Inflation Calculator

What is inflation?

Inflation is the general rise in prices over time. When inflation is 6% a year, a basket of goods that costs ₹1,000 today costs ₹1,060 next year. The same thing seen from the other side: each rupee buys a little less every year. In simple words, inflation is the slow loss of the value of money. Its opposite, a general fall in prices, is called deflation.

What is an inflation calculator?

An inflation calculator shows how much prices will rise, or how much buying power money will lose, at a given yearly inflation rate. This free online tool answers three questions:

• Future cost – what will something that costs ₹1 lakh today cost after 10, 20 or 40 years? Useful for planning education, a wedding, a house or retirement.
• Future value of money – how much will ₹1 lakh kept in cash actually buy in the future?
• Past vs present – what is an amount from the past worth today? For example, what is a 2000 salary worth in today’s rupees?

It works for Indian rupees (INR), US dollars (USD) and any other currency – switch the currency at the top of the page – and shows a year-wise table so you can see the effect of inflation grow over time.

How to use the inflation calculator

1. Choose what you want to find: future cost, future purchasing power or today’s value of a past amount.
2. Enter the amount.
3. Enter the expected yearly inflation rate. For India, 5–6% is a reasonable long-term planning figure; for education and healthcare costs, 8–10% is safer.
4. Enter the number of years.

Inflation calculator formula

Inflation compounds, just like interest. The formulas are:

Future cost = Present cost × (1 + i)ⁿ

Future purchasing power = Amount ÷ (1 + i)ⁿ

• i = yearly inflation rate as a decimal (6% = 0.06)
• n = number of years

Inflation calculation example

At 6% inflation for 10 years, (1.06)¹⁰ = 1.7908. So something that costs ₹1,00,000 today will cost about ₹1,79,085 in 10 years. Turned around, ₹1,00,000 kept under the mattress will buy only what ₹55,839 buys today – a loss of about 44% of its purchasing power.

Inflation calculator after 20 and 40 years

At 6%, prices multiply 3.21 times in 20 years and 10.29 times in 40 years. A monthly household budget of ₹50,000 today would need about ₹1,60,357 in 20 years and about ₹5,14,286 in 40 years. This is why retirement plans must include inflation – see the retirement calculator.

How to calculate the inflation rate

The inflation rate between two periods is the percentage change in a price index:

Inflation rate = (CPI this year − CPI last year) ÷ CPI last year × 100

If the Consumer Price Index moves from 190 to 199.5, inflation is (199.5 − 190) ÷ 190 × 100 = 5%. Over several years, the average yearly inflation rate is (End price ÷ Start price)^1/n − 1 – the same formula as the CAGR calculator.

How to calculate the inflation percentage from two prices

If milk cost ₹40 a litre five years ago and costs ₹56 now, total inflation is (56 − 40) ÷ 40 = 40%, and the average yearly rate is (56 ÷ 40)^1/5 − 1 = about 7%.

What is the inflation rate in India?

In India, retail inflation is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published every month by the National Statistics Office (MoSPI). The Reserve Bank of India targets CPI inflation of 4%, with a tolerance band of 2% to 6%. Over the last two decades Indian CPI inflation has averaged roughly 6% a year, with wide swings – above 10% in some years around 2010 and well below 4% in parts of 2025 as food prices eased. For planning, check the latest monthly CPI figure on the MoSPI or RBI website and use a long-run average rather than one month’s number.

Inflation calculator India from 2001 to today: Cost Inflation Index

For tax purposes India publishes the Cost Inflation Index (CII), with 2001-02 as the base year (100). The CII is 376 for FY 2025-26 and 384 for FY 2026-27, so prices by this measure rose about 3.84 times over 25 years – an average of about 5.5% a year. To see what an amount from 2001 is worth today, choose “Today’s value” mode, enter 25 years and 5.5%.

Inflation and capital gains tax

The CII was used to index the purchase cost of long-term assets for capital gains tax. After the July 2024 changes, indexation is no longer available for most assets. Resident individuals and HUFs selling land or buildings bought before 23 July 2024 can still choose between 20% tax with indexation or 12.5% without it. Speak to a tax adviser for your case.

Inflation-adjusted return

Your real return is what you earn after inflation:

Real return = (1 + nominal return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1

A fixed deposit paying 7% when inflation is 6% gives a real return of only about 0.94% – and less after tax. Equity SIPs, PPF and other long-term investments are used to beat inflation. Compare growth with the compound interest calculator and the SIP calculator.

Inflation vs salary

If your salary rises 5% while prices rise 6%, your real income falls by about 1% a year. Use the “future cost” mode with your current monthly expenses to see the salary you will need in future to keep the same lifestyle.

Tips to protect your money from inflation

• Do not keep long-term savings in cash or a savings account.
• Invest for goals more than five years away in assets that historically beat inflation, such as diversified equity funds.
• Increase SIP amounts every year as your income rises.
• Plan big goals – children’s education, retirement, a home – in future rupees, not today’s.

Future cost, past value or any currency: what to enter

• Future prices – "future cost" mode gives the future value of today's price: what something costing ₹1,000 now will cost later.
• Past vs present – "today's value" mode turns a past amount into present-day money, so the inflation calculator can show what an old salary or price in India is worth now.
• Value of money – in "purchasing power" mode the calculator shows how much money value inflation takes away over time.
• Year by year – the inflation calculator's table lists the value year wise, for India or anywhere else, so you can read off any single year of your plan.
• Any time span – to check inflation over the last 10 or 20 years, or 20 or 40 years ahead, just change the number of years in the calculator.
• Rupees, dollars or euros – the inflation calculator starts in Indian rupees (INR); switch the currency for USD, dollars or euro amounts. The maths is the same.
• No sign-up – the tool is free online and needs no account.

Inflation calculator India from 2000 to till date

To estimate prices in India from 2000 to till date, enter your amount, 26 years and an average rate of about 5.5%–6%: prices have risen roughly four to four-and-a-half times since 2000. For an exact historical figure, compare the CPI (consumer price index) values for the two years – that is how a historical inflation calculator table works. If you want the inflation calculator to tell you how much it was worth in the past, divide today's price by the multiplier.

Inflation calculator with SIP

An inflation calculator with SIP (or inflation calculator for SIP) question is really about the real value of your SIP corpus. Find the corpus with the SIP calculator, then enter it in "purchasing power" mode for the same number of years.

Inflation calculator vs salary and monthly

For an inflation calculator vs salary check, enter your monthly expenses in "future cost" mode to see the income you will need later. For an inflation calculator monthly rate, use (1 + yearly rate)^1/12 − 1: 6% a year is about 0.49% a month.

How to calculate inflation-adjusted return and value

How to calculate inflation adjusted return: (1 + return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. How to calculate inflation adjusted value: amount × (1 + inflation)^years. How to calculate inflation amount: future cost − today's cost. How to calculate inflation in India: MoSPI compares the CPI with the same month a year earlier.

What is inflation in economics?

What is inflation in economics: a sustained rise in the general price level, caused by demand growing faster than supply, rising costs such as fuel and wages, or too much money chasing too few goods. What is inflation meaning for you: your money buys less every year. What is inflationary gap: when total demand in an economy exceeds what it can produce at full employment, which pushes prices up.

Inflation calculator per year: how prices rise year by year

Inflation compounds, so the rise per year grows in rupee terms. At 6% a year, ₹1,00,000 of spending today costs:

Set "Number of years" to 1 in the inflation calculator to see a single year, or to any number up to 60 for the long run.

Inflation calculator history: India's inflation in past years

For a historical or past India figure, the yearly CPI inflation rate is a good guide. Approximate yearly CPI (combined) inflation for recent financial years:

Over the last 10 years the average is close to 5% a year, so enter 5 for a backward-looking estimate. For an old price, choose the purchasing-power mode or divide today's price by (1 + rate)^years.

Inflation calculator for capital gains tax

For land or buildings bought before 23 July 2024, resident individuals and HUFs can still choose indexation using the Cost Inflation Index (CII) instead of the flat 12.5% rate. Indexed cost = purchase price × CII of the sale year ÷ CII of the purchase year. The CII for FY 2001-02 is 100 and for FY 2024-25 it is 363. This inflation calculator gives a similar picture with a steady rate, but for your tax return use the official CII numbers notified by the Income Tax Department.

Online inflation calculator for the US, New Zealand, Japan, Kenya and South Africa (ZAR)

The formula works in any currency; only the rate changes. Enter your country's rate and treat the amount as dollars, yen, shillings or rand. Central bank inflation targets give a sensible long-run rate to start with:

For an inflation calculator NZ users can trust for past years, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand publishes one based on actual CPI. Actual inflation can run well above target for years, so check the latest official CPI figure for your country when you pick a rate. For past US prices, an online inflation calculator US readers use is the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI calculator, which uses actual monthly CPI data.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated 2026-09-18