Inflation calculator
See what inflation is really doing to the value of your money. Your salary from ten years ago felt like more money because it was. The same thing is quietly happening to whatever you keep in cash.
Updated for the 2026/27 tax year · reviewed
Your amount
£10,000 today will be worth
£5,537
in today's money, after 20 years at 3.0% inflation
Purchasing power lost
£4,463
Erosion
44.6%
Return needed to stand still
3.0%
nominal return equal to inflation - a 0% real return
Value over time
How the real (today's-money) value of your amount erodes as inflation compounds.
Inflation doesn't hit every part of your plan equally.
It erodes cash, gets partly outrun by investments, and quietly shrinks a fixed mortgage payment in real terms. See the net effect across your household rather than on one number.
See it across your planHow this calculator works
We apply your inflation rate compounded over the years you choose. "What will it be worth?" divides your amount by that compounding factor, showing what today's money will be able to buy in the future, in today's terms. "What will I need?" multiplies the other way, showing how much a future amount would need to be to match what your money buys today.
The "return needed to stand still" tile is simply the inflation rate itself - an investment growing at exactly that nominal rate has a real (inflation-adjusted) return of 0%. Anything below that rate loses purchasing power even while the balance on the statement keeps rising.
This assumes a constant inflation rate for the whole period - real inflation moves year to year, so treat the result as an illustration of compounding, not a forecast.
Questions people ask
What does inflation actually do to cash?
Inflation erodes the purchasing power of money that isn't growing at least as fast - £10,000 left in cash earning no interest loses real value every year prices rise. This calculator shows that erosion, or its reverse, over any period and rate you choose.
What's a typical UK inflation rate?
The Bank of England targets 2% CPI inflation, and rates hovered close to that for much of the 2010s, but the UK saw a sharp spike above 10% in 2022-23 following energy price rises. There's no fixed 'normal' rate - it varies by economic conditions, so this calculator lets you test different assumptions.
What's the difference between real and nominal returns?
A nominal return is the raw percentage growth of an investment or account; a real return subtracts inflation to show growth in actual purchasing power. A savings account paying 3% when inflation is 4% has a negative real return, even though the balance is technically growing.
How can I protect my money against inflation?
Cash savings rarely beat inflation over long periods, so money not needed in the short term is often invested in assets like shares or property that have historically outpaced it, though returns are never guaranteed. Some UK savings products and gilts are also linked directly to inflation for a more explicit hedge.
Last reviewed against 2026/27 UK rules. Projections are estimates for education, not financial advice. Understanding your projections.
A calculator answers one question at a time.
The planner keeps all of them next to each other, so an overpayment you model today still shows up in the pension picture in twenty years.
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