Purchasing Power API
Purchasing Power calculates the inflation-adjusted value of money between any two time periods. Find out what $100 from 1990 is worth today, or calculate real returns on investments accounting for inflation.
The Purchasing Power API provides reliable and fast access to purchasing power data through a simple REST interface. Built for developers who need consistent, high-quality results with minimal setup time.
To use Purchasing Power, you need an API key. You can get one by creating a free account and visiting your dashboard.
GET Endpoint
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpowerCode Examples
Here are examples of how to call the Purchasing Power API in different programming languages:
curl -X GET \
"https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower" \
-H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here"const response = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower', {
method: 'GET',
headers: {
'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);import requests
headers = {
'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
response = requests.get('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower', headers=headers)
data = response.json()
print(data)const https = require('https');
const url = require('url');
const options = {
method: 'GET',
headers: {
'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
};
const req = https.request('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower', options, (res) => {
let data = '';
res.on('data', (chunk) => data += chunk);
res.on('end', () => console.log(JSON.parse(data)));
});
req.end();<?php
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, 'https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, 'GET');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
'X-API-Key: your_api_key_here',
'Content-Type: application/json'
]);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
$data = json_decode($response, true);
print_r($data);
?>package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
)
func main() {
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower", nil)
req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here")
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, err := client.Do(req)
if err != nil {
panic(err)
}
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require 'net/http'
require 'json'
uri = URI('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower')
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
request['X-API-Key'] = 'your_api_key_here'
request['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'
response = http.request(request)
puts JSON.pretty_generate(JSON.parse(response.body))using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
class Program
{
static async Task Main(string[] args)
{
using var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here");
var response = await client.GetAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower");
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
var responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
Console.WriteLine(responseBody);
}
}Authentication
The Purchasing Power API requires authentication via API key. Include your API key in the request header:
X-API-Key: your_api_key_hereInteractive API Playground
Test the Purchasing Power API directly in your browser with live requests and responses.
Parameters
The following parameters are available for the Purchasing Power API:
Calculate Purchasing Power
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description | Default | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
amount | number | required | The dollar amount to convert Range: min: 0 | - | |
from | string | required | Starting period in YYYY or YYYY-MM format (data available from 1947) Length: 4 - 7 chars | - | |
to | string | optional | Ending period in YYYY or YYYY-MM format. Omit for current. Length: 4 - 7 chars | - |
Response
The Purchasing Power API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats:
Example Responses
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"originalAmount": 100,
"originalPeriod": "1990-01",
"adjustedAmount": 242.31,
"adjustedPeriod": "2024-01",
"cumulativeInflation": 142.31,
"multiplier": 2.423,
"explanation": "$100 in 1990-01 has the same purchasing power as $242.31 in 2024-01",
"fromCPI": 127.4,
"toCPI": 308.417
}
}<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<response>
<status>ok</status>
<error xsi:nil="true" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"/>
<data>
<originalAmount>100</originalAmount>
<originalPeriod>1990-01</originalPeriod>
<adjustedAmount>242.31</adjustedAmount>
<adjustedPeriod>2024-01</adjustedPeriod>
<cumulativeInflation>142.31</cumulativeInflation>
<multiplier>2.423</multiplier>
<explanation>$100 in 1990-01 has the same purchasing power as $242.31 in 2024-01</explanation>
<fromCPI>127.4</fromCPI>
<toCPI>308.417</toCPI>
</data>
</response>
status: ok
error: null
data:
originalAmount: 100
originalPeriod: 1990-01
adjustedAmount: 242.31
adjustedPeriod: 2024-01
cumulativeInflation: 142.31
multiplier: 2.423
explanation: $100 in 1990-01 has the same purchasing power as $242.31 in 2024-01
fromCPI: 127.4
toCPI: 308.417
| key | value |
|---|---|
| originalAmount | 100 |
| originalPeriod | 1990-01 |
| adjustedAmount | 242.31 |
| adjustedPeriod | 2024-01 |
| cumulativeInflation | 142.31 |
| multiplier | 2.423 |
| explanation | $100 in 1990-01 has the same purchasing power as $242.31 in 2024-01 |
| fromCPI | 127.4 |
| toCPI | 308.417 |
Response Structure
All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:
| Field | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
status | string | Indicates whether the request was successful ("ok") or failed ("error") | ok |
error | string | null | Contains error message if status is "error", otherwise null | null |
data | object | null | Contains the API response data if successful, otherwise null | {...} |
Learn more about response formats →
Response Data Fields
When the request is successful, the data object contains the following fields:
| Field | Type | Sample Value |
|---|---|---|
originalAmount | number | |
originalPeriod | string | |
adjustedAmount | number | |
adjustedPeriod | string | |
cumulativeInflation | number | |
multiplier | number | |
explanation | string | |
fromCPI | number | |
toCPI | number |
Headers
Required and optional headers for Purchasing Power API requests:
| Header Name | Required | Example Value | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
X-API-Key | required | your_api_key_here | Your APIVerve API key. Found in your dashboard under API Keys. |
Accept | optional | application/json | Specify response format: application/json (default), application/xml, or application/yaml |
User-Agent | optional | MyApp/1.0 | Identifies your application for analytics and debugging purposes |
X-Request-ID | optional | req_123456789 | Custom request identifier for tracking and debugging requests |
Cache-Control | optional | no-cache | Control caching behavior for the request and response |
GraphQL AccessALPHA
Access Purchasing Power through GraphQL to combine it with other API calls in a single request. Query only the purchasing power data you need with precise field selection, and orchestrate complex data fetching workflows.
Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.
POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphqlquery {
purchasingpower(
input: {
amount: 100
from: "1990"
to: "2024"
}
) {
originalAmount
originalPeriod
adjustedAmount
adjustedPeriod
cumulativeInflation
multiplier
explanation
fromCPI
toCPI
}
}Note: Authentication is handled via the x-api-key header in your GraphQL request, not as a query parameter.
CORS Support
The Purchasing Power API supports Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) with wildcard configuration, allowing you to call Purchasing Power directly from browser-based applications without proxy servers.
| CORS Header | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
Access-Control-Allow-Origin | * | Accepts requests from any origin |
Access-Control-Allow-Methods | * | Accepts any HTTP method |
Access-Control-Allow-Headers | * | Accepts any request headers |
Browser Usage: You can call Purchasing Power directly from JavaScript running in the browser without encountering CORS errors. No proxy server or additional configuration needed.
Rate Limiting
Purchasing Power API requests are subject to rate limiting based on your subscription plan. These limits ensure fair usage and maintain service quality for all Purchasing Power users.
| Plan | Rate Limit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 5 requests/min | Hard rate limit enforced - exceeding will return 429 errors |
| Starter | No Limit | Production ready - standard traffic priority |
| Pro | No Limit | Production ready - preferred traffic priority |
| Mega | No Limit | Production ready - highest traffic priority |
Learn more about rate limiting →
Rate Limit Headers
When rate limits apply, each Purchasing Power response includes headers to help you track your usage:
| Header | Description |
|---|---|
X-RateLimit-Limit | Maximum number of requests allowed per time window |
X-RateLimit-Remaining | Number of requests remaining in the current window |
X-RateLimit-Reset | Unix timestamp when the rate limit window resets |
Handling Rate Limits
Free Plan: When you exceed your rate limit, Purchasing Power returns a 429 Too Many Requests status code. Your application should implement appropriate backoff logic to handle this gracefully.
Paid Plans: No rate limiting or throttling applied. All paid plans (Starter, Pro, Mega) are production-ready.
Best Practices for Purchasing Power:
- Monitor the rate limit headers to track your Purchasing Power usage (Free plan only)
- Cache purchasing power responses where appropriate to reduce API calls
- Upgrade to Pro or Mega for guaranteed no-throttle Purchasing Power performance
Note: Purchasing Power rate limits are separate from credit consumption. You may have credits remaining but still hit rate limits when using Purchasing Power on Free tier.
Error Codes
The Purchasing Power API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure:
| Code | Message | Description | Solution |
|---|---|---|---|
200 | OK | Request successful, data returned | No action needed - request was successful |
400 | Bad Request | Invalid request parameters or malformed request | Check required parameters and ensure values match expected formats |
401 | Unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key | Include x-api-key header with valid API key from dashboard |
403 | Forbidden | API key lacks permission or insufficient credits | Check credit balance in dashboard or upgrade plan |
429 | Too Many Requests | Rate limit exceeded (Free: 5 req/min) | Implement request throttling or upgrade to paid plan |
500 | Internal Server Error | Server error occurred | Retry request after a few seconds, contact support if persists |
503 | Service Unavailable | API temporarily unavailable | Wait and retry, check status page for maintenance updates |
Learn more about error handling →
Need help? Contact support with your X-Request-ID for assistance.
Integrate Purchasing Power with SDKs
Get started quickly with official Purchasing Power SDKs for your preferred language. Each library handles authentication, request formatting, and error handling automatically.
Available for Node.js, Python, C#/.NET, and Android/Java. All SDKs are open source and regularly updated.
Integrate Purchasing Power with No-Code API Tools
Connect the Purchasing Power API to your favorite automation platform without writing code. Build workflows that leverage purchasing power data across thousands of apps.





All platforms use your same API key to access Purchasing Power. Visit our integrations hub for step-by-step setup guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get an API key for Purchasing Power?
How many credits does Purchasing Power cost?
Each successful Purchasing Power API call consumes credits based on plan tier. Check the pricing section above for the exact credit cost. Failed requests and errors don't consume credits, so you only pay for successful purchasing power lookups.
Can I use Purchasing Power in production?
The free plan is for testing and development only. For production use of Purchasing Power, upgrade to a paid plan (Starter, Pro, or Mega) which includes commercial use rights, no attribution requirements, and guaranteed uptime SLAs. All paid plans are production-ready.
Can I use Purchasing Power from a browser?
What happens if I exceed my Purchasing Power credit limit?
When you reach your monthly credit limit, Purchasing Power API requests will return an error until you upgrade your plan or wait for the next billing cycle. You'll receive notifications at 80% and 95% usage to give you time to upgrade if needed.



