Inflation Time Machine (Then ↔ Now)

This tool converts an amount between two years using official Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. It uses an index ratio: CPI(end year) ÷ CPI(start year). The result is the amount required in the end year to match the purchasing power of the start-year amount (within the same country).

The “Average annual inflation rate” figure is the constant annual rate that would produce the same overall CPI change across the selected time span. It is shown as a positive magnitude; the direction is conveyed by the year arrow (start → end).

CPI (Consumer Price Index) is a published measure of how the prices of a representative basket of goods and services change over time. Each country’s statistical agency defines and maintains its own basket and methodology.

CPI is not your personal inflation rate. It is a broad index designed to track economy-wide consumer price changes. This tool uses CPI because it provides a standardized way to compare purchasing power across years.

Inflation differs across countries because price changes differ across economies and time periods, and because each country’s CPI is constructed using its own basket weights and statistical methods.

This tool does not perform currency conversion. The comparison list shows each country’s domestic CPI-based conversion in that country’s local currency. Comparisons across countries are about inflation dynamics, not exchange rates.

CPI data and coverage years by country (loaded from manifest):

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Coverage years reflect the full annual datasets currently available.

This tool uses each country’s domestic CPI index. It does not perform foreign exchange conversion. Amounts are in that country’s local currency (e.g. CAD for Canada, USD for United States) and are comparable only within the same country.

For the exact CPI index values used in these calculations, see CPI Data Tables (by country).