Purchasing Power Calculator
What today’s money will really be worth in the future — the quiet damage of inflation.
Inflation does not just raise prices; it quietly shrinks the value of money you hold. This calculator shows what today’s amount will actually buy in the future, and how many future dollars you would need to match it.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Amount today, Years into the future, Assumed annual inflation rate
- What you get
- What it will really buy, Purchasing power lost, Share of value lost
- Formula shown
- Yes — every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only — always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Purchasing Power Calculator
- 1 Enter Amount today
- 2 Enter Years into the future
- 3 Enter Assumed annual inflation rate
- 4 Press Calculate. You get What it will really buy, Purchasing power lost, Share of value lost, and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 5 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result — that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
$10,000 held for 10 years at 3% inflation
Cash left untouched over a decade.
You enter
- Amount today
- $10,000.00
- Years into the future
- 10
- Assumed annual inflation rate
- 3%
You get
- What it will really buy
- $7,440.94
- Purchasing power lost
- $2,559.06
- Share of value lost
- 25.6%
$10,000 left in cash for ten years at 3% inflation keeps only about $7,441 of its buying power — roughly $2,559, or 25.6%, gone. Matching today's buying power in ten years would take about $13,439.
$50,000 held for 25 years at 5% inflation
A larger sum over a long horizon at a higher assumed rate.
You enter
- Amount today
- $50,000.00
- Years into the future
- 25
- Assumed annual inflation rate
- 5%
You get
- What it will really buy
- $14,765.14
- Purchasing power lost
- $35,234.86
- Share of value lost
- 70.5%
Over 25 years at 5% the damage is dramatic: $50,000 retains only about $14,765 of buying power, a loss of roughly $35,235, or 70.5%. To buy the same things in 25 years you would need about $169,318.
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Frequently asked questions
What does “what it will really buy” mean?
It is your amount expressed in today's purchasing power: $10,000 left untouched for ten years at 3% inflation would buy what about $7,441 buys today. Keeping the answer in today's money makes it directly comparable with prices you already know. It is not a prediction of an account balance.
Why is the loss smaller than the rise in prices over the same period?
Because the two calculations move in opposite directions through the same compound. At 3% for ten years prices rise about 34.4%, yet purchasing power falls only about 25.6%, since dividing by the compounded factor is not the same as subtracting it. Expect the loss percentage to be visibly smaller than the price-rise percentage.
What is the “future dollars to match it” figure for?
It is the nominal amount you would need in the future to buy exactly what today's amount buys now — the same sum compounded forward. Comparing it with what your savings are projected to become shows whether you are genuinely standing still. Run the growth side in the Future Value Calculator and hold the two numbers side by side.
Does this account for tax or interest?
No — it isolates inflation, so it assumes the money earns nothing and is not taxed. In reality interest, fees, taxes and inflation all act at once, and what matters is the return after fees and tax compared with the inflation rate. If that real return is negative, holding cash costs you every year.
Terms used here
Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.