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Opportunity Cost Of A Purchase Calculator

Work out opportunity cost of a purchase instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Opportunity Cost Of A Purchase Calculator

Every purchase has an opportunity cost: what the same money would have grown into if invested instead. Showing it in today's purchasing power as well as nominal terms keeps the comparison honest.

Formula

Opportunity cost

Nominal = amount × (1+r)^years; real = amount × [(1+r)/(1+inflation)]^years

Worked example

With the default values below, Opportunity Cost Of A Purchase Calculator returns What The Money Could Have Become of $626,587.23. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Purchase Amountminimum 0
150,000
Expected Investment Returnaccepts 0–100 %
10 %
Years You Would Have Investedaccepts 1–50
15
Inflation Rateaccepts 0–100 %
5 %

Results

What The Money Could Have Become
$626,587.23
Growth Given Up
$476,587.23
Value Given Up In Today's Money
$301,399.17
Growth Multiple Forgone
4.177

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Opportunity cost
  3. 3What The Money Could Have Become= 626,587.23
  4. 4Growth Given Up= 476,587.23
  5. 5Value Given Up In Today's Money= 301,399.17
  6. 6Growth Multiple Forgone= 4.177

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • Figures are estimates for planning only. Prices, returns, inflation and personal circumstances all change. This is not financial or tax advice — speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Figures are estimates for planning only. Prices, returns, inflation and personal circumstances all change. This is not financial or tax advice — speak to a qualified adviser before making decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this mean never spend?

No. It makes the trade explicit so the decision is deliberate rather than accidental.

Why show the real figure?

Because a large nominal number twenty years out buys much less than it appears to.

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