Value of £500 from 1888 to 2024
£500 in 1888 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £81,444.61 today, an increase of £80,944.61 over 136 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 3.82% per year between 1888 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 16,188.92%.
This means that today's prices are 162.89 times as high as average prices since 1888, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index. A pound today only buys 0.614% of what it could buy back then.
The inflation rate in 1888 was 1.16%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 3.90%. If this number holds, £500 today will be equivalent in buying power to £519.50 next year.
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| Cumulative price change | 16,188.92% |
| Average inflation rate | 3.82% |
| Converted amount £500 base | £81,444.61 |
| Price difference £500 base | £80,944.61 |
| CPI in 1888 | 8.700 |
| CPI in 2024 | 1,417.136 |
| Inflation in 1888 | 1.16% |
| Inflation in 2024 | 3.90% |
| £500 in 1888 | £81,444.61 in 2024 |
Buying power of £500 in 1888
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £500 in 1888 (price index tracking began in 1750).
For example, if you started with £500, you would need to end with £81,444.61 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When £500 is equivalent to £81,444.61 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single U.K. pound decreases over time. In other words, a pound will pay for fewer items at the store.
This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a pound over time. By calculating the value in 1888 dollars, the chart below shows how £500 is worth less over 136 years.
According to the Office for National Statistics, each of these GBP amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:
This conversion table shows various other 1888 amounts in today's pounds, based on the 16,188.92% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| £1 pound in 1888 | £162.89 pounds today |
| £5 pounds in 1888 | £814.45 pounds today |
| £10 pounds in 1888 | £1,628.89 pounds today |
| £50 pounds in 1888 | £8,144.46 pounds today |
| £100 pounds in 1888 | £16,288.92 pounds today |
| £500 pounds in 1888 | £81,444.61 pounds today |
| £1,000 pounds in 1888 | £162,889.23 pounds today |
| £5,000 pounds in 1888 | £814,446.13 pounds today |
| £10,000 pounds in 1888 | £1,628,892.27 pounds today |
| £50,000 pounds in 1888 | £8,144,461.33 pounds today |
| £100,000 pounds in 1888 | £16,288,922.66 pounds today |
| £500,000 pounds in 1888 | £81,444,613.29 pounds today |
| £1,000,000 pounds in 1888 | £162,889,226.59 pounds today |
How to calculate inflation rate for £500 since 1888
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1888 and today:
CPI today CPI in 1888
×
1888 GBP value
=
Today's value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 8.7 in the year 1888 and 1417.136271298791 in 2024:
1417.1362712987918.7
×
£500
=
£81,444.61
£500 in 1888 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £81,444.61 in 2024.
To get the total inflation rate for the 136 years between 1888 and 2024, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2024 - CPI in 1888CPI in 1888
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (136 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
1417.136271298791 - 8.78.7
×
100
=
16,189%
Data source & citation
Raw data for these calculations comes from the composite price index published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). A composite index is created by combining price data from several different published sources, both official and unofficial. The Consumer Price Index, normally used to compute inflation, has only been tracked since 1988. All inflation calculations after 1988 use the Office for National Statistics' Consumer Price Index, except for the current year, which is based on The Bank of England's forecast.
You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “£500 in 1888 → 2024 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 20 Nov. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/uk/inflation/1888?amount=500.
Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.
in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.
| Cumulative price change | 16,188.92% |
| Average inflation rate | 3.82% |
| Converted amount £500 base | £81,444.61 |
| Price difference £500 base | £80,944.61 |
| CPI in 1888 | 8.700 |
| CPI in 2024 | 1,417.136 |
| Inflation in 1888 | 1.16% |
| Inflation in 2024 | 3.90% |
| £500 in 1888 | £81,444.61 in 2024 |