Is this the official CPI inflation calculator?

No. It is a custom-rate scenario calculator. For official historical CPI comparisons, use BLS CPI data or a CPI-based calculator.

What inflation rate should I enter?

Use a rate that matches your planning scenario. You can compare a baseline, low, and high scenario rather than treating one rate as a forecast.

Why can personal inflation differ from CPI?

CPI is based on a broad consumer basket. Your own spending mix for housing, food, transportation, health care, and education may move differently.

Does this calculator include taxes or investment returns?

No. It only models purchasing power from inflation. Investment returns, taxes, fees, and risk require a separate projection.

Inflation Calculator

Estimate how inflation changes purchasing power over time with a custom annual rate, and compare the scenario with CPI-based references.

This is a constant-rate purchasing-power scenario. It does not fetch official CPI data and should not be used for legal escalation or contract indexing.

Amount ($)

Inflation rate (%/year)

Years

What this inflation calculator estimates

English inflation search results are split between official CPI calculators and planning calculators. This page is a custom-rate scenario calculator: it shows how a steady annual inflation rate changes purchasing power and the future price of the same purchase.

Future purchasing power of today's dollars.
Purchasing power lost over the selected time horizon.
Estimated future nominal price for the same basket or purchase.
A clear note that official CPI comparisons require BLS CPI data.

Scenario, not official CPI

For historical dollar-value comparisons between years, use BLS CPI data or a CPI-based calculator. This tool uses the rate you enter and does not fetch monthly CPI releases.

Purchasing power formula

P V_{f u t u r e} = \frac{S}{( 1 + r ) ^{n}}

PV_future is the future purchasing power of today's amount, S is the starting amount, r is the annual inflation rate, and n is years.

P_{f u t u r e} = S (1 + r)^{n}

P_future is the estimated future price of the same purchase under the same constant-rate scenario.

A CPI calculator works differently: it uses the ratio between Consumer Price Index values for two periods. That is the right method for historical purchasing-power lookups.

When to use a custom inflation scenario

Use case	Good input	Important limit
Long-term savings goal	A conservative annual inflation assumption	Does not predict future CPI releases.
Budget stress test	Higher and lower scenario rates	Your personal inflation can differ from headline CPI.
Historical dollar comparison	BLS CPI values by year or month	Use a CPI-based calculator instead of this constant-rate model.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources and References

Calculations are based on the listed reference sources. Links open in a new tab.

Updated: May 22, 2026

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