How Much Did the Cray-1 Supercomputer Cost?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The Cray-1 price was about $7.9 million in 1977, when Cray Research began selling the world’s fastest computer. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $47.6 million in September 2026 money, roughly 6.0 times the original price.
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Cray-1 supercomputer at a glance
- US launch price
- $7.9 million
- In today’s money
- ≈ $47.6 millionMarch 1976 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- March 1, 1976
- Where it was designed
- Chippewa Falls, United StatesDesigned by Seymour Cray's team at Cray Research in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
- Category
- Big purchases
- 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 $7.9 million buy?
The Cray-1 was a supercomputer for weather forecasting, nuclear research and code-breaking. Cray Research expected to sell only about a dozen, and priced them between $5 million and $8 million.
The first official customer, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, paid $8.86 million in 1977 for serial number 3. That included $1 million for disk drives.
The Cray-1 price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 1977. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original Cray-1 price of $7.9 million works out at about $47.6 million in September 2026 money, around 6.0 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what a Cray-1 sells for second-hand.
Who bought the first Cray-1?
Serial number 001 went to Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in 1976 for a six-month trial. The US National Security Agency also bought one for code-breaking research.
Where was the Cray-1 made?
Seymour Cray and a small team of former Control Data engineers designed it in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Chippewa Falls was Seymour Cray’s home town, and work began on land he owned there.
Cray-1 facts you might not know
- Its C-shaped tower was ringed by a padded bench that hid the power supplies, so people joked it was the world’s most expensive loveseat.
- Cray boasted that its power supply was unregulated. The load was so evenly balanced that the whole computer looked to the supply like one simple resistor.
- Its curved shape kept the wires inside short, which helped it run faster.
Frequently asked questions
How much did a Cray-1 cost?
The Cray-1 cost about $7.9 million in 1977. Prices ranged from about $5 million to $8 million depending on the setup.
How much is $7.9 million from 1977 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the Cray-1’s $7.9 million price is about $47.6 million in September 2026 money.
Who bought the first Cray-1?
Los Alamos National Laboratory received the first one in 1976 for a trial. The first full sale was to the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1977.
Where was the Cray-1 designed?
In Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, by Seymour Cray’s company, Cray Research.
Want to compare the Cray-1 price with other launch prices? See what the IBM PC 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.