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Specialized Tools
Inflation Calculator
Calculate the purchasing power of money across time. US CPI data from 1913, EU HICP and India CPI from 2000.
This inflation calculator uses official CPI (Consumer Price Index) data to show how the purchasing power of money changes over time. US data is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS CPI-U series) and covers 1913–2024. EU data uses the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP, 2015=100) from Eurostat. India data uses CPI General (2010=100). Enter any amount and year to see its equivalent value in any other year, plus the average annual inflation rate over that period.
📅 Inflation Lookup
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Enter an amount and years to see how inflation has changed its purchasing power.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks the price of a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by urban consumers — including housing, food, clothing, transportation, medical care, education, and recreation. The BLS surveys thousands of prices monthly across 75 urban areas. CPI-U (all urban consumers) is the most widely used measure.
Demand-pull inflation: too much money chasing too few goods (often caused by economic stimulus, low rates, or supply shortages). Cost-push inflation: rising production costs (energy, wages, raw materials). Monetary inflation: rapid growth in money supply. The 2021-2023 inflation surge combined all three: post-COVID supply chain disruptions, massive fiscal stimulus, and energy price spikes.
Investments that historically beat inflation: stocks (S&P 500 ~7% real return), TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities), real estate, commodities, and I-bonds (US government bonds with CPI-linked rates). Cash savings accounts and traditional bonds often fail to keep pace with inflation over the long run.