RPI inflation, 2026 to August 2026
£1,000 in 2026 is £1,000 today
That £1,000 bought 192 pints of lager in 2026. Today it buys 192.
Prices up 0%0.0% a year on averageMultiply by 1.00
What £1,000 buys
Official average shop prices, not a basket. Things marked as outrunning inflation got dearer faster than everything else; things that lagged got relatively cheaper.
| Item | 2026 | Today |
|---|---|---|
| pints of lager£5.20 then, about £5.20 today | 192 | 192 |
| pints of bitter£4.09 then, about £4.09 today | 244 | 244 |
| pints of milk70p then, about 70p today | 1,429 | 1,429 |
| sliced white loaves£1.51 then, about £1.51 today | 664 | 664 |
| litres of unleaded£1.48 then, about £1.48 today | 678 | 678 |
| packs of 20 cigarettes£17.87 then, about £17.87 today | 56 | 56 |
| kg of roasting chicken£4.07 then, about £4.07 today | 246 | 246 |
| boxes of tea bags£2.84 then, about £2.84 today | 352 | 352 |
| dozen eggs£2.39 then, about £2.39 today | 419 | 419 |
| kg of rump steak£20.33 then, about £20.33 today | 49 | 49 |
| kg of bananas£1.10 then, about £1.10 today | 911 | 911 |
| nips of whisky£4.20 then, about £4.20 today | 238 | 238 |
| first-class stamps£1.80 then, £1.80 today | 556 | 556 |
| Same money, adjusted for inflation | £1,000 | £1,000 |
The ONS stopped publishing these average prices in January 2025. Today's figures are that last reading moved on with inflation, so treat them as close rather than exact.
Houses and wages
Inflation is one story. What people earned, and what a home cost, are the other two.
Average house
£278,784 → £278,784
Up 1.0×, against 1.0× for prices generally
Average pay
£39,312 → £39,312
A year's average earnings, up 1.0×
Years of pay for a house
7.1 → 7.1
Average house price divided by average annual pay
If it had tracked wages
£1,000
What £1,000 in 2026 would be today if it had grown with pay rather than prices