Pay and inflationEstimate, not advice
I built this to give a straight yes or no. Put in your old and new pay and I compare the rise with CPI inflation of 3.5% for the year to September 2026. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Estimate using CPI of 3.5%, ONS, September 2026
Your nominal rise is new pay divided by old pay, minus one. That is the rise you see on your payslip.
The pay needed to match inflation is your old pay times 1.035, because CPI rose 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026.
The real terms change is new pay divided by that figure, minus one. If it is above zero, your pay rise beats inflation. Pounds are rounded to the penny and percentages to one decimal place.
Checked on 21 October 2026.
Compare your percentage rise with CPI inflation, which was 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026. If your pay went up by more than 3.5%, it beats inflation and your pay buys a little more than it did a year ago.
Multiply your old pay by 1.035. On £30,000 a year that is £31,050, so you would need a rise of at least £1,050 a year to keep up with 3.5% CPI.
Yes. Pick yearly, monthly or hourly and use the same kind of figure for both boxes. The percentages come out the same whichever you choose.
I divide rather than subtract, which is how real terms changes are normally worked out. A 5% rise against 3.5% inflation is a real rise of about 1.4%, not 1.5%. The difference is small at these levels.
No. It compares the pay figures you type in. If you want to compare take home pay, enter your take home pay for both. Tax and National Insurance thresholds can change how much of a rise you keep.
I use CPI, the measure the government uses for its inflation target and to raise most benefits. ONS also publishes CPIH, which was 3.6% in the year to September 2026 and includes owner occupiers' housing costs. Your own costs may rise faster or slower.