How Much Did a Rubik’s Cube Cost in 1980?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The Rubik’s Cube price was about $1.99 when it went on sale in the United States in 1980. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $8.20 in September 2026 money, roughly 4.1 times the original price.
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Rubik's Cube at a glance
- US launch price
- $1.99
- In today’s money
- ≈ $8.20May 1980 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- May 1, 1980
- Where it was invented
- Budapest, HungaryInvented by Ernő Rubik, a design lecturer in Budapest, Hungary, in 1974. It reached the US in 1980.
- Category
- Toys & childhood
- Price source
- firstversions.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.
From “Magic Cube” to world craze
It began as the “Magic Cube” (bűvös kocka) in Hungary. Its inventor licensed it to Pentangle Puzzles in the UK in 1978, then to the American company Ideal Toy Corp, which launched it internationally in 1980 as the Rubik’s Cube. It won a special award for best puzzle at the 1980 German Game of the Year awards.
The Rubik’s Cube price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 1980. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original Rubik’s Cube price of $1.99 works out at about $8.20 in September 2026 money, around 4.1 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what the Rubik’s Cube sells for second-hand.
Where was the Rubik’s Cube invented?
In Budapest, Hungary. Ernő Rubik, a sculptor and professor of architecture, invented it in 1974.
Rubik’s Cube facts you might not know
- Ernő Rubik reportedly took more than a month to solve his own puzzle for the first time.
- About 500 million cubes had been sold by January 2024, making it the world’s best-selling puzzle and toy.
- On early cubes the colours were arranged differently from cube to cube. The standard layout, with white opposite yellow, dates from 1988.
- It entered the US National Toy Hall of Fame in 2014, and Spin Master bought the brand for $50 million in 2020.
Frequently asked questions
How much was a Rubik’s Cube in 1980?
A Rubik’s Cube cost about $1.99 when it went on sale in the United States in 1980.
How much is $1.99 from 1980 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the Rubik’s Cube’s 1980 price is about $8.20 in September 2026 money.
Who invented the Rubik’s Cube?
Ernő Rubik, a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, invented it in Budapest in 1974.
Want to compare the Rubik’s Cube price with other launch prices? See what the Sony Walkman 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.
- First Versions: Rubik’s Cube
- Wikipedia: Rubik’s Cube
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)
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