What is the difference between custom and historical mode?

Custom mode applies the rate you enter. Historical mode uses CalcAxis's retained decade-average assumptions for orientation; it is not a live CPI-indexed lookup.

Does inflation affect every household equally?

No. CPI is a broad measure, while individual households spend different amounts on housing, food, energy, healthcare, and other categories.

CalcAxis/Finance/Inflation

FinanceUpdated · Aug 2026

Inflation Calculator

Translate an amount across years and see how inflation changes its future value and purchasing power.

~30s to useFormula and inputs shown·2 FAQs

Start with your numbers

Inflation Calculator

Change the inputs that matter to your decision. Optional assumptions stay collapsed until you need them.

Inflation assumptions

Choose an explicit planning rate or compare against a retained historical average.

Mode

AmountThe amount whose future purchasing power you want to compare.

Start yearThe year the amount is measured in.

End yearThe year you want to compare against.

Annual inflation rateUse a negative rate for a deflation scenario.

Purchasing power

Value in 2030

$1,343.92

$1,000.00 in 2020 has the same purchasing power as about $1,343.92 in 2030.

Total inflation34.39%

Purchasing power lost25.59%

Annual rate3.00%

Rate assumption

At 3.0% annual inflation, prices compound for 10 years.

Year-by-year breakdown

Year	Value	Purchasing power	Cumulative
2020	$1,000.00	$1,000.00	0.0%
2021	$1,030.00	$970.87	3.0%
2022	$1,060.90	$942.60	6.1%
2023	$1,092.73	$915.14	9.3%
2024	$1,125.51	$888.49	12.6%
2025	$1,159.27	$862.61	15.9%
2026	$1,194.05	$837.48	19.4%
2027	$1,229.87	$813.09	23.0%
2028	$1,266.77	$789.41	26.7%
2029	$1,304.77	$766.42	30.5%