Long-term average : most developed economies have averaged 2–3% over the last 50 years. Recent (post-COVID) era : 5–8% spikes were common in 2022, falling back since. Emerging markets : Brazil ~5%, Turkey >30% in 2024, Argentina >100%. National statistics agencies publish the official CPI/HICP series. Your personal inflation may differ — rent, healthcare, and education typically outpace headline CPI; electronics and clothing often lag.

Headline CPI is an average. Your basket isn't average. Retirees with high healthcare exposure typically experience inflation above headline; young adults with mostly housing exposure can be much higher still in renter-heavy cities. Wage inflation ≠ price inflation. A 4% raise in a 5% inflation year is a real-terms pay cut. "Inflation-protected" savings have limits. Inflation-linked bonds (TIPS, I-Bonds, ILBs) track an official index — useful but not perfect coverage for your basket. Compounding works both ways. Just like savings, inflation compounds: 3% for 30 years is +143% cumulative, not 90%. The "doubling" intuition. Tell yourself the year prices will double — it's a more visceral framing than abstract percentages.

compound-interest-calculator — see whether your savings rate outruns inflation. retirement-projection — inflation-adjusted retirement target. roi-calculator — convert nominal ROI to real ROI.

Inflation Calculator

See how inflation erodes purchasing power. Enter amount + years + inflation rate → real value today (or future). Useful for raises, retirement targets, savings goals.

Inflation rates vary by country and year. This tool uses a single assumed rate — for precise historical figures, consult your national statistics office (BLS, ONS, Eurostat, etc).

Direction

Currency symbol

Amount

Years

Inflation preset

Annual inflation rate (%)

Sync with URL

Result

What is this for?

Inflation is the quiet tax on every dollar that doesn't earn interest. Wages that look like raises don't always keep up; "safe" cash savings shrink in purchasing power over time; a retirement target set in today's money needs to grow each year just to stand still. This tool puts a real number on that erosion: enter an amount, a time horizon, and an inflation rate, and see what the same money actually buys at the other end.

The math

Future cost of the same basket: basket_today × (1 + rate)^years. Real value (purchasing power) of today's amount in N years: amount ÷ (1 + rate)^years. Cumulative inflation: (1 + rate)^years − 1, expressed as percent.

The Rule of 72 for inflation

Prices roughly double every 72 ÷ inflation_rate% years. At 3% inflation, the basket doubles in about 24 years; at 7%, in just 10 years. This is why early-career raises and long-horizon savings rates matter more than people think — the second doubling is bigger than the first in absolute terms.

What rate to use?

Long-term average: most developed economies have averaged 2–3% over the last 50 years.
Recent (post-COVID) era: 5–8% spikes were common in 2022, falling back since.
Emerging markets: Brazil ~5%, Turkey >30% in 2024, Argentina >100%. National statistics agencies publish the official CPI/HICP series.
Your personal inflation may differ — rent, healthcare, and education typically outpace headline CPI; electronics and clothing often lag.

Common gotchas

Headline CPI is an average. Your basket isn't average. Retirees with high healthcare exposure typically experience inflation above headline; young adults with mostly housing exposure can be much higher still in renter-heavy cities.
Wage inflation ≠ price inflation. A 4% raise in a 5% inflation year is a real-terms pay cut.
"Inflation-protected" savings have limits. Inflation-linked bonds (TIPS, I-Bonds, ILBs) track an official index — useful but not perfect coverage for your basket.
Compounding works both ways. Just like savings, inflation compounds: 3% for 30 years is +143% cumulative, not 90%.
The "doubling" intuition. Tell yourself the year prices will double — it's a more visceral framing than abstract percentages.

Pairs with

compound-interest-calculator — see whether your savings rate outruns inflation.
retirement-projection — inflation-adjusted retirement target.
roi-calculator — convert nominal ROI to real ROI.