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June 4, 2024 • 15 minutes
There is a lot that goes into a retirement plan. There is budgeting, investment tracking, taxes, turning savings into income, and more. Plus there are all those questions you want answered: When can I retire? How much do I need? How can I be sure I won’t run out of savings? Can I afford healthcare and travel? These are important questions and you need the best retirement planning software available.
Different retirement planning tools will do a better job with different aspects of retirement planning than others. In this article, we’ll compare how 11 of the best retirement planning tools compare to Boldin based on comments from users of the different tools.
Boldin is known as the most comprehensive online retirement planning tool available to regular people — and it holds up well against software used by professional advisors too. In professional reviews, user testimonials, and social media, users consistently point to these strengths:
The Boldin Planner puts you firmly in control and builds confidence in your financial decisions.your financial decisions.
Cost: PlannerPlus is $12 a month (billed at $144 a year) with a 14-day free trial. There is also a robust free Basic version.
Web site: www.boldin.com
Below we’ll explore how Boldin actually compares 11 other retirement planning tools and resources. Let’s start with a couple of categories of tools that have a different focus than the Boldin Planner.
Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is one of the most widely used retirement planning tools, and it does certain things genuinely well: investment tracking, fee analysis, net worth monitoring, and budgeting. If you want a single dashboard for your portfolio, it’s a strong free option.
Where Empower falls short is planning depth. It doesn’t model withdrawal sequencing, Roth conversion windows, or tax strategy across future years — the decisions that matter most in the decade around retirement. A lot of Boldin users run both tools: Empower for investment monitoring, Boldin for everything else.
Costs: Empower’s tracking and retirement planning tools are free. Its optional wealth management service charges a tiered AUM fee starting at 0.89% with a $100,000 minimum.
For a full breakdown of how these two tools compare on planning depth, Roth strategy, Social Security, and advisor access, see: Boldin vs. Empower: Which Retirement Planner Is Best for You?
Additional RoboAdvisors: Of the RoboAdvisors, people seem to like the Empower tools the best for planning, but other options may provide better pricing or an approach that you might prefer. Some popular RoboAdvisors include:
Quicken is a classic that has been improved over the years. Like Empower, Quicken has a different focus than Boldin. The Quicken tool is more focused on budgeting. While Boldin offers budgeting, they are focused on projecting spending into the future. Most budgeting tools, including Quicken’s Simplifi, are more focused on historic tracking and month to month reconciliation of cash flow.
Here is what users of both Boldin and Quicken had to say about comparing the two tools:
Dan said, “Quicken is really geared for financial tracking of transactions primarily. Boldin is for more holistic planning over your lifetime. So, Boldin has deeper and more realistic analysis and outcomes considering all the variables involved.“
Jim added, “The Quicken planer requires more guesswork than Boldin does. For example, you need to enter a tax rate in Quicken,
but Boldin automatically calculates taxes every year based on tax law or even a possible revert back to previous taxes in the near future.“
Costs: Quicken Simplifi (budgeting) is $30-48/year and Quicken Classic (more all around planning) is $48-84/year
Web site: www.Quicken.com
Additional platforms primarily focused on budgeting include:
Fidelity is a great company that offers low cost investments. However, they only offer a somewhat basic planning tool. It is good for a simple calculator, but it offers the in depth comprehensive and reliable planning that Boldin offers.
Here are a few observations from users of both tools:
Glen said, “I’ve been using Fidelity’s Retirement Analysis Tool for over 10 years and Boldin’s PlannerPlus since 2020. I have found the Boldin tool to be more flexible which allows me to do more ‘what if’ scenarios.“
Helen wrote, “I like NR much better than what fidelity offers – it is a lot more flexible. A bargain for the price I think.“
And Tim, sanity checks numbers with Fidelity, but focuses on tax planning with Boldin. He said, “Fidelity’s tool is a useful cross-check and does a subset of what Boldin does. Boldin takes into account tax planning which
Fidelity’s tool does not do. There is a fair amount of tax minimization you can do in retirement with careful planning.“
Scott wrote, “I’ve used Fidelity’s tools and multiple others for several years and the goal planner is pretty basic compared to their retirement planning tool and they both pale in comparison to Boldin’s PlannerPlus.“
Gabriela’s assessment is, “In my experience the Fidelity tool is very good but I wanted a ‘second opinion.’ I just bought the paid version of New Retirement for a sanity check and because I think is better to model the income stream during retirement. I especially like the Boldin Retirement PlannerPlus Roth conversion modeling and comparing different scenarios.“
Cost: Fidelity’s tool is free, but requires registration if you do not already have an account with Fidelity. And, depending on your asset levels, you may receive sales solicitations.
Web site: www.Fidelity.com
Of all the retirement planning software, MaxiFi is the closest to Boldin in terms of functionality. Both Planners are robust tools that can model almost any scenario.
You can get a more thorough review of Boldin vs. Maxifi, but is how an avid user of both tools describes some of the differences:
Steve says, “MaxiFi is powerful, but not very intuitive.“
And, here is Steve’s lengthy comparison of the two planners: “I am a paid user of both and like them both. Lately I’ve spent more time in Boldin’s PlannerPlus than in MaxiFi – Boldin has added lots of functionality of late and MaxiFi has also, but I’ve not studied latest. Following is just my sense for how I use the software as an individual.“
He continues, “MaxiFi is a BIG extension to ESIPlanner (I believe that to be the right name). At one time, I believe that was the highest rated Social Security Maximizer out there. MaxiFi feels like it is for making really large decisions with an aim towards specifically lifetime spendable income. So for example it handles very well moving states and changing jobs and effective tax rates etc., again using lifetime income as kind of a single metric to compare with…
“The other thing MaxiFi is big on is a smooth decumulation process with a philosophy of an equal burn down over time. You could enter known large future expenses (such as a wedding for example) and it accounts for that kind of large event. MaxiFi – at least to the extent I have used it – does not really drop into detailed budgeting, but instead says “you can safely spend $XX/mo” and its up to you to trade travel and beater (car) vs Bugatti and stay close to home…
“MaxiFi has recently added some portfolio risk capabilities that help forecast what is’ the best choice for allocating your investments (from a riskiness perspective, NOT specific investments). I have not used this because I am fortunate enough to have an income stream such that I need very little from my tax-sheltered investments and once RMDs kick in that will likely force me to w/draw more than my cash flow would require (I AM self-insuring for Long Term Care), thus I am in very low risk investments for a large part of my portfolio (but enough in the market to help shield me from ‘standard’ (vs hyper) inflation...
Boldin’s PlannerPlus is much more infinite, especially with recent additions in “Plus” for budgeting. You can get very granular in cash in/out flows, addressing mortgage/car payments, etc. Outyear expenses (Again say a wedding) can be accommodated by adjusting outflow for a time period in the future (large lump or maybe an increased flow for a period of time).
Both tools allow you to select rates of return – I think Boldin’s PlannerPlus makes recommendations based on history, MaxiFi starts with some based on Economics Theory (Kotlikoff’s personal history as a professor). I like the Monte Carlo in both tools but maybe more so in Boldin’s PlannerPlus because I rely on the 25th percentile value to give me some guidance (in the sense of how I manage my money). There are more things about Boldin’s PlannerPlus but its lower level detail.
One thing I do not believe either tool is capable of right now (although I think in MaxiFi I could ‘fool’ it into the analysis): They do not allow you to model sequence of return risk (actually I suspect I could do that in NR+ too, now that I think about it). Nor do they directly allow for fluctuations in inflation or taxes (maybe you think inflation will go negative but taxes will go up 25% next year for 7 years, then back down).“
Cost: The cost for MaxiFi is $149 a year for their premium product. $109 for the standard version.
Web site: www.MaxiFi.com
Additional comparisons:
Will Your Savings Last? Get a Clear Retirement Projection.
There are many different tools that financial advisors use to help determine strategies for clients. Below is a rundown of the most popular.
Boldin is available to anyone. Right Capital is a professional tool used by financial advisors. And, only sometimes can clients get access to the software. One user of both tools, Scott, says, “Right Capital is a gold standard.” However, he quickly added, “Boldin is getting closer all the time.”
Costs: Right Capital is only available through a financial advisor.
EMoney is another planning tool used by financial advisors. But, according to users, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is more powerful than Boldin.
James wrote, “I think you’ll find that Boldin’s input fields are more comprehensive, but eMoney’s outputs are more detailed.“
Cost: The EMoney software is available through advisors.
MoneyGuide Pro is also primarily a tool for financial advisors. However, if you are paying for an advisor, they may be able to give you access to MoneyGuide Pro.
So, how do the tools compare? You may be surprised to know that users of both tools think that Boldin is competitive with MoneyGuide Pro.
Here is what a people who have had access to both tools have to say:
Dan said, “So, how does Boldin compare to thousands of dollars per seat licenses for professional planning software such as MoneyGuide Pro? The answer is amazingly well.”
Matthew wrote, “MoneyGuidePro has some UX advantages, but Boldin is ultimately competitive and IMHO more comprehensive in certain aspects.“
Cost: MoneyGuide Pro is only available through a financial advisor.
Many people use financial planning software to replace their advisor. And some people use tools like Boldin to help them understand and double check the advice they get from the planning professionals.
There are many pros and cons to traditional financial advice. A good advisor can be incredibly reassuring. They know the different angles inside and out and can more intuitively see opportunities. However:
Furthermore, it can be difficult to find an advisor that 1) understands your values and 2) offers comprehensive planning beyond advice about savings and investments.
Costs: Depending on the type of advice and service, using a financial advisor can cost thousands each year.
For a set of free tools, FireCalc offers some interesting modeling. However, some may find it a little wonky and esoteric. It is not necessarily for people who don’t have a lot of experience with retirement planning.
FireCalc is a one page interface. It asks some questions and gives you a chart that shows you hundreds of different possible outcomes.
It may look confusing, but their site suggests, “Don’t try to follow any individual line — with most scenarios, there are just too many of them. But if you look at the mass of lines, and the zero axis, you can get a clear visual representation of how frequently your strategy would have failed (dropped below zero) or succeeded. The objective of presenting the information this way is to allow you to get a “big picture” sense of the way your strategy would have performed historically.“
FireCalc doesn’t save data, so you enter your information each time. Some Boldin users periodically compare their Boldin projections that they maintain over time to those seen in FireCalc to get a different perspective.
Cost: FireCalc is a free online calculator
Web site: www.FireCalc.com
Both Boldin and Pralana Gold are very powerful and detailed planning tools designed for use by regular people. The real difference between the two is the interface.
If you like spreadsheets, then Pralana Gold may be the best tool for you. It is a guided experience through a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. They also offer lengthy documentation to help you understand how to use the tool.
Boldin on the other hand is a web-based experience with built-in guidance. There is in-app help, a searchable help center plus live and recorded classes to help increase your financial know how.
Cost: Pralana Gold costs $99 a year
Web site: pralanaretirementcalculator.com/
Projection Lab is a newer tool and they are rapidly adding functionality.
Users say like Mark say, “It has a lot of potential, but has a ways to go IMHO. I could not understand why it was doing with the two entries for gain and dividends. My mutual funds do not work that way.“
Valery likes Projection Lab. He says, “Lots to like including custom withdrawal order, history based simulation and other rather wide range of options.“
Projection Lab promotes their chance of success score (similar to the Monte Carlo analysis that Boldin offers), tax analysis (similar to Boldin), and cash flow (they use Sankey diagrams).
A lot of people like Projection Lab. It has an engaging interface. However, overall it is a more limited set of functionality than Boldin.
Cost: Projection Lab is $9 a month, billed annually at $108 plus tax
Web site: www.ProjectionLab.com
Additional comparison: Get an in depth comparison of Boldin vs. Projection Lab from Modest Money.
OnTrajectory is a well respected tool. J.D. Roth of the blog Get Rich Slowly had this to say, “Boldin is still my favorite tool, but OnTrajectory is damn close.”
The OnTrajectory tool is free, but their business model is to connect you with an advisor to get questions answered.
Boldin can also match you to a plan coach or a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER for advice. They also offer classes and excellent product support, providing a more flexible and supportive environment.
Cost: OnTrajectory is free. However, they would like to connect you to an advisor to sell you advisory services.
Web site: www.OnTrajectory.com
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