Inflation Calculator
See what today's money will cost in the future — and how much its purchasing power erodes — year by year.
- Free — no sign-up
- Instant, on-screen results
- Built by our CA · CS team
- Rules cited on the page
Enter your figures — the result on the right updates as you type.
Year-by-year projection
| Year | Future cost | Real value of today's money |
|---|
Beat inflation — plan your goal with a CA
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Disclaimer: Indicative estimate based on a constant assumed inflation rate. Actual future prices vary by category and over time. This is not investment advice.
Why inflation matters for every goal
Inflation is the silent tax on savings: as prices rise, the same rupee buys less each year. A goal that costs ₹1 lakh today may cost ₹1.79 lakh in ten years at 6% inflation — and ₹1 lakh kept idle will have the buying power of only ₹55,839. Sizing goals in future rupees is the first step of any education, home or retirement plan.
The two formulas this calculator uses
Both are compound-growth formulas driven by the same inflation rate. One inflates a future cost upward; the other discounts today's money to show how little it will buy.
| Formula | P × (1 + i)ⁿ |
| P — present cost | ₹1,00,000 |
| i — inflation rate | 6% (0.06) |
| n — years | 10 |
| Future cost | ₹1,79,085 |
| Formula | P ÷ (1 + i)ⁿ |
| P — money held today | ₹1,00,000 |
| i — inflation rate | 6% (0.06) |
| n — years | 10 |
| Real value later | ₹55,839 |
Worked example — ₹1,00,000 at 6% for 10 years
Compounding at 6%, the multiplier over 10 years is 1.06¹⁰ = 1.79085. Multiply to inflate the goal; divide to discount today's money.
Key terms explained
Future cost of a goal
What something that costs P today will cost after n years of inflation: P × (1 + i)ⁿ. Use this to size an education fee, a home price or a retirement expense in tomorrow's rupees.
Purchasing power
How much money you keep idle can actually buy later: P ÷ (1 + i)ⁿ. It is the flip side of the same maths — cash that isn't invested quietly loses value every year.
Real return
Your true growth after inflation, roughly nominal return − inflation. A 9% fixed deposit against 6% inflation delivers only about a 3% real return; below-inflation returns actually shrink wealth.
Goal planning
Always target the future cost, not today's price. A ₹20L education goal 15 years away can cost far more once inflated — plan the corpus and SIP against that inflated number.
Questions people ask
Short answers on Inflation Calculator. Tap a question to open it.
01What does this calculator show?
How much a given amount of money will cost, or be worth, after a number of years at an assumed inflation rate — both the rising future cost of an expense and the falling purchasing power of a fixed sum.
02What inflation rate should I assume?
India's consumer price inflation has broadly averaged in the 5% to 6% range over the long run, but education and healthcare costs have grown considerably faster. Use a category-appropriate rate rather than the headline number for a specific goal.
03Why does inflation matter for investment planning?
Because a nominal return of 7% with inflation at 6% is a real return of about 1%. A goal set in today's rupees will need substantially more money by the time it arrives, which is what makes a savings account a poor long-horizon vehicle.
04What is the difference between nominal and real return?
Nominal return is the headline number. Real return is approximately nominal minus inflation, and is what actually decides whether your money buys more later than it does now.
05Should tax be considered alongside inflation?
Yes. Tax is charged on the nominal gain, not the real one, so a fully taxable instrument yielding slightly above inflation can leave you worse off after tax than before you invested.
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Disclaimer: This tool gives indicative results for general guidance only and is not professional advice. Please verify with a qualified CA before acting on the numbers.