ROUNDUP · 2026
Best Retirement Planning Software 2026: DIY, Advisor-Grade, Free Tools
Every major retirement planning tool organized by tier — free, DIY subscription, academic, and advisor-grade. No affiliate links, no sponsored rankings.
Free Tools
Free retirement calculators with no subscription. Sufficient for most planners.
EnoughMoney (public calculators)
FIRE calculator, Roth planner, tax calculator, city comparison — all free, no signup. Unique: 307 cities and 86 countries in tax scope.
FIRECalc
Historical-returns FIRE backtester, free, from 2002. Gold standard for US historical data sanity checks.
cFIREsim
Open-source Monte Carlo + historical FIRE simulator. Highly customizable.
Empower (Personal Capital)
Best-in-class portfolio aggregation + basic retirement planner. Primary business is AUM sales.
Fidelity Retirement Tools
Free retirement planner for Fidelity customers. Integrated with accounts; US-only.
SmartAsset
Simple free retirement calculators. Primary business is advisor-match lead generation.
DIY Subscription ($8-18/mo)
Paid tools aimed at DIY planners who want saved scenarios, advanced modeling, and premium UX.
EnoughMoney Navigator
The money dimension — personal CFO: FIRE planning, tax-aware drawdown, international tax (86 countries), Roth ladder, lifestyle simulator. $19/mo or $15/mo annual.
ProjectionLab
Best Monte Carlo UX in the category. Strong for visual scenario-building. US-centric.
Boldin (formerly NewRetirement)
Deep US retirement income planning, Social Security and Medicare modeling.
OnTrajectory
Approachable visual life-plan timeline. Good onboarding, lighter tax modeling.
Academic / Complex Tax ($149-249/yr)
Rigorous tools for planners with complex tax situations or a preference for academic depth.
MaxiFi Planner
Economics-based consumption smoothing (Kotlikoff). Different philosophy than FIRE / SWR.
EnoughMoney Architect
All 10 dimensions of a wealthy life — Navigator plus Studio (daily life-design ritual), Thread (daily coaching relationship), life-events planning, emotional-resilience coaching. $29/mo or $23/mo annual.
Advisor-Grade (Through CFP)
Professional planning software available only through a financial advisor relationship.
RightCapital
Advisor-grade software: retirement, tax, estate, insurance. Only accessible via your advisor.
How to Choose
Step 1: Start with free tools. EnoughMoney's public calculators + FIRECalc or cFIREsim can handle 80% of planning for free. Run your numbers in 2-3 independent tools — if they agree, you have a solid baseline.
Step 2: Add a paid tier only if you hit their limits. Saving scenarios, modeling complex Roth conversions, or planning international moves justify paid tools (EnoughMoney Navigator, ProjectionLab, Boldin) in that order of priority for most FIRE planners.
Step 3: Hire an advisor only if your situation is genuinely complex (HNW estate planning, business exit, complex insurance/annuity decisions). A good advisor on RightCapital or eMoney is worth the 0.5-1% AUM fee for those situations, not for simple accumulation.
Start with EnoughMoney — free
All public calculators free, no signup. If you want scenario saving, the lifestyle simulator, or AI coaching, Navigator is $19/mo ($15/mo annual) — with a 14-day free trial.
Feature descriptions reflect publicly-available documentation as of April 2026. EnoughMoney has no affiliate relationships with any tool listed.