Future value = Present × (1 + inflation rate)^years
Purchasing power of cash held = Present ÷ (1 + rate)^years. Example: $10,000 at 3% for 20 years needs about $18,061 later to buy the same basket — the uninvested $10,000 only retains ~55% of today’s power.
How to use this free purchasing power calculator
- Pick forward (erosion) or backward (inflate old prices).
- Enter amount, annual inflation %, and years.
- Read the equivalent purchasing power.
- Feed inflation-aware spending into the retirement calculator and growth scenarios into the compound projector.
Why investors care
Beating inflation after fees and taxes is the quiet job of long-term investing. A 7% nominal return with 3% inflation is closer to 4% real — still powerful with time, but not the poster number people quote.
Frequently asked questions
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Educational estimate using a constant rate — real CPI varies year to year. Not advice.
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