The Calculator App
Inflation
See how an inflation rate you enter changes future costs and purchasing power. This is not a CPI forecast.
$1,343.92
Illustrative future cost for $1,000 over 10 years at 3% inflation. Not a forecast.
How this inflation estimate works
You enter an amount, an annual inflation rate, and a time horizon. The math uses annual compounding: future cost = amount × (1 + rate)years, and purchasing power moves in the opposite direction. Past mode treats the amount as dollars from years ago; Keep up mode compares a nominal return to inflation using the exact Fisher real return.
See also the compound interest, retirement, and savings goal calculators for growth and deposit planning.
Questions
- Does this calculator use official CPI data?
- No. The inflation rate is always a number you enter. For official Consumer Price Index figures, see the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics at bls.gov/cpi. This page does not download or display historical CPI.
- What is purchasing power?
- Purchasing power is how much today’s dollars can buy after prices rise. In Future cost mode, the calculator shows both the future dollar amount needed and what your starting amount would be worth in today’s dollars after inflation.
- What is real vs nominal return?
- Nominal return is the rate before inflation. Real return adjusts for inflation. In Keep up mode, the calculator uses the Fisher equation: (1 + nominal) / (1 + inflation) − 1. That is an illustration, not a forecast.
- Why does cash lose value?
- When prices rise faster than an account earns, each dollar buys less. The example basket scales editable prices by your inflation rate to show scale — not actual price forecasts.
- How can I protect savings from inflation?
- At a high level, some people use diversified investments, I bonds, or TIPS for inflation exposure. This site does not recommend products. The compound interest and retirement calculators can model growth assumptions you choose.