How Much Did the First Macintosh Cost in 1984?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The original Macintosh price was $2,495 when it went on sale on January 24, 1984. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $8,250 in September 2026 money, roughly 3.3 times the original price.
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Apple Macintosh (128K) at a glance
- US launch price
- $2,495
- In today’s money
- ≈ $8,250January 1984 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- January 24, 1984
- Where it was designed
- Cupertino, United StatesDesigned by Apple's Macintosh team in Cupertino, California.
- 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.
The “first $2,500 impulse item”
Two days before it went on sale, Apple introduced the Macintosh with the “1984” television advert, directed by Ridley Scott and shown during Super Bowl XVIII. The advert cost $1.5 million.
Sales were strong: 70,000 had been sold by May 3, 1984, and one dealer called it “the first $2,500 impulse item”. Apple also ran a “Test Drive a Macintosh” offer that let buyers take one home for 24 hours. Extras were expensive, though: a second floppy drive cost $495 and a numeric keypad $99.
The original Macintosh price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 1984. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original original Macintosh price of $2,495 works out at about $8,250 in September 2026 money, around 3.3 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what the Macintosh sells for second-hand.
Where was the Macintosh designed?
Apple’s Macintosh team designed it in Cupertino, California. It was later renamed the Macintosh 128K when the Macintosh 512K, with more memory, replaced it.
Macintosh facts you might not know
- It was the first successful mass-market all-in-one computer with a graphical interface, a built-in screen and a mouse.
- Everything sat in one beige case with a 9-inch black-and-white screen and a handle on top.
- It had a single 400 KB floppy disk drive and no hard drive.
- It helped make desktop publishing an everyday office job.
Frequently asked questions
How much did the first Mac cost in 1984?
The original Apple Macintosh cost $2,495 when it went on sale on January 24, 1984.
How much is $2,495 from 1984 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the Macintosh launch price is about $8,250 in September 2026 money.
Who directed the Macintosh “1984” advert?
Ridley Scott directed it. It aired during Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984.
Want to compare the original Macintosh price with other launch prices? See what the Apple II 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.
- Press release: Apple, “Apple Introduces Macintosh Advanced Personal Computer” (24 January 1984), transcribed by Stanford University Libraries
- Wikipedia: Macintosh 128K
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)