WealthFluent vs ProjectionLab (2026)

ProjectionLab is a manual Monte Carlo, tax, and FIRE / lifetime simulator. You type the plan. They market not linking bank or brokerage logins as a feature. WealthFluent is for self-directed investors: assets and liabilities, Lifetime Wealth Planning that produces an investable benchmark, a cross-account AI Portfolio Optimizer (you approve the trades; no custody), and Magpie on the connected file.

This page is a comparison, 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.

ProjectionLab is not a household budget app (that is Monarch). It is not a free dashboard-plus-AUM funnel (that is Empower). It is not Boldin’s Social Security / claiming-first planner (that is Boldin). It is not a human RIA firm (that is WealthFluent vs RIA). It is not a CFP credential (that is WealthFluent vs CFP). For the three-product sit-down (planner vs dashboard vs plan-plus-portfolio), see WealthFluent vs Boldin vs Empower. For the category map, see Best retirement planning software.

Different jobs, overlapping roundups

People land on this page because both products show up in “retirement planning software” lists. That overlap is real. The job after the simulation is not.

ProjectionLab is built for the model you type: balances, cash flows, tax settings, strategies. Monte Carlo. Historical backtests. Year-by-year tax estimates. Roth conversion and withdrawal-order experiments. FIRE-style what-ifs. Compare Mode. You do not have to link accounts — they market that as privacy, and as the point.

WealthFluent is a personalized financial decision platform. The books (assets and liabilities) are the starting point, not the product. A lifetime plan produces a personalized, investable benchmark — not a risk bucket. Then the AI Portfolio Optimizer recommends specific trades across the accounts you already own. Magpie answers from that file.

If ProjectionLab already does the job you have, stay there. Do not buy a second subscription because a comparison page told you to.

Who each is for

Choose ProjectionLab if…

You want to type a rich plan and stress-test it. Monte Carlo. Historical backtests. Year-by-year tax. 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. That is a real job.

Their current public plans (confirm live on projectionlab.com/pricing): Basic is free. Premium is $129/year (confirmed on their pricing page August 31, 2026). Pro is $549/year for advisors and coaches. Some third-party pages list monthly billing and a lifetime SKU; those are not named cards on the current pricing page — check their current plan.

ProjectionLab is not trying to be a whole-balance-sheet operating system with a cross-account trade optimizer. Treat it as the manual simulator it is.

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. 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.”

Use both if…

Plenty of DIY households keep ProjectionLab for the tax / Monte Carlo sandbox they typed and run WealthFluent for the decades: the linked books, the lifetime plan, the optimizer, and Magpie. We do not need you to delete ProjectionLab. We need the job we actually do to be the one you came for.

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.”

Manual simulation vs linked books

ProjectionLab is good at this. You type the household, the cash flows, the tax settings, and the strategies. Seeing hundreds of possible futures without handing over bank logins is the product. Treat it as a real job, not a consolation prize.

WealthFluent also lets you plan — but the starting point is the books. Assets and liabilities, read-only. Aggregation is not the end product. It is the file the lifetime plan, the optimizer, and Magpie already have.

A simulator you feed is necessary if that is the work. It is not sufficient if the next question is “what trades close the gap, across every account I already own.”

Planning depth

ProjectionLab’s center of gravity is the model you type. Monte Carlo. Historical backtests. Year-by-year tax. Roth conversion and withdrawal-order experiments. FIRE-style what-ifs. Compare Mode. That is a strong sandbox. It is not Social Security claiming explorers the way Boldin is built, and it is not Lifetime Wealth Planning with a personalized, investable benchmark on linked accounts. If those claiming explorers are the work, evaluate Boldin on their site — do not invent ProjectionLab parity.

WealthFluent’s Lifetime Wealth Planning produces milestones, probability distributions, and a personalized, investable benchmark from your plan — not a risk bucket. The free When can I retire? calculator is the short front door to that question.

Do not compare a typed Monte Carlo to a lifetime plan-plus-optimizer and call one “better.” They are different jobs.

Portfolio action

On ProjectionLab, the investment job is the strategy you model. It will not recommend the specific lots to sell in the old 401(k) versus the taxable account you actually hold.

On WealthFluent, you simulate a change, then the AI Portfolio Optimizer recommends specific trades across accounts, with tax-aware placement. You approve, modify, or dismiss. No custody. No auto-trading. You stay in the accounts you already have.

A recommended trade list you can execute is a different machine from a simulator that tells you how a strategy might behave.

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 a simulator that only knows the plan you typed in — not the linked accounts, the liabilities, and the optimizer on the same file.

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.

ProjectionLab is an engine you operate. It does not answer from a connected file. If the question you care about is “given my accounts and my liabilities, what is true,” that is the Magpie job.

Price, without the slide-deck voice

A subscription is a software contract. It does not scale with your net worth. AUM is a different contract. A manual simulator and a plan-plus-portfolio platform can both be subscriptions and still not be interchangeable.

Using figures we publish on wealthfluent.com/pricing/ and ProjectionLab’s public pricing as of August 31, 2026 (confirm live on projectionlab.com/pricing):

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.

$129 vs $144 is not “cheaper WealthFluent.” It is a different machine. Premium at ProjectionLab is a typed Monte Carlo / tax simulator. Premium at WealthFluent is Magpie on a lifetime plan plus a trade optimizer. Confirm ProjectionLab, and our pricing page, before you decide. The AUM line is the figure we show on that page — confirm Empower’s current schedule and minimums before you treat it as a quote.

Pricing caveats. ProjectionLab Premium $129/year was live on their pricing page August 31, 2026. Basic is free; Pro is $549/year. A lifetime SKU appears in some third-party reviews (figures around $1,199); it was not a named card on their public pricing page when we checked. Monthly billing is advertised in some materials. Confirm live. Their free Basic tier is widely described as not saving plans between sessions — confirm on their site.

When to choose which — or both

Stay self-directed on the whole file. Start a 14-day trial, connect accounts, open Magpie. That is WealthFluent.

Want a manual Monte Carlo / tax sandbox without linking. Use ProjectionLab. Do not confuse it with a lifetime plan on linked books or a cross-account optimizer.

Want retirement-scenario math (Social Security, Roth claiming paths, “does this plan hold”). Evaluate Boldin. That is not ProjectionLab’s center of gravity the same way, and it is not a reason to skip the optimizer if that is the other job.

Want both the sandbox and the operating system. Keep ProjectionLab for the typed model if you like it, and run WealthFluent for the books, the optimizer, and Magpie. We don’t need you to pick a single logo.

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. Portfolio Optimization Engine and Market Analysis are Premium and Lifetime.

Essentials is $15/month or about $72/year: planning and scores, with Magpie listed on pricing. Premium adds the Portfolio Optimizer, Market Analysis, and spouse/partner login. Lifetime is Premium, paid once.

FAQ

Is ProjectionLab retirement planning software?

Yes, in the scenario-simulator sense. ProjectionLab is a manual Monte Carlo, tax, and FIRE / lifetime simulator you type. Premium is $129/year on their current public pricing (confirmed August 31, 2026 — confirm live). It is not Boldin’s Social Security / claiming-first planner, and it is not WealthFluent’s plan-plus-optimizer-plus-Magpie stack on linked books.

Does ProjectionLab replace WealthFluent?

No. A simulator you type is necessary if that is the work, and not sufficient if the next question is the trades. A typed Monte Carlo is not a lifetime plan with a personalized benchmark on linked accounts, and it is not a cross-account optimizer that outputs trades you can execute. Plenty of DIY households keep ProjectionLab and run WealthFluent.

Does ProjectionLab link bank or brokerage accounts?

They market “no link to your accounts.” You enter the plan. That is a real privacy / control choice. WealthFluent links assets and liabilities, read-only, as the starting point for the plan, the optimizer, and Magpie. Confirm their current product.

Is WealthFluent cheaper than ProjectionLab?

ProjectionLab Premium is $129 a year. WealthFluent Premium is $144 a year on the web. That is not a reason to pick either. You would not pay $144 for a typed simulator you do not need, and you would not pay $129 for a planner-plus-optimizer you do not need. Read the table. Confirm live prices. Apple App Store in-app prices for WealthFluent can differ from web by design.

Can I use both WealthFluent and ProjectionLab?

Yes. A common stack is ProjectionLab for the tax / Monte Carlo sandbox and WealthFluent for the lifetime plan, the optimizer, and Magpie. We don’t need you to delete the simulator. We need the job we actually do to be the one you came for.

What’s included in the 14-day trial?

A 14-day free trial of WealthFluent so you can connect accounts and use the tools before you pay. The default Premium trial includes the Portfolio Optimizer and Market Analysis. Confirm current trial terms on the site.

Is this financial advice?

No. WealthFluent is not a financial advisor. Magpie is not a financial advisor. ProjectionLab has its 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 work is your whole file — plan, books, and the trades that close the gap — start there. If the work is a typed Monte Carlo / tax sandbox first, evaluate ProjectionLab on their site. If you need both jobs, many households keep a simulator and an operating system.

Start your free trial · Pricing · Financial Intelligence / Magpie · vs Boldin · vs Empower · vs Monarch · vs Boldin vs Empower · Best retirement planning software · When can I retire?

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 31, 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 31, 2026.