The Nowflation daily price index stands at 136.7 (January 2018 = 100) as of October 18, 2026. $100 in January 2021 costs $128.27 today (28.3% cumulative inflation); since January 2020, $100 has become $130.68. Official-CPI calculators answer in whole months, about two weeks after the month ends; this one runs on a daily index measured from today's prices on the CPI basket, so it can answer for a lease-signing day or a pay raise, and updates every morning.
| January of | $100 then costs today | Cumulative inflation |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $136.65 | +36.7% |
| 2019 | $134.20 | +34.2% |
| 2020 | $130.68 | +30.7% |
| 2021 | $128.27 | +28.3% |
| 2022 | $119.39 | +19.4% |
| 2023 | $112.75 | +12.7% |
| 2024 | $108.99 | +9.0% |
| 2025 | $105.75 | +5.8% |
| 2026 | $103.21 | +3.2% |
For years before 2018, the current inflation rate page carries the CPI-U rate by year and month back to 2000; the personal inflation calculator reweights the basket to your own spending.
$100 of goods and services in January 2021 costs $128.27 as of October 18, 2026 on the Nowflation daily price index (28.3% cumulative inflation), and $100 today buys what $77.96 bought then. The index is measured from today's prices on the CPI basket, so the answer updates every morning rather than once a month.
Official calculators divide two monthly CPI-U index values — on that basis $100 in January 2021 is $128.81 as of September 2026, the latest print — and they answer only in whole months, about two weeks after the month ends. This calculator runs on the Nowflation daily index (January 2018 = 100), so it can answer for a specific date such as a lease signing or a pay raise.
To January 1, 2018, the base date of the Nowflation index (set to 100). For dates before 2018 use the CPI-U year-by-year table on the current-inflation-rate page, which runs back to 2000 on the same BLS index.
No: the CPI is a monthly survey; the Nowflation index prices the same basket with live market data where it exists (rents, fuel, vehicles) and the latest official subindex everywhere else, so it moves daily and can differ from the CPI by the shelter timing gap. Both are true measurements; the gap between them is explained on the Why the Gap page.