How to use the Inflation Calculator
- 1. Choose your questionPick future cost, or the buying power of a future sum.
- 2. Enter your numbersType the amount, the inflation rate and the years.
- 3. See the real valueGet the result, the change and a year-by-year table.
Two questions, two formulas
Inflation works like compound interest, but it runs against you. The calculator answers it from both sides.
Future cost = Amount × (1 + i)^t. Use this for goals. Worked example: something costing ₹1,00,000 today, at 6% a year for 10 years, will cost ₹1,79,085.
Buying power = Amount ÷ (1 + i)^t. Use this to judge a promised sum. Worked example: ₹1,00,000 received 10 years from now, at the same 6%, buys only what ₹55,839 buys today.
The 6% is only an example input. Enter whatever rate you want to plan with.
Pick a rate that fits your goal
No single number fits everything. The official figure is an average across a basket of goods, and your own spending may differ. Costs such as school fees or medical care may rise at a different pace from groceries. A good habit is to run the sum at two or three rates and plan around the higher one.
Doubling time is also shown. At 6%, prices double in about 11.9 years. That is a useful way to explain inflation to family: if a grocery bill doubles roughly every 12 years, a retirement of 25 years is a long way to plan for.
What to do with the result
Your savings need to earn more than inflation after tax to grow in real terms. If your deposit pays 6.5% and prices rise 6%, you gain very little before tax. Check your own numbers with the FD calculator or the lumpsum calculator, which shows a result in today's money too. For long plans, the retirement calculator builds inflation into your target, so you do not have to work it out by hand.
Frequently asked questions
What inflation rate should I use?
Use the rate you want to plan with. Inflation changes from year to year, so try a few rates. The 6% default is only an example.
What is the difference between the two modes?
Future cost tells you what today's price will become. Buying power tells you what a future sum is worth in today's money.
Can the inflation rate be zero?
Yes. The amount then stays the same, and the doubling time shows Never.
Is the inflation calculator free?
Yes. You enter your name and WhatsApp number once to see your result, and all other Uncodemy tools then open without the form.