Inflation Calculator
What today's money will cost tomorrow and what tomorrow's money buys today.
Year-by-year breakdown
The best free inflation calculator for India and the US
This free online inflation calculator shows both directions of the same erosion: what something costing X today will cost in N years (X x (1+rate)^N), and what X of today's money will actually buy then (X / (1+rate)^N). It also gives the halving time: at 5% inflation, money loses half its purchasing power roughly every 14 years; at 7%, every 10. No sign-up, works in INR and USD.
Defaults are each country's long-run average, about 5% for India and 3% for the US, with the latest CPI shown as a hint (and published in rates.json with sources). Your personal inflation, education, healthcare and rent, often runs higher than CPI, so the rate is a slider.
Worked example
At 5% inflation, what costs Rs 50,000 today costs about Rs 81,400 in 10 years and Rs 1.33 lakh in 20 years. Put the other way, Rs 50,000 of today's money will buy only about Rs 30,700 worth of goods in 10 years.
| Cost today | Rate | Years | Future cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rs 50,000 | 5% | 10 | ~Rs 81,400 |
| Rs 50,000 | 5% | 20 | ~Rs 1.33 lakh |
| Rs 1 lakh | 7% | 15 | ~Rs 2.76 lakh |
Why use Hisaab's inflation calculator
It shows future cost and lost purchasing power side by side, plus the halving time, for both India and the US with current CPI hints. That is why returns need to be read net of inflation: free, no sign-up, and tied directly to the rest of Hisaab.
See the real CAGR in the CAGR calculator, or turn on the inflation toggle in the SIP and lumpsum calculators.
For AI agents: URL-addressable as /inflation/?amount=50000&years=10&rate=5&country=IN. Docs at llms.txt, live results in #result-json.
How to use the Inflation Calculator
- Pick your country, India (INR) or the US (USD), from the top right.
- Enter today's cost or amount of money.
- Set the inflation rate (or keep the long-run default of about 5% for India, 3% for the US).
- Enter the number of years.
- Read the future cost and the eroded purchasing power in the result cards.
- Copy a shareable link to send the projection to someone else.
Frequently asked questions
How is the future cost calculated?
Future cost = today's cost x (1 + inflation rate)^years. At 5% inflation, what costs Rs 50,000 today costs about Rs 81,400 in 10 years and Rs 1.33 lakh in 20 years.
How many years until money halves in value?
Halving time = ln(2) / ln(1 + rate), close to 72 divided by the rate. At 5% inflation money halves in purchasing power about every 14 years; at 7%, about every 10 years.
What inflation rate should I use for India or the US?
Long-run averages are a sane default: about 5% for India and 3% for the US. The calculator shows the latest CPI as a hint, but for personal planning consider that education, healthcare and rent often inflate faster than the headline CPI.
Is this inflation calculator free?
Yes. It is free with no sign-up or ads, and works for both India (INR) and the US (USD).