Education7 min readMarch 15, 2026Alp Yalay
Inflation calculator vs Money Visualiser: past prices versus physical scale
Inflation calculators are for time. Money Visualiser is for scale. They complement each other, but they answer different questions.
Inflation calculators are time machines
If you want to know what in 1995 equals today, use an inflation calculator. It is built for CPI math and purchasing-power comparisons across time.
Numeric output
Inflation calculator
Returns one adjusted number based on CPI.
Physical output
Money Visualiser
Shows the physical stack, bill count, and scene.
Physical scale is a different question
Money Visualiser does not tell you whether rent rose faster than wages. It shows what the present-day amount looks like as banknotes, which helps when the number stops feeling real.