What is the difference between real and nominal gross domestic product (GDP)? Nominal GDP is measured in dollars, whereas real GDP is a comparison to all other nation's production. Nominal GDP for a given year is measured in dollars of that year, whereas real GDP is measured in dollars of some base year. Nominal GDP is another name of net domestic product, or NDP. There is no difference between real and nominal GDP. Real GDP measures the expenditure of a nation, whereas nominal GDP measures the income accounts that make up those expenditure measures. Nominal GDP is measured in dollars, whereas real GDP is measured in terms of some consumption commodity, such as tons of coal, available in the economy right now.