PPP Calculator

PPP is an exchange rate that equalizes the purchasing power of different currencies by comparing the cost of the same basket of goods and services in each country. It answers a different question than a market exchange rate: not "how much foreign currency does my money buy today" but "how much can my money actually buy here, compared to somewhere else."

Market exchange rates float with trade flows, interest rates, and speculation, and can diverge sharply from what money actually buys locally. PPP rates instead compare local prices directly, so they strip out that noise. A salary that looks modest at the market exchange rate can be worth much more — or less — once converted at PPP, because prices for the same goods vary a lot between countries.

Because goods and services — especially non-tradable ones like housing, haircuts, or restaurant meals — cost different amounts in different countries relative to income. A country with a lower cost of living will show a PPP-converted amount higher than its market-exchange-rate equivalent, since the same money stretches further there.

The conversion rates are OECD household final consumption expenditure PPP rates. They're a broad, country-level average, so actual purchasing power can still vary by region, city, and the specific basket of goods you care about — treat the result as a solid approximation, not a precise personal budget.

Yes — that's one of the most common uses. Converting a salary at PPP instead of the market exchange rate gives a much better sense of relative living standards, since it reflects what the salary can actually buy locally rather than what it converts to abroad. For a deeper wage comparison across OECD countries, see the Average Salary Explorer.