Question 1

What's the difference between nominal and real-terms pay?

Accepted Answer

Nominal is the number on your payslip. Real-terms is that number adjusted for inflation — what your money can actually buy. If your salary went up 4% but prices went up 6%, your nominal rise was 4% but your real rise was −1.9%. The real-terms figure is the one that matters for your standard of living.

Question 2

How do I find my UK CPI rate?

Accepted Answer

The ONS publishes CPI and CPIH monthly at ons.gov.uk. For a year-over-year rise, use the 12-month change figure covering the period between your old and new salaries. CPIH (which includes owner-occupier housing costs) is generally considered the most representative figure. As of mid-2025 the headline rate sits around 2.5–3.5%.

Question 3

Is a 4% rise a real rise?

Accepted Answer

Only if UK CPI is under 4%. In a year with 6% inflation — as the UK experienced in 2022–23 — a 4% nominal rise means your real pay dropped by nearly 2%. In a lower-inflation year like 2025, a 4% rise is a genuine 1.5–2% real-terms increase. Context matters — this tool does the maths for you.

Question 4

Why doesn't this do after-tax calculations?

Accepted Answer

Take-home pay depends on dozens of factors that change every tax year — brackets, thresholds, pension contributions, student loans, tax codes, marriage allowance, local variations. We've kept this tool focused on the nominal-vs-real story because that's where the interesting decision lives and because take-home calculators are a product in their own right. A proper take-home calculator may come later.

Question 5

How is the multi-year cumulative calculated?

Accepted Answer

Nominal cumulative is simply last salary ÷ first salary − 1, expressed as a percentage. Real cumulative compounds each year's CPI: we multiply (1 + CPI₁) × (1 + CPI₂) × … for every year-over-year transition, then compare your salary growth against that compound rate. If your salary grew 15% over three years but prices grew 18%, your real raise is −2.5% (your money buys less than it did).

Question 6

Is this tool free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes — completely free, no sign-up, no account. TimeIsMoney.tools is supported by minimal, non-intrusive advertising. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.

What's your raise actually worth?

Frequently asked questions

More honest tools.

What's your real hourly rate?

What does this meeting really cost?

What to charge to break even.

When does the day line up?

A clean invoice in 60 seconds.