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Updated October 9, 2026
Real Salary Converter
A raise that trails inflation is a pay cut. Enter a nominal monthly salary in pesos, lira, naira, or rupees, set the exchange rate yourself, and see what it is really worth in dollars, and what a year of inflation does to it.
-Monthly, in USD
-Annual, in USD
-After 1 yr of inflation
-Buying power lost / yr
What this converter does
It does two honest things. First, it converts your nominal salary to dollars at the exchange rate you type in, because the rate you can actually access matters more than any published number. Second, it applies one year of inflation to show the salary's real purchasing power: what it buys after prices have moved.
Official vs. parallel rates: the Argentina lesson
Argentina famously ran a gap between the official peso rate and the parallel dólar blue for years: the official rate might say 1,000 pesos per dollar while the street rate said 1,300. If your salary converts at the official rate but you buy dollars (or dollar-linked goods) at the parallel rate, your real salary is the parallel-rate number, which can be 20 to 30% lower. Turkey, Nigeria, and Pakistan have all seen periods where access to dollars at the official rate was restricted. Always convert at the rate available to you, not the one on the news.
Worked example
A salary of 1,500,000 ARS at 1,400 per USD is about $1,071/month. With 40% annual inflation, its real purchasing power after one year is about $765 in today's money. To stand still, the nominal salary would need to rise 40% too.
Limitations
Exchange rates move daily; the defaults here are samples you must replace. The inflation adjustment assumes your personal basket matches the national CPI, which it rarely does exactly. Taxes and social charges are not deducted. For the full picture across years, use the inflation erosion calculator and the currency reality explainer.
Planning estimate only. Results use the list prices shown and may differ from your actual bill. Terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the blue dollar?
Argentina's parallel exchange rate for dollars, traded outside the official market. For years it ran well above the official rate, and it became the reference rate ordinary people actually used.
Why do official and real exchange rates differ?
Capital controls, import restrictions, and central bank intervention can hold an official rate away from the market-clearing rate. When dollars are rationed at the official rate, a parallel market appears.
Should I use the official or parallel rate?
Use the rate you can actually transact at. If you cannot buy dollars at the official rate, the parallel rate is your real rate, and your dollar salary is lower than the official math suggests.
How does inflation turn a raise into a pay cut?
If prices rise 40% and your salary rises 20%, your purchasing power falls by about 14%. Only raises above inflation are real raises.
Are the default exchange rates live?
No. They are clearly labeled samples. Type in the current rate from your bank, exchange house, or a market tracker before trusting the result.