Inflation Calculator
See what today's money will be worth after years of inflation.
Try an example
$13,439.16
About this calculator
How This Inflation Calculator Works
Enter an amount, an annual inflation rate, and a number of years, and the calculator projects what that same amount of purchasing power will cost in the future.
Worked Example
$10,000 today, at 3% annual inflation, has an equivalent cost of $13,439.16 in 10 years — meaning $3,439.16 of future spending is purely the effect of prices rising, not any change in what you're actually buying.
The Formula
Future cost = Amount × (1 + rate)ⁿ, where n is the number of years. This is the same compounding formula behind investment growth, applied to rising prices instead of a growing balance — each year's price increase compounds on top of the already-inflated price from the year before.
Why This Matters for Planning
Inflation quietly erodes the future value of money kept in cash or low-yield accounts — a retirement or savings goal set in today's dollars will need to be larger in future dollars just to buy the same things. This is one reason long-term financial goals (retirement, college savings) are usually planned using a rate of return that outpaces expected inflation, not just a flat savings target.
Worked example
$10,000 today, at 3% annual inflation, has an equivalent cost of $13,439.16 in 10 years — a $3,439.16 loss in purchasing power for the same goods or services.
Frequently asked questions
What inflation rate should I use?
3% is a commonly used long-run average for many developed economies, but actual inflation varies year to year — use a rate that matches the specific period or economic conditions you're modeling.
Does this use real historical inflation data?
No — this calculator projects forward using a constant rate you choose. For converting a past dollar amount into today's dollars using actual historical CPI data, a dedicated CPI inflation calculator is more accurate.
Why does the future cost grow faster in later years?
Inflation compounds — each year's price increase applies to the already-inflated price from the year before, not the original amount, so the effect accelerates over time.