How Much Did the Compaq Portable Cost in 1983?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The Compaq Portable price was $2,995 when it first shipped in March 1983. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $10,308 in September 2026 money, roughly 3.4 times the original price.
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Compaq Portable at a glance
- US launch price
- $2,995
- In today’s money
- ≈ $10,308March 1983 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- March 1, 1983
- Where the company was based
- Houston, United StatesCompaq’s first product. The company was founded in 1982 in Houston, Texas, by three former Texas Instruments managers.
- Category
- Gaming & tech
- Price source
- en.wikipedia.org
Today’s price is the US launch price adjusted for US inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing the launch month with the latest published month. It updates automatically as new figures come out.
What did $2,995 buy?
For $2,995 you got the Compaq Portable with one 360KB floppy disk drive. A version with two drives cost $3,590. It had 128KB of memory and a small built-in screen.
It weighed 28lb (13kg) and folded into a case the size of a portable sewing machine. It had no battery, so it had to be plugged in, but it was designed to fit as carry-on luggage on a plane.
The Compaq Portable price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 1983. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original Compaq Portable price of $2,995 works out at about $10,308 in September 2026 money, around 3.4 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what the Compaq Portable sells for second-hand.
When was the Compaq Portable released?
- Announced: November 1982
- First shipped: March 1983
- Portable Plus with a hard disk: 1984
Who made the Compaq Portable?
It was the first product of Compaq Computer Corporation, founded on February 16, 1982, by Rod Canion, Jim Harris and Bill Murto, three senior managers from Texas Instruments. Each put in $1,000 to start the company, which was first called Gateway Technology.
Why the Compaq Portable mattered
It was one of the first computers that could run IBM PC software. Compaq wrote its own BIOS from scratch in a “clean room” so that it would work like IBM’s without copying IBM’s code. Few rivals managed the same near-perfect compatibility.
Compaq sold 53,000 in the first year, earning $111 million, an American business record. IBM answered with its own IBM Portable PC.
Compaq Portable facts you might not know
- When Lotus founder Mitch Kapor saw it running Lotus 1-2-3 in both text and graphics modes, he stopped the demonstration to say how amazed he was.
- An engineer joked that it fitted under an aeroplane seat, as long as nobody too heavy sat above it.
- Its foam-and-foil keyboard pads break down over time, so many surviving machines need repairs.
Frequently asked questions
How much did the Compaq Portable cost?
The Compaq Portable cost $2,995 with one floppy drive, or $3,590 with two, when it shipped in March 1983.
How much is $2,995 from 1983 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the Compaq Portable’s $2,995 price is about $10,308 in September 2026 money.
How heavy was the Compaq Portable?
It weighed 28lb (13kg).
Was the Compaq Portable IBM compatible?
Yes. It was one of the first IBM PC compatibles, using a BIOS Compaq wrote from scratch.
Want to compare the Compaq Portable price with other launch prices? See what the Apple Newton cost, browse more famous launch prices, or play this question in Price Time Machine.
Sources
Launch prices and dates are checked against the sources below. Today’s price is calculated from official US inflation data and updates automatically when new figures are published.
- Wikipedia: Compaq Portable
- Wikipedia: Compaq
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)
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