MONEY BASICS / FREE CALCULATOR

Inflation & purchasing power calculator

Explore how a price could change over time and what a fixed amount might buy in today’s money.

YOUR NUMBERS

Let’s work it out.

Calculated on your device. Save a copy only when you choose.

A CLEARER PICTURE

Illustrative future equivalent cost

R 2 552,56

After 5 years at your 5% annual assumption

Starting cost: R 2 000,00
Increase in equivalent cost: R 552,56
Purchasing power of an unchanged amount: R 1 567,05
Purchasing power lost: R 432,95

See the full breakdown

ESTIMATE · NOT A QUOTATION

Save this scenario, then change your inputs to compare the results.

BEHIND THE NUMBER

Your calculation, unpacked.

Starting cost: R 2 000,00
Increase in equivalent cost: R 552,56
Purchasing power of an unchanged amount: R 1 567,05
Purchasing power lost: R 432,95

UNDERSTAND THE TRADE-OFFS

Small changes.
Different possibilities.

Try changing one input at a time. Compare the total cost, as well as the monthly number.

THE WORKINGS

How this calculation works

A future equivalent cost is the starting amount × (1 + inflation/100)^years. The purchasing power of an unchanged amount is the amount divided by that same compound factor. We round displayed currency values to cents.

A worked example

At an illustrative 5% for one year, R2 000 of goods becomes R2 100. An unchanged R2 000 then has about R1 904.76 of today’s purchasing power.

Assumptions & limitations

Inflation is constant and user-supplied; it is not a prediction or a live official statistic.
Your household basket may change differently from the national CPI basket.
This tool excludes investment returns, taxes and changes in the quantities you buy.

Read a little further.

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What inflation means for your own shopping basket

Turn an inflation headline into a practical household budget check, without assuming every price changes equally.

Read the guide