Inflation calculator

Purchasing power over time

Inflation calculator

See how inflation quietly erodes the spending power of your money — how much a sum will really be worth in future, and what you'd need to keep pace.

Your figures

GBP
£10,000
2.5%
20 years

Assumes a steady average rate over the whole period.

Spending power in 20 years, in today's money

£6,103

£10,000 today will buy what about £6,103 buys now — a loss of 39% in spending power.

Spending power lost

£3,897

To keep pace, you'd need

£16,386

Prices rise by

63.9%

Spending power (today's money) Cost to keep pace

Year-by-year breakdown

2.5% a year
Year Spending power Value lost To keep pace Prices +%
How it works. Inflation compounds: at a steady rate the spending power of a fixed sum is its value divided by (1 + rate) for each year that passes, while the cash needed to buy the same things grows by the same factor. Real inflation varies year to year and differs by measure — the UK's CPI, CPIH and RPI can all read differently — so treat this as an illustration using the single average rate you set, not a forecast. Not financial advice.