Purchasing PowerPurchasing Power API

OnlineCredit Usage:1 per callRefreshed 1 week ago
avg: 500ms|p50: 467ms|p75: 522ms|p90: 588ms|p99: 720ms

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

URL
https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower

Code Examples

Here are examples of how to call the Purchasing Power API in different programming languages:

cURL Request
curl -X GET \
  "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/purchasingpower" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here"
JavaScript (Fetch API)
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);
Python (Requests)
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)
Node.js (Native HTTPS)
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 (cURL)
<?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);

?>
Go (net/http)
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))
}
Ruby (Net::HTTP)
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))
C# (HttpClient)
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:

Required Header
X-API-Key: your_api_key_here

Learn more about authentication →

Interactive 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

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionDefaultExample
amountnumberrequired
The dollar amount to convert
Range: min: 0
-100
fromstringrequired
Starting period in YYYY or YYYY-MM format (data available from 1947)
Length: 4 - 7 chars
-1990
tostringoptional
Ending period in YYYY or YYYY-MM format. Omit for current.
Length: 4 - 7 chars
-2024

Response

The Purchasing Power API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats:

Example Responses

JSON Response
200 OK
{
  "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 Response
200 OK
<?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>
YAML Response
200 OK
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
CSV Response
200 OK
keyvalue
originalAmount100
originalPeriod1990-01
adjustedAmount242.31
adjustedPeriod2024-01
cumulativeInflation142.31
multiplier2.423
explanation$100 in 1990-01 has the same purchasing power as $242.31 in 2024-01
fromCPI127.4
toCPI308.417

Response Structure

All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:

FieldTypeDescriptionExample
statusstringIndicates whether the request was successful ("ok") or failed ("error")ok
errorstring | nullContains error message if status is "error", otherwise nullnull
dataobject | nullContains 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:

FieldTypeSample Value
originalAmountnumber100
originalPeriodstring"1990-01"
adjustedAmountnumber242.31
adjustedPeriodstring"2024-01"
cumulativeInflationnumber142.31
multipliernumber2.423
explanationstring"$100 in 1990-01 has the same purchasing power as $242.31 in 2024-01"
fromCPInumber127.4
toCPInumber308.417

Headers

Required and optional headers for Purchasing Power API requests:

Header NameRequiredExample ValueDescription
X-API-Keyrequiredyour_api_key_hereYour APIVerve API key. Found in your dashboard under API Keys.
Acceptoptionalapplication/jsonSpecify response format: application/json (default), application/xml, or application/yaml
User-AgentoptionalMyApp/1.0Identifies your application for analytics and debugging purposes
X-Request-IDoptionalreq_123456789Custom request identifier for tracking and debugging requests
Cache-Controloptionalno-cacheControl caching behavior for the request and response

Learn more about request headers →

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.

Test Purchasing Power in the GraphQL Explorer to confirm availability and experiment with queries.

Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.

GraphQL Endpoint
POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphql
GraphQL Query Example
query {
  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 HeaderValueDescription
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.

Learn more about CORS support →

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.

PlanRate LimitDescription
Free5 requests/minHard rate limit enforced - exceeding will return 429 errors
StarterNo LimitProduction ready - standard traffic priority
ProNo LimitProduction ready - preferred traffic priority
MegaNo LimitProduction 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:

HeaderDescription
X-RateLimit-LimitMaximum number of requests allowed per time window
X-RateLimit-RemainingNumber of requests remaining in the current window
X-RateLimit-ResetUnix 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:

CodeMessageDescriptionSolution
200OKRequest successful, data returnedNo action needed - request was successful
400Bad RequestInvalid request parameters or malformed requestCheck required parameters and ensure values match expected formats
401UnauthorizedMissing or invalid API keyInclude x-api-key header with valid API key from dashboard
403ForbiddenAPI key lacks permission or insufficient creditsCheck credit balance in dashboard or upgrade plan
429Too Many RequestsRate limit exceeded (Free: 5 req/min)Implement request throttling or upgrade to paid plan
500Internal Server ErrorServer error occurredRetry request after a few seconds, contact support if persists
503Service UnavailableAPI temporarily unavailableWait 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?
Sign up for a free account at dashboard.apiverve.com. Your API key will be automatically generated and available in your dashboard. The same key works for Purchasing Power and all other APIVerve APIs. The free plan includes 1,000 credits plus a 500 credit bonus.
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?
Yes! The Purchasing Power API supports CORS with wildcard configuration, so you can call it directly from browser-based JavaScript without needing a proxy server. See the CORS section above for details.
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.

What's Next?

Continue your journey with these recommended resources

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