Inflation Calculator
See what an amount of money will be worth in future years at a given inflation rate.
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Inflation means the same money buys less each year. This inflation calculator takes an amount at current prices, an expected yearly inflation rate and a number of years, then shows how much you would need in the future to buy what that amount buys today.
How the future amount is calculated
Future cost = today's amount × (1 + inflation rate)^years
With the placeholder values, ₹1,00,000 at 6% for 10 years: 1.06 raised to the power 10 is 1.790848, so you would need ₹1,79,084.77. The result box also lists today's amount, the assumed rate and the extra needed, here ₹79,084.77.
Planning examples at 6% inflation
| Cost today | Years | Needed then |
|---|---|---|
| ₹1,00,000 | 10 | ₹1,79,084.77 |
| ₹1,00,000 | 12 | ₹2,01,219.65 |
| ₹50,00,000 | 20 | ₹1,60,35,677.36 |
The middle row shows the Rule of 72 at work: 72 ÷ 6 = 12 years for prices to double. The last row is the kind of number parents meet when a college course costing ₹50 lakh today is 20 years away: the budget becomes roughly ₹1.6 crore.
The reverse question: what will my money be worth?
The calculator answers "how much will I need?". To ask "what will this amount buy later?", divide instead of multiply. ₹1,00,000 kept as cash for 10 years at 6% inflation will buy what ₹55,839.48 buys today, because 1,00,000 ÷ 1.790848 = 55,839.48. In other words, idle cash loses about 44% of its purchasing power in a decade at that rate. Fixed incomes lose value the same way, so check a pension from the NPS Calculator or a monthly withdrawal from the SWP Calculator against the year you will actually receive it, dividing by the inflation factor for that year.
Choosing a sensible rate
- The Reserve Bank of India targets consumer price inflation of 4%, with a tolerance band of 2% to 6%.
- For long-range goals many planners assume 5% to 7% for general expenses, and a higher rate for education and medical costs, which have tended to rise faster than everyday prices.
- Run two or three rates to see a range instead of relying on one figure. Over 20 years, the gap between 5% and 7% inflation changes a ₹50 lakh goal from about ₹1.33 crore to about ₹1.93 crore.
Real returns
An investment only grows your buying power if it beats inflation. The real return is (1 + return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. A fixed deposit paying 7% when inflation is 6% gives a real return of just 0.94%, and less after tax. Compare the numbers with the FD Calculator or the Compound Interest Calculator.
Limits
The calculator assumes one steady rate every year, while actual inflation moves up and down. It cannot look up historical price indices, so it will not tell you what ₹100 from 1995 is worth today unless you supply an average rate for that period. Your personal inflation also depends on what you spend on. Use the figures as planning estimates, not financial advice.