How this is worked out
The calculator uses the Office for National Statistics' long-run composite price index (series CDKO), which tracks the cost of everyday goods and services in Britain from 1800 onwards. It takes the price level in your chosen year and compares it with the price level in the comparison year. The latest full year is 2025.
Example results
| Amount | Year | In 2025 prices |
|---|---|---|
| £1 | 1800 | £117.67 |
| £1 | 1850 | £189.12 |
| £1 | 1900 | £172.67 |
| £1 | 1914 | £162.10 |
| £1 | 1920 | £62.79 |
| £1 | 1945 | £60.63 |
| 5s | 1960 | £8.09 |
| £1 | 1970 | £21.73 |
| £100 | 1980 | £602.43 |
| £100 | 2000 | £236.47 |
What the number does and doesn't mean
This answers “how much would I need today to buy the same everyday things?”. It is a fair way to compare prices, rents and pocket money. It is not the best way to compare wages or fortunes. Earnings have risen much faster than prices since 1800, so a Victorian salary looks smaller against prices than it does against what people earn today. A great estate looks smaller still against the size of today's economy.
Year-by-year tables by decade
1800s · 1810s · 1820s · 1830s · 1840s · 1850s · 1860s · 1870s · 1880s · 1890s · 1900s · 1910s · 1920s · 1930s · 1940s · 1950s · 1960s · 1970s
Note how prices barely moved for most of the 1800s and even fell in places. Most of the rise in British prices happened after 1914, and especially in the 1970s.
Common questions
What was £1 in 1900 worth today?
About £172.67 in 2025 prices, based on the ONS composite price index.
Where does the data come from?
The Office for National Statistics composite price index (CDKO), published under the Open Government Licence. It joins together several historical price series into one consistent measure from 1800.
Can I use decimal money too?
Yes. Switch the money type to decimal for amounts from 1971 onwards, or for any amount you already have in pounds and pence.
Why does my answer differ from other calculators?
Calculators use different measures. Some use the Retail Prices Index, some use wages or GDP. This one uses consumer prices, the most common way to answer “what would it cost today?”.