Inflation Calculator
Understand the impact of inflation on your expenses over time.
Inflation silently reduces what your money can buy - every year. Use Cready's inflation calculator to find out exactly how much a current expense will cost in the future at any inflation rate, and how much your purchasing power will shrink over time. India's CPI inflation rate stood at 4.38% in June 2026, within the RBI's 2–6% tolerance band and approaching its medium-term target of 4%. Enter your current cost, an expected inflation rate, and a time period - and see the future cost instantly.
Inflation Formula
Future Cost = Current Cost × (1 + r)^t
Current Cost = Present value of goods/services = ₹ 1,00,000
r = Annual inflation rate = 6% = 0.0600
t = Time period = 10 years
How Inflation is Measured
CPI = (Cost of Basket in Current Year / Cost of Basket in Base Year) × 100
Inflation Rate = (CPI Current − CPI Previous) / CPI Previous × 100
Your Calculation
Future Cost = ₹ 1,00,000 × (1 + 0.0600)^10
Future Cost = ₹ 1,00,000 × (1.0600)^10
Future Cost = ₹ 1,00,000 × 1.7908
Future Cost = ₹ 1,79,085
What costs ₹ 1,00,000 today will cost ₹ 1,79,085 after 10 years at 6% inflation.
At 6% annual inflation, your money's purchasing power reduces by 44% over 10 years. You'll need ₹ 79,085 more to buy the same goods.
What is an Inflation Calculator?
An inflation calculator is a free online tool that estimates how the price of goods and services will change over time based on a given annual inflation rate. It answers questions like:
- What will my current monthly expenses of ₹50,000 cost 15 years from now?
- How much will ₹1 lakh be worth after 10 years if inflation averages 6%?
- How much do I need to invest today to maintain my current lifestyle in retirement?
Enter three inputs - your current cost, the annual inflation rate, and the number of years - and the calculator instantly shows you the future cost, the total inflation amount, and how much purchasing power your money loses over that period.
Inflation Formula Used
Cready's inflation calculator uses the standard compound inflation formula:
Where:
- Current Cost = Present value of goods or services (₹)
- r = Annual inflation rate (as a decimal, e.g., 6% = 0.06)
- t = Time period in years
Example: ₹1,00,000 today at 6% annual inflation for 10 years: Future Cost = ₹1,00,000 × (1.06)10 = ₹1,79,085
What costs ₹1 lakh today will cost approximately ₹1.79 lakh in 10 years - a 79% increase - at 6% inflation.
What is Inflation?
Inflation is the rate at which the general price level of goods and services rises over time - and correspondingly, the rate at which the purchasing power of money falls. When inflation is 6%, something that costs ₹100 today will cost ₹106 a year from now.
In India, inflation is primarily measured by two indices:
- Consumer Price Index (CPI): Measures retail-level price changes for a fixed basket of goods and services consumed by households - food, clothing, housing, transport, education, healthcare. This is the primary inflation measure used by the RBI for monetary policy.
- Wholesale Price Index (WPI): Measures price changes at the wholesale/producer level, before goods reach consumers. WPI leads CPI by a few months, since wholesale price rises eventually pass through to retail prices.
How CPI is calculated:
CPI = (Cost of Fixed Basket in Current Year / Cost of Fixed Basket in Base Year) × 100
Inflation Rate = (CPI Current − CPI Previous) / CPI Previous × 100
India updated its CPI base year to 2024 under a new CPI series, revising the weights of different goods based on the latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey - increasing the share of non-food items in the consumer basket.
What is the Current Inflation Rate in India?
India's CPI inflation rate rose to 4.38% in June 2026 - the highest since December 2024 - up from 3.93% in May 2026. Food inflation was the primary driver, rising to 5.32% in June, with sharp price increases in vegetables.
India CPI Inflation - Recent Monthly Trend:
| Month | CPI Inflation (YoY) |
|---|---|
| January 2026 | 2.74% |
| February 2026 | 3.21% |
| March 2026 | 3.40% |
| April 2026 | 3.48% |
| May 2026 | 3.93% |
| June 2026 | 4.38% |
Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
RBI's Inflation Target: The RBI targets 4% inflation with a tolerance band of 2–6%, and relies on the CPI to guide monetary policy decisions. The inflation targeting framework, adopted in 2016, has brought significant discipline - average CPI inflation has been approximately 4.8% since adoption, compared to 8.5% in the preceding five years.
Long-term average: India's average CPI inflation from 2000 to 2026 has been approximately 5.8%. For long-term financial planning - retirement, education corpus, home renovation - using 6% as your default inflation rate is a reasonable, slightly conservative estimate.
How to Use Cready's Inflation Calculator
- Enter your current cost - the amount you spend today on any expense (monthly groceries, rent, education fees, etc.)
- Set the annual inflation rate - use 6% for general planning, or the current CPI rate (4.38% as of June 2026) for near-term estimates
- Choose the time period - in years (e.g., 10 years to retirement, 15 years to your child's college)
- View results instantly - future cost, total inflation amount, and how much purchasing power your money loses
- Adjust and compare - change the inflation rate to model optimistic (4%) vs. pessimistic (8%) scenarios
How Inflation Erodes Your Purchasing Power
From 2000 to 2024, India's CPI rose from 80 to 358 - meaning prices increased by approximately 348% over 24 years. Your ₹100 from 2000 buys only about ₹22 worth of goods today.
What ₹1,00,000 today will be worth (in real purchasing power):
| Time Period | At 4% Inflation | At 6% Inflation | At 8% Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | ₹82,193 | ₹74,726 | ₹68,058 |
| 10 years | ₹67,556 | ₹55,839 | ₹46,319 |
| 15 years | ₹55,526 | ₹41,727 | ₹31,524 |
| 20 years | ₹45,639 | ₹31,180 | ₹21,455 |
| 30 years | ₹30,832 | ₹17,411 | ₹9,938 |
At 6% inflation - India's long-term average - your money halves in purchasing power in approximately 12 years. This is the Rule of 72 in action: 72 / 6 = 12 years for purchasing power to halve.
What this means practically:
- A monthly household expense of ₹50,000 today will require ₹89,542/month in 10 years at 6% inflation
- A child's annual college fee of ₹3,00,000 today will cost approximately ₹5,37,254 in 10 years at 6%
- A retirement corpus covering ₹60,000/month today needs to cover ₹1,07,451/month if retirement is 10 years away
Benefits of Using the Inflation Calculator
- Plan Retirement Expenses Accurately - Inflation-adjusted planning shows you the real monthly income you'll need at retirement - not what you need today.
- Set Realistic Goal Amounts - Planning to save ₹10 lakh for your child's college in 12 years? At 6% inflation, it may cost ₹20 lakh. Your savings target should be the inflated amount.
- Evaluate Investment Returns Honestly - Check whether your current investments are actually growing your wealth or just falling behind inflation after tax.
- Model Multiple Scenarios - Test optimistic (4%), baseline (6%), and pessimistic (8%) inflation scenarios to stress-test your financial plan.
- Free and Instant - No registration required. Adjust any input and see updated results immediately.
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