How Much Did the IBM PC Cost in 1981?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The IBM PC price started at $1,565 when it was released on August 12, 1981. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $5,713 in September 2026 money, roughly 3.7 times the original price.
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IBM Personal Computer at a glance
- US launch price
- $1,565
- In today’s money
- ≈ $5,713August 1981 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- August 12, 1981
- Where it was designed
- Boca Raton, United StatesDeveloped by a small IBM team in Boca Raton, Florida, not at IBM's New York headquarters.
- 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 the $1,565 IBM PC included
The starting price bought 16 KB of memory, a colour graphics card and a keyboard, but no disk drives. Owners could save programs on cassette tape instead. Adding floppy drives, more memory and a monitor raised the price considerably.
For comparison, the Datamaster, announced two weeks earlier as IBM’s cheapest computer, cost $10,000.
The IBM PC price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 1981. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original IBM PC price of $1,565 works out at about $5,713 in September 2026 money, around 3.7 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what the IBM PC sells for second-hand.
Where was the IBM PC developed?
Not at IBM’s New York headquarters. A small team of engineers in Boca Raton, Florida, led by William C. Lowe and Philip Don Estridge, built it quickly using an Intel 8088 processor and parts from other companies.
IBM PC facts you might not know
- Before it launched, one analyst said that IBM making a personal computer would be “like teaching an elephant to tap dance”.
- Its open design meant other companies could make compatible machines, which created the “IBM PC compatible” standard most computers still follow.
- By 1984 IBM’s revenue from the PC market was $4 billion, more than twice Apple’s.
Frequently asked questions
How much did the first IBM PC cost?
The IBM PC started at $1,565 when it was released on August 12, 1981. That version had 16 KB of memory and no disk drives.
How much is $1,565 from 1981 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the IBM PC’s starting price is about $5,713 in September 2026 money.
Where was the IBM PC made?
It was developed by an IBM team in Boca Raton, Florida.
Want to compare the IBM PC price with other launch prices? See what the original Macintosh 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.
- Newspaper report: The Christian Science Monitor, “IBM unveils new home computer line” (13 August 1981)
- Company archive: IBM History, The IBM PC
- Wikipedia: IBM Personal Computer
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)