Google searches for Inflation Calculators surge in the US after Trump's tariff announcement and Switch 2 reveal

After President Trump rolled out the “Liberation Day” tariff policy, adding a 10% tax on all imports, people rushed to google inflation calculators to figure out how much more they’d be paying for everyday goods. As if that wasn’t enough, on the very same day, Nintendo finally revealed the price of Switch 2, and let’s just say, it’s a lot higher than anyone was hoping for.

This is definitely going to shake up our budgets

The Nintendo Switch was released in the United States on March 3, 2017, with a launch price of $299.99 for the standard model. Now, the base version of the Switch 2 console will cost $449.99, which is nearly 1.5 times more. While this price increase is significant, it wasn’t the biggest shock of the day.

On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced the "Liberation Day" tariff policy, introducing a two-tiered tariff system:

1. A 10% tariff on all imports from most countries (except Canada and Mexico), effective April 5, 2025.
2. Extra tariffs on about 60 countries – China, for example, gets hit with a 34% tariff on top of what’s already in place.

Tariffs function as taxes on imported goods, typically leading to higher prices for consumers. Experts predict these new tariffs could push US inflation up by 1.4% to 2.2%. According to the New York Post, the average American household might end up paying an extra $3,800 this year.

Source: google trends

So naturally, people are worried about rising prices and how they’ll affect their wallets. Google searches for inflation calculators have gone up as they try to figure out how these new tariffs might impact their personal finances and overall cost of living.

Here are some of the most commonly used inflation calculators:

1. CPI Inflation Calculator provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2. USInflationCalculator.
3. Calculator.net.

The BLS's CPI Inflation Calculator is the official tool, but which calculator you use really comes down to personal preference and what features you find most useful.

How does inflation calculator work

An inflation calculator helps you see how the value of money changes over time due to inflation. It works by comparing the purchasing power of a certain amount of money from one year to another.

Source: calculator.net

You input a specific dollar amount, choose the starting year and target year, and the calculator uses historical inflation data (usually based on the Consumer Price Index, CPI) to adjust the value. It then tells you how much that money would be worth in the future or how much you'd need today to match past purchasing power. The inflation calculator from Calculator.net also includes a forward flat rate feature to estimate the future value of money.

• USA
• hardware prices / service prices
• Donald Trump
• Switch 2