Best Retirement Planning Software in 2026

Boldin models retirement scenarios. Empower tracks accounts, with optional AUM. Monarch is a paid household budget and net-worth app. PortfolioPilot is an RIA with hybrid-AI recs. ProjectionLab is a manual tax and Monte Carlo simulator. MaxiFi computes a living standard. WealthFluent is for self-directed investors who want the plan, a cross-account optimizer, and Magpie — not just a scenario tool.

There is no single “best.” The tools Google already names do different jobs. This page maps the job, then the product. It is a comparison, not a ranking and not a verdict. Prices and plan names change. Check theirs, and check ours. WealthFluent is not a financial advisor. Nothing here is advice or a recommendation.

For a deeper three-product read (planning vs aggregation vs plan-plus-portfolio), see WealthFluent vs Boldin vs Empower. For a free date-and-range sketch, use the When can I retire? calculator.

How to choose: pick the job first

Most 2026 “best of” lists treat retirement software as one category. It is at least four.

1. Retirement scenario math — will the plan hold; Social Security timing; Roth conversion paths; spend. That is Boldin’s center of gravity (it was NewRetirement). ProjectionLab and MaxiFi also live here, with different engines.
2. See the accounts — net worth, spending, allocation in one dashboard. That is Empower’s free product (it was Personal Capital). Monarch is the paid version of this job: household budget, cash flow, goals, and (on Plus) net-worth forecasting.
3. Someone else runs the money — AUM wealth management. Empower’s paid path. A different contract from software.
4. Plan, then move the portfolio toward it — whole balance sheet, a lifetime plan that produces an investable benchmark, recommended trades across the accounts you already own, and an AI that already has that file. That is WealthFluent.

If you only need job 1, buy a scenario planner. If you only need job 2, use a free dashboard. If you want job 4, a scenario tool alone will not close the gap.

At a glance

Web and the Apple App Store for WealthFluent. There is no Google Play listing to claim. App Store billing can differ from the web prices above — that is intentional, not a mismatch to “fix.”

Who each is for

Choose Boldin if…

Your question is a retirement-plan question. Will the plan hold. What if I delay Social Security. What if I convert to Roth this year. What if spending changes. Boldin is built for that modeling. PlannerPlus is $144 a year — the same annual list price as WealthFluent Premium.

That price comparison is honest only if you need the same job. Boldin is not trying to be a whole-balance-sheet operating system with a cross-account optimizer. If that is what you need, $144 at Boldin and $144 at WealthFluent buy different machines. Dedicated line-by-line: WealthFluent vs Boldin vs Empower.

Choose Empower if…

You want a free place to see accounts, spending, and net worth, and you are fine with a dashboard that is also a front door to AUM advice. Empower is good at aggregation. That is a real job. It is not the same job as building a lifetime plan and then generating the trades that move the portfolio toward it, across every account you own, while you stay in control.

If you want someone else to manage the portfolio, Empower’s wealth-management offering is built for that. You will pay a percent of assets. On $500K, the 0.89% figure we show on our pricing page is about $4,450 a year. Confirm their current schedule and minimums before you treat that as a quote.

Choose Monarch if…

You want a household money app: budgets, transactions, net worth, goals, and a partner on the same picture. That is a real job. Core is commonly $99.99 a year. Plus is $199 a year and adds Forecasting — a net-worth path that can include a retirement event. Confirm live. Dedicated line-by-line: WealthFluent vs Monarch.

Monarch is not Boldin, and it is not WealthFluent. It will not run Social Security / Roth explorers the way Boldin does. It will not output recommended trades across the 401(k), the old rollover, and taxable, and it is not Magpie on a lifetime plan. Plenty of households keep Monarch for the month and run a planner or WealthFluent for the decades.

Choose PortfolioPilot if…

You want hybrid-AI portfolio tools and personalized recs from an RIA (Global Predictions Inc.). Free, then Gold commonly ~$20/month billed annually. Confirm live. WealthFluent is DIY software, not an RIA; Magpie is not an advisor. Dedicated line-by-line: WealthFluent vs PortfolioPilot.

Choose ProjectionLab if…

You want to type a rich plan and stress-test it: Monte Carlo, historical backtests, year-by-year tax estimates, Roth conversion and withdrawal-order experiments, FIRE-style what-ifs. You do not want to link bank or brokerage logins. ProjectionLab is a simulator you feed. Premium is $129 a year on their current public pricing. Dedicated line-by-line: WealthFluent vs ProjectionLab.

It will not recommend the specific lots to sell in the old 401(k) versus the taxable account you actually hold. That is a different product.

Considering a human advisor instead of software?

That is a different job. The 1% AUM fee math lives on WealthFluent vs a 1% Advisor. The firm (registration, Form ADV, fiduciary contract) is WealthFluent vs RIA. The credential (CFP Board mark, not a license) is WealthFluent vs CFP. Software is not a substitute for a fiduciary on the hook.

Choose MaxiFi if…

You want an economics-based living standard — how much you can spend for life, with Social Security timing and tax-efficient withdrawals — rather than a brokerage dashboard or a trade list. MaxiFi’s public materials describe consumption-smoothing algorithms from economist Laurence Kotlikoff. Standard is $109 a year; the Roth Conversion Optimizer and Living Standard Monte Carlo sit on Premium at $149. Confirm live.

MaxiFi is a planning engine. It is not Magpie, and it is not a cross-account portfolio optimizer.

Choose WealthFluent if…

You are self-directed. You want assets and liabilities in one place. You want a lifetime plan that produces a personalized benchmark — not a risk bucket. You want to simulate a change, then see recommended trades across the 401(k), the old rollover, the IRAs, and taxable. And you want to ask an AI that already has that file.

We founded WealthFluent in 2020 in Edwards, Colorado. David J. Kon (CEO), Dr. Stanley J. Kon (Chairman), and Joshua P. Kon (CTO). Frank J. Fabozzi, PhD, sits on the advisory board.

On the optimizer and assist tools, Fabozzi has said: “Say goodbye to spreadsheets! WealthFluent’s unique product combines electronic access to fundamental security data with all your assets and liabilities and a set of tools for managing customized portfolios. Enormous productivity is achieved with its Optimizer and Assist tools for wealth portfolio management.”

Also named in 2026 roundups: Quicken Simplifi, Copilot

Some “best retirement software” lists include Quicken Simplifi. Treat it as a money-management app with a retirement-planner module (a projection with a basic and an advanced set of inputs), not as a dedicated retirement operating system. It can track accounts and sketch a savings path. It is not Boldin’s scenario depth, MaxiFi’s living-standard math, or WealthFluent’s plan-plus-optimizer-plus-Magpie stack. Check their current subscription if that is the job you actually have. Copilot Money is the other Mint-class tracker that shows up next to Monarch. Same job family: spend and net worth, not a retirement OS. We do not give it a table row.

Alternatives to Boldin

People search “alternatives to Boldin” when PlannerPlus is the right shape (DIY, ~$100–$150 a year, retirement math) and they want a second opinion — or a different machine.

If you want another scenario planner, not a Boldin clone

• ProjectionLab — manual, privacy-first Monte Carlo and tax simulation. Often compared head-to-head with Boldin for FIRE and what-if work. $129/year Premium on their current public pricing.
• MaxiFi — living-standard / consumption-smoothing math, Social Security and tax-efficient withdrawals. $109–$149/year on the consumer tiers we list above.

If you want tracking or a household budget instead of a paid planner

• Empower — the free dashboard. Use it for balances. Do not confuse it with PlannerPlus.
• Monarch — paid budget + net worth + household. Plus adds forecasting. Still not a Boldin clone, and not a trade optimizer.

If you want plan + portfolio action — not a Boldin clone

• WealthFluent — the alternative when the missing piece is not another Roth-conversion explorer. It is the books, a lifetime plan that produces an investable benchmark, recommended trades across accounts, and Magpie on that file. Premium is $144/year — the same list price as PlannerPlus, a different job.

Some households reasonably keep Boldin for Social Security and Roth-path modeling and run WealthFluent for the optimizer and Magpie. We do not need you to delete Boldin. We need the job we actually do to be the one you came for.

Same-price detail and the Empower AUM contrast live on WealthFluent vs Boldin vs Empower.

The Magpie wedge: your Roth, not a Roth

Generic AI can explain a Roth. Magpie can explain yours.

That is the difference versus ChatGPT, and it is the difference versus an AI that only knows the plan you typed in.

Magpie is connected to the accounts, goals, liabilities, and personalized benchmark you already keep in WealthFluent. It answers with share counts, dollar amounts, and real allocations. It is hosted on Amazon Bedrock. Inputs are not used for training, not stored persistently, and do not leave Bedrock to reach the underlying model provider.

Magpie is not a financial advisor. It informs and educates. It does not trade.

The product URL is wealthfluent.com/financial-intelligence/. Do not use /meet-magpie/ — that is a stale beta announcement.

Boldin has its own AI on the plan. ProjectionLab and MaxiFi are engines you operate. Empower’s dashboard is not Magpie. If the question you care about is “given my accounts and my liabilities, what is true,” that is the Magpie job.

What you actually get on WealthFluent

If you are comparing line items, this is the stack — not a feature dump.

1. Account aggregation — assets and liabilities, read-only.
2. Financial Wellness Score — plus debt-health and related scores on current plans.
3. Lifetime Wealth Planning — milestones, probability distributions, a personalized benchmark. The free When can I retire? calculator is the short front door to that question.
4. Portfolio Optimization — simulate, then recommended trades. The AI Portfolio Optimizer works across accounts, with tax-aware placement. You execute.
5. Magpie — on your actual file. Financial Intelligence (Magpie Companion + optimizer) is Premium and Lifetime.

Essentials is $15/month or about $72/year: planning and scores, with a Magpie AI Assistant listed on pricing. Premium adds the optimizer, Magpie Companion, and spouse/partner login. Lifetime is Premium, paid once.

Price, without the slide-deck voice

AUM fees are not a moral failing. They are a different contract: someone else manages the money, and the fee scales with the pot. A subscription is a software contract. It does not scale with your net worth.

Using figures we publish on wealthfluent.com/pricing/ and the vendors’ public pages as of August 25, 2026:

WealthFluent Lifetime is $1,200 once, with a 60-day money-back guarantee. Premium stays $144 a year as the portfolio grows. The software does not get more expensive because you did the job.

Apple App Store in-app prices for WealthFluent can differ from these web prices. Disclose that if you shop on iOS; do not treat it as an error.

Advisory schedules and software list prices change. Confirm Empower, Boldin, ProjectionLab, MaxiFi, and our pricing page before you decide.

FAQ

What is the best retirement planning software in 2026?

There isn’t one. Match the tool to the job. Boldin (formerly NewRetirement) is a retirement scenario planner — Social Security, Roth paths, “does this plan hold.” Empower is a free account dashboard, with optional AUM wealth management. Monarch is a paid household budget and net-worth app (Plus adds forecasting). ProjectionLab is a manual Monte Carlo and tax simulator you do not have to link. MaxiFi computes a sustainable living standard. WealthFluent is for self-directed investors who want the lifetime plan, a cross-account portfolio optimizer, and Magpie on the actual books — not only another scenario tool. Quicken Simplifi is a money app with a retirement-planner module, not a dedicated retirement OS.

What are good alternatives to Boldin?

If you want another scenario planner, look at ProjectionLab (manual, privacy-first, $129/year Premium on their current public pricing) or MaxiFi (living-standard math, $109–$149/year on the consumer tiers above). If you want free tracking, use Empower’s dashboard. If you want plan plus portfolio action plus an AI that already has your file — not a Boldin clone — that is WealthFluent Premium at $144/year, the same list price as PlannerPlus. Some households use Boldin and WealthFluent together.

Is WealthFluent an alternative to Boldin?

Yes, when the job is bigger than retirement scenarios. Boldin is built for plan math. WealthFluent is a personalized financial decision platform: assets and liabilities, Lifetime Wealth Planning, recommended trades across accounts, and Magpie. Both list about $144 a year at the paid-software tier. Same price, different machine. It is not a Boldin clone, and it does not replace Boldin’s Social Security / Roth explorers feature-for-feature. Read the table. A longer three-way sit-down is on WealthFluent vs Boldin vs Empower.

Does Empower’s free dashboard replace a paid retirement planner?

No. Aggregation is necessary and not sufficient. A dashboard that shows the accounts is not a lifetime plan with a personalized benchmark, and it is not a cross-account optimizer that outputs trades you can execute. Empower’s paid path is advice and management (AUM), not a DIY optimizer. Plenty of people keep the free dashboard and run a planner or WealthFluent.

Is Monarch retirement planning software?

No. Monarch is a household money app: budget, transactions, net worth, goals. Plus Forecasting can sketch a retire date and life events on your synced accounts. That is still not Boldin’s Social Security / Roth math, and it is not WealthFluent’s plan-plus-optimizer-plus-Magpie stack. Confirm Core (~$100/year) and Plus (~$199/year) on their site.

How much does retirement planning software cost in 2026?

The paid DIY tier in this set clusters around $109–$149 a year: ProjectionLab Premium $129, MaxiFi Standard/Premium $109/$149, Boldin PlannerPlus $144, WealthFluent Premium $144 (Essentials about $72; Lifetime $1,200 once). Empower’s dashboard is free; their wealth management is AUM. Monarch Core/Plus cluster around $100 / $199 a year for budget and forecasting, not a DIY optimizer. Confirm each vendor. WealthFluent web prices can differ from Apple App Store IAP.

Can I use more than one of these tools?

Yes. A common stack is Empower (or similar) for balances, a scenario planner for Social Security and Roth paths, and WealthFluent for the optimizer and Magpie. We don’t need you to delete the others. We need the job we actually do to be the one you came for.

Is this financial advice?

No. WealthFluent is not a financial advisor. Magpie is not a financial advisor. Boldin, Empower, ProjectionLab, MaxiFi, and Quicken have their own disclosures; read them. This page is information for a buying decision about software, not about securities.

Start a 14-day free trial

If the job is your whole file — plan, books, and the trades that close the gap — start there. If the job is retirement scenarios, evaluate Boldin, ProjectionLab, or MaxiFi on their sites. If the job is a free dashboard or a human manager, use Empower.

Start your free trial · When can I retire? (free calculator) · Pricing · Financial Intelligence / Magpie · vs Boldin vs Empower

Disclosure

WealthFluent is not a financial advisor and does not provide investment advice. Magpie is not a financial advisor. Platform analytics and AI output are tools for informed decision-making. They are not recommendations. Competitor features and fees are summarized from publicly stated terms on each firm’s site and from the comparison on our pricing page, checked August 25, 2026. They change. Verify on each firm’s site before you buy. This page is for information only. Do your own research. Consider a qualified professional before you make financial decisions.

Page copy dated August 25, 2026.