For many people, homes, groceries, gasoline, tuition, and countless other expenses all seem to cost more with each passing year.
It’s easy to conclude that everything is becoming less affordable. But are prices alone telling the whole story?
The answer depends on what you use to measure them.
Below, we’ll compare the prices of everyday goods, services, assets, and currencies using two different units of account.
The results reveal a perspective that you may not have considered—and one that may change the way you think about prices, purchasing power, and value.
What’s the value of pricing goods in gold?
The value of pricing goods in gold is that it offers another way to compare purchasing power over longer periods.
While the Consumer Price Index measures changes in the prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, measuring prices in gold offers a different perspective.
Rather than estimating changes in the cost of living, it compares prices against an asset that has served as a unit of account for centuries.
Is gold a better unit of account than the dollar?
Neither unit is universally superior.
The dollar is generally more practical for daily economic activity, while gold can provide a useful long-term perspective on value.
Which is more informative depends on what you’re trying to measure.
At Monetary Metals, we believe that gold is the best money, so we prefer to ask:
How much gold does it take to buy the things we need, use, and value?
How do prices look when measured in gold instead of dollars?
Throughout this article, we’ll compare prices using two different units of account: U.S. dollars and gold.
To demonstrate how well each unit preserves purchasing power over time, we’ll compare today’s prices with those in 2000 (wherever possible).
Gold is traditionally measured in troy ounces (ozt), the standard unit used throughout precious metals markets. One troy ounce equals 31.1035 grams (g) or 31,103.48 milligrams (mg).
Unless otherwise noted, all gold calculations use the spot price at the time of writing.
How much does an ounce of gold cost?
One ounce of gold cost $4,083.941 at the time of writing; this means that $1.00 could purchase 7.62 mg.
In July 2000, one ounce of gold cost $277.251, and $1.00 could purchase 112.19 mg of gold.
| July 1, 2000 | July 2026 | Since 2000 | |
| Gold price | $277.25 | $4,083.94 | ▲ 1,373% |
| Gold purchased with $1 | 112.19 mg | 7.62 mg | ▼ 93% |
What can one ounce of gold buy today?
- 705 Big Macs2
- 968 gallons of milk3
- 2,232 pounds of bread3
- 1,865 dozens of eggs3
- 254 movie tickets4
How much has the dollar lost against gold?
Looking at the relationship from both directions illustrates how dramatically the exchange ratio has changed.
Measured in gold:
- In July 2000, 1.00 troy ounce of gold “purchased” $277.25.
- Today, it takes just 2,111.57 milligrams (0.07 troy ounces) of gold to purchase the same number of US dollars.
Measured in dollars:
- In July 2000, $4,083.94 purchased 14.73 troy ounces of gold.
- Today, the same amount purchases just 1.00 troy ounce.
How much does gasoline cost in gold?
The national average retail price for all grades and formulations of gasoline was $1.67 per gallon in June 20005. By June 2026, the national average had risen to $4.18 per gallon5.
| June 2000 | June 2026 | Since 2000 | |
| Gasoline price | $1.67/gal | $4.18/gal | ▲ 150% |
| Gold required to buy 1 gallon | 187.68 mg | 31.85 mg | ▼ 83% |
Verdict: Gasoline costs substantially more in dollars than it did in 2000, but it requires 83% less gold to purchase than it did 26 years ago.
How much gold does it take to buy a house?
The median sales price of a new home in the United States was $165,300 during the first quarter of 20006. By the first quarter of 2026, the median price had increased to $403,2006.
| Q1 2000 | Q1 2026 | Since 2000 | |
| Median new home price | $165,300 | $403,200 | ▲ 144% |
| Gold required to buy a median new home | 596.21 ozt | 98.73 ozt | ▼ 83% |
Verdict: The dollar price of a new home increased by approximately 144%, but they require about 83% fewer ounces of gold to purchase.
How many ounces of gold does it take to buy a car?
Unlike housing and gasoline, many automobile models available today either didn’t exist or have changed substantially since 2000.
Rather than comparing the same models over time, the following examples illustrate how much gold it takes to purchase a variety of vehicles at today’s prices.
| Vehicle | Dollar price | Gold price |
| Shelby GT500 | $29,995 | 7.34 ozt |
| Tesla Model Y | $61,990 | 15.18 ozt |
| Porsche 911 Carrera | $135,500 | 33.18 ozt |
| Bentley Bentayga | $226,750 | 55.52 ozt |
| Lamborghini Gallardo | $254,595 | 62.34 ozt |
| Rolls-Royce Phantom | $555,350 | 135.98 ozt |
| Ferrari 250 GTO | $70,000,000 | 17,140.15 ozt |
How much does a college education cost in gold?
According to the College Board, the average annual cost of attending a four-year institution during the 2025–2026 academic year7 was:
| Institution type | Dollar price | Gold price |
| Public, in-state | $11,950 | 2.93 ozt |
| Public, out-of-state | $31,880 | 7.81 ozt |
| Private | $45,000 | 11.02 ozt |
Verdict: One year at a private four-year college costs approximately 11 troy ounces of gold, while an average public in-state education costs just under 3 troy ounces.
What’s the price of platinum in gold?
Platinum has historically traded both above and below gold, depending on industrial demand, mine supply, and investor sentiment.
| Dollar price | Gold price | |
| Time of writing | $1,586.10 | 0.388 ozt |
Verdict: At the time of writing, one ounce of platinum costs approximately 39% as much as one ounce of gold8.
What’s the price of palladium in gold?
Palladium experienced extraordinary price increases during the late 2010s before declining sharply in recent years.
| Dollar price | Gold price | |
| Time of writing | $1,227.15 | 0.300 ozt |
Verdict: One ounce of palladium currently costs approximately 30% as much as one ounce of gold9.
What’s the price of crude oil in gold?
Crude oil is among the world’s most actively traded commodities. Importantly, it has long been compared with gold because both play significant roles in the global economy (although only one is likely to serve as a safe-haven asset).
| Dollar price in 2000 | Gold price in 2000 | Dollar price in 2026 | Gold price in 2026 | |
| Brent crude | N/A | N/A | $77.9810 | 594.6 mg |
| WTI crude | $28.66 | 3,215.37 mg | $73.5111 | 560.5 mg |
Verdict: At current prices, one troy ounce of gold purchases approximately 52 barrels of Brent crude or 56 barrels of WTI crude.
That’s nearly 6 times the number of barrels of WTI that 1.00 ozt could purchase in 2000!
What’s the price of an acre of farmland in gold?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average value of U.S. farmland reached $4,350 per acre in 202512.
| Dollar price | Gold price | |
| 2025 average | $4,350 | 1.07 ozt |
Verdict: At current prices, the average acre of U.S. farmland costs just over one troy ounce of gold.
What are national currencies worth in gold?
Just as goods and services can be priced in gold, so can currencies themselves. Expressing the value of one unit of currency in milligrams of gold illustrates how much purchasing power each currency represents.
| Currency | Gold purchased in 2000 | Gold purchased in 2026 | Since 2000 |
| U.S. dollar (USD) | 112.19 mg | 7.62 mg | ▼ 93% |
| Canadian dollar (CAD)13 | 166.04 mg | 10.82 mg | ▼ 94% |
| Euro (EUR)14 | 106.58 mg | 8.69 mg | ▼ 92% |
| Japanese yen (JPY)15 | 12,140.08 mg* | 1,233.83 mg* | ▼ 90% |
| Chinese yuan (CNY)16 | 928.93 mg | 760.65 mg | ▼ 18% |
*Per 100 Japanese yen.
Verdict: Each of these currencies purchases less gold today than it did in 2000, although the degree of decline varies considerably.
What would the S&P 500 look like if priced in gold?
Investors typically measure stock market performance in dollars. But because the value of the dollar changes over time, the same index can tell a different story when measured in gold.
During some periods, stocks outperform gold and require progressively more ounces to purchase. During others, gold outperforms equities, reducing the number of ounces required.
The result is that the S&P 500 can rise in dollar terms while simultaneously becoming less expensive when measured in gold.
Want to explore the relationship in greater detail? Read our in-depth analysis of gold vs. the S&P 500 to see how stocks and gold have compared across multiple market cycles.
What’s the price of Bitcoin in gold?
Bitcoin is frequently compared with gold because both are viewed by many investors as alternatives to government-issued currencies.
| Dollar price | Gold price | |
| Bitcoin | $62,182.7017 | 15.23 ozt |
Another way to view the relationship is from gold’s perspective:
- 1 Bitcoin = 15.23 troy ounces of gold
- 1 troy ounce of gold = 0.0657 Bitcoin
Verdict: At current market prices, one Bitcoin purchases just over 15 troy ounces of gold.
What happens if you price luxury assets in gold?
Luxury assets often carry eye-catching dollar prices. Measuring them in gold provides another way to compare their value across entirely different categories of wealth.
| Asset | Dollar price | Gold price |
| Gulfstream G700 | $90,995,000 | 22,281.25 ozt |
| Bombardier Global 8000 | $81,000,000 | 19,833.79 ozt |
| Rolex Cosmograph Daytona (Platinum) | $84,600 | 20.72 ozt |
| Patek Philippe Nautilus 5811/1G-001 | $82,021 | 20.08 ozt |
Although these assets span aviation, horology, and luxury goods, expressing each price in gold places them on the same monetary scale.
Key takeaway: Has gold preserved its purchasing power?
Throughout this article, we’ve seen that many goods, services, commodities, and assets that appear dramatically more expensive in dollars require surprisingly similar—or even fewer—ounces of gold than they did decades ago.
Others have become more expensive in both dollars and gold, reflecting changes in productivity, supply, demand, or broader economic conditions.
None of this means gold prices never fluctuate. Gold’s value can rise and fall over shorter periods, just like any other traded asset. But over longer time horizons, measuring prices in gold provides a useful perspective on purchasing power that dollar prices alone cannot.
Ultimately, the question isn’t simply whether prices have gone up. It’s also whether the money used to measure those prices has changed.
Changing the unit of account changes the picture.
Boost the purchasing power of your gold with Monetary Metals
If your gold can help preserve purchasing power over time, the next question is whether it can do more than simply sit in a vault.
At Monetary Metals, you can earn additional ounces of gold by leasing your metal to qualified gold-using businesses through the Gold Yield Marketplace®.
Instead of measuring wealth solely by the dollar price of gold, you can increase the amount of gold you own over time by earning a yield on gold, paid in gold®.
To learn how your gold can generate additional ounces while remaining denominated in gold—not dollars—explore the Gold Yield Marketplace® today.
Sources:
- https://www.investing.com/currencies/xau-usd-historical-data
- https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/big-mac-index-by-country
- https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-average-price-data.htm
- https://www.cinemark.com/movie-news/articles/movie-ticket-prices-guide
- https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg&f=m
- https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS
- https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing/highlights
- https://www.investing.com/currencies/xpt-usd-historical-data
- https://www.investing.com/currencies/xpd-usd-historical-data
- https://www.investing.com/currencies/xbr-usd
- https://www.investing.com/currencies/wti-usd
- https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/land-use-land-value-tenure/farmland-value
- https://www.macrotrends.net/3326/canadian-dollar-to-usd-exchange-rate
- https://www.macrotrends.net/2548/euro-dollar-exchange-rate-historical-chart
- https://www.macrotrends.net/2550/dollar-yen-exchange-rate-historical-chart
- https://www.macrotrends.net/2575/us-dollar-yuan-exchange-rate-historical-chart
- https://www.investing.com/crypto/bitcoin
