Investing
Inflation calculator
Inflation quietly erodes your money's purchasing power over time. This calculator shows how much you'll need in the future to buy what the same amount buys today, and what that amount will really be worth years from now.
Amount of money
$
Average annual inflation
%
Number of years
Resets these values back to their defaults.
To buy what $50,000 buys today, you'll need
$90,306
in 20 years.
$50,000 today, 20 years from now, will be worth
$27,684
in today's purchasing power: a loss of 44.6%.
At an average annual inflation rate of 3.0%, money's purchasing power shrinks over time. Something that costs $50,000 today would cost roughly $90,306 in 20 years.
How it evolves over time
Cost to buy the same thing
Real value of today's money
How to read the result
Inflation doesn't change the number in your account, but it does change what you can buy with it. That's why we show two figures: how much you'll need in the future to keep the same purchasing power, and what that same amount is worth today's dollars if it just sits still.
How it's calculated
We apply compound growth to the inflation rate. To find the future cost of something, we multiply by (1 + inflation) raised to the number of years. To find the real value of a future amount in today's dollars, we divide by that same factor.
A simple example
At an average 3% inflation rate, something that costs $50,000 today would cost roughly $90,000 in 20 years. Put another way, that same $50,000 left sitting idle would have the purchasing power of about $27,700 in today's dollars.
Frequently asked questions
What is inflation?
It's the general rise in prices over time. When inflation happens, the same amount of money buys fewer things: your money loses purchasing power.
What average inflation rate should I use?
As a historical reference, many developed economies have averaged somewhere around 2%-3% a year, though some years run well above or below that. Try a few different values to see how the outlook changes.
What's the difference between the two results?
One tells you how much money you'll need in the future to buy what the same amount buys today; the other tells you what an amount you hold today, left unchanged, will be worth in today's purchasing power. They're two ways of looking at the same effect.
How can I protect my money from inflation?
This tool is for information only and doesn't give recommendations. In general, cash sitting idle loses purchasing power to inflation over time; what to do about it depends on your situation, so it's worth doing your own research or talking to a professional.
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