How Much Did the Original iPod Cost in 2001?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The original iPod price was $399 when Apple’s first iPod went on sale in the United States on November 10, 2001. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $757.83 in September 2026 money, roughly 1.9 times the original price.
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Apple iPod at a glance
- US launch price
- $399
- In today’s money
- ≈ $757.83November 2001 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- November 10, 2001
- Where it was designed
- Cupertino, United StatesDesigned by Apple in Cupertino, California.
- Category
- Gaming & tech
- Price source
- apple.com
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 $399 buy in 2001?
Apple promised “1,000 songs in your pocket”. The first iPod had a 5 GB hard drive, a black-and-white screen, a scroll wheel and a battery that lasted about 10 hours. It weighed 6.5 ounces and connected to a Mac with a FireWire cable that could copy a whole CD in seconds.
Many people thought $399 was far too much for a music player, and at first it only worked with Macs. A Windows version followed in July 2002, and sales took off.
The original iPod price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 2001. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original iPod price of $399 works out at about $757.83 in September 2026 money, around 1.9 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what a first-generation iPod sells for second-hand.
When was the iPod released?
- Announced: October 23, 2001, at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California
- On sale in the US: November 10, 2001
How the iPod was built so quickly
Apple went from idea to shop shelves in less than a year. The key was a tiny 1.8-inch hard drive that Toshiba had made but did not know what to use for. Apple’s hardware chief Jon Rubinstein saw it on a trip to Japan and bought the supply.
Apple hired Tony Fadell, an engineer who had been trying to build a digital music player, to lead the project. The name came from a freelance copywriter, Vinnie Chieco, who was reminded of the pods in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
iPod facts you might not know
- It was announced just six weeks after the September 11 attacks, and Apple held the launch at its own offices rather than at a big event.
- A famous early review on the tech site Slashdot dismissed it as: “No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.”
- Apple sold around 450 million iPods of all kinds before it stopped making the last one, the iPod touch, in 2022.
Frequently asked questions
How much was the first iPod?
The first iPod cost $399 in the United States when it went on sale on November 10, 2001.
How much is $399 from 2001 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the original iPod’s $399 price is about $757.83 in September 2026 money.
How many songs did the first iPod hold?
Apple said its 5 GB hard drive held about 1,000 songs.
Did the first iPod work with Windows?
Not at launch. It worked only with Macs until a Windows version arrived in July 2002.
Want to compare the original iPod price with similar launches? See what the Sony Walkman, the iPhone, the Microsoft Zune and the iPad cost, browse more famous launch prices, or play the iPod 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.
- Apple Newsroom: Apple Presents iPod (October 23, 2001)
- Wikipedia: iPod Classic
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)