Inflation Adjusted Value Calculator
Inflation quietly erodes the buying power of money. A sum held in cash loses value every year even though its number stays the same. This calculator converts between nominal amounts and real, inflation-adjusted amounts so you can compare figures honestly across time.
Value in today's money
$7,440.94
- Future nominal equivalent
- $13,439.16
- Purchasing power lost
- $2,559.06
- Share of value lost
- 2559.06%
Values update as you type. This calculator covers the single scenario its formula assumes — see Common Mistakes for what it leaves out.
The formula this calculator uses
Real value = nominal / (1 + i)^t
- i
- Annual inflation rate as a decimal
- t
- Number of years
- nominal
- The amount in current or future money
- real
- The amount expressed in today's purchasing power
How to check the result by hand
- 1
State the amount and its date
Identify whether the amount is in today's money or a future date, and how many years separate the two.
- 2
Convert inflation to a decimal
3% becomes 0.03 for the formula.
- 3
Raise one plus inflation to the years
For ten years, 1.03^10 is 1.343916, the cumulative compounding of inflation.
- 4
Divide or multiply
Divide a future amount by the factor to get today's value, or multiply today's amount to get the future nominal figure.
- 5
Interpret in real terms
The result is the amount in today's purchasing power, the only fair basis for comparing sums across different years.
For worked examples, common mistakes and the limits of this formula, read the full How To Calculate Inflation Adjusted Value page.