Inflation Calculator
Future cost, purchasing power and real returns at the inflation rate you choose.
Cost over time
Hover or tap the chart, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to read each year. The table below has every value.
Year by year
Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
About the Inflation Calculator
Inflation means the same money buys less over time. Enter an amount, an average yearly inflation rate and a period to see what something that costs that much today will cost later — or turn it around and see what a future sum (a retirement corpus, a maturity amount, a fee years from now) is worth in today’s money.
You also get the year-by-year path, how long prices take to double, and your real return after inflation. You choose the rate: inflation has varied a lot from year to year, and no single number fits every plan, so the calculator does not assume one.
How to use it
- Choose Future cost to grow today’s amount, Today’s value to shrink a future amount, or Real return to adjust an investment return for inflation.
- Enter the amount and the average inflation rate you expect per year.
- Enter the number of years, or switch to Year range and enter a start and an end year.
- Read the result, the chart and the year-by-year table. Download the table as CSV if you need it.
Examples
Costs ₹1,79,085 after 10 years · purchasing power falls 44.2%
Worth ₹31,18,047 in today’s money
Real return 1.90% a year (not 2%)
Common uses
- Estimating future school or college fees, a wedding budget or a house price.
- Setting a retirement target in future rupees, or checking what a target is worth today.
- Comparing a salary offer or pension years from now with today’s money.
- Checking whether an investment beats inflation.
The formulas
- Future cost = amount × (1 + r)ⁿ
- Value today = future amount ÷ (1 + r)ⁿ
- Real return = (1 + nominal return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1
Here r is the yearly inflation rate as a decimal (6% → 0.06) and n is the number of years. Prices double in about 72 ÷ rate years (the rule of 72): at 6% that is about 12 years; the exact figure is 11.9.
Choosing an inflation rate
In India, retail inflation is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation publishes every month (MoSPI). The CPI is an average over many goods and services, and its rate has changed considerably from year to year, so look at the official series for the period you care about rather than relying on a single remembered number.
Your own costs can rise faster or slower than the index — school fees, medical costs and rent each follow their own path. A sensible approach is to try two or three rates and plan for the more expensive result.
Why the real return matters
An investment that grows 7% a year while prices rise 5% makes you only about 1.9% richer in what your money can buy. Subtracting (7 − 5 = 2%) is a close approximation when rates are low, but the exact figure divides: 1.07 ÷ 1.05 − 1 = 1.905%. If your return is taxed, use the after-tax return.
Limitations
- Uses one constant inflation rate, compounded yearly. Actual inflation changes every year and differs between goods and services.
- No official CPI data is built in — results are only as good as the rate you enter.
- Fractional periods compound smoothly (2.5 years = (1 + r)^2.5), which is a convention rather than how prices actually move.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What inflation rate should I use?
There is no single right answer. Check the official CPI series from MoSPI for the period you care about, remember that your own costs may rise at a different pace, and try a lower and a higher rate. Planning with the higher one is the safer choice.
How much will ₹1 lakh be worth after 10 years?
At 6% inflation, ₹1,00,000 received in 10 years buys what about ₹55,839 buys today. Put the other way round, something that costs ₹1,00,000 today would cost about ₹1,79,085.
What is the difference between future cost and today’s value?
Future cost grows an amount forward: what will something that costs ₹X today cost later? Today’s value shrinks a future amount back: what is ₹X received later worth now? Both use the same factor, (1 + r)ⁿ — one multiplies by it, the other divides.
Can I use it for past years?
Yes. Choose Year range, enter for example 2010 to 2026, and an average rate for that period. The calculator contains no historical inflation data, so the answer depends entirely on the rate you enter.
Is a negative inflation rate allowed?
Yes, down to −20% a year. Type a minus sign, or press ± beside the rate (phone number pads often have no minus key). Falling prices (deflation) make money worth more over time: the future cost comes out lower than today’s amount, and the results show the price fall and the purchasing power gained.