The Best Retirement Calculators

Want To Reach FI Sooner? Join more than 18,000 others and get new tips and strategies from Can I Retire Yet? every week. Subscription is free. Unsubscribe anytime:

What’s so important about retirement calculators? Why are these tools of more than just technical interest? Well, they’re important because either you, or a financial planner, will use the results from a retirement calculator to make one of the most crucial decisions of your life: Are you financially independent yet, or not?

Best Retirement Calculator

If you get this decision right, you can enjoy more of the freedom and fulfillment that everybody wants out of a complete human life. But, if you get this decision wrong, you could run out of money for healthcare or other essentials in your old age, or you could waste years of your life doing unnecessary or unenjoyable work.

That’s why retirement calculators are important. And it’s why the review I wrote of the three best free retirement calculators, and a follow-up comparison of five free retirement calculators, have been among the most popular posts on this site. Thousands of people have read these articles and, I hope, been motivated to analyze and better understand their own retirement trajectories.

An Overwhelming Task

But the universe of retirement planning tools has not stood still since I wrote those initial articles. And, I’ve continued to read, and experiment, and hear from readers. So I’ve since cataloged dozens of additional retirement calculators — every general-purpose, publicly-available tool that I hear about. Altogether, I have a database of information on 56, 79, now 82 retirement and financial modeling tools!

Unfortunately, it just isn’t realistic for me to perform in-depth reviews on that many software programs. Yet retirement calculators are a core topic of this blog. I know many people come here for guidance about them. So, how should I go about evaluating all of these options?

A Curated List of The Best Retirement Calculators

Here is my solution: Rather than attempt to compare or validate so many calculators in-depth, I’m offering a “curated” list below of what I consider to be the best available calculators, along with key data to help you choose the right one(s) for your situation.

My plan is to keep this list updated going forward. Some older calculators may become obsolete. So programs will come and go, but the list below will always represent my current recommendations. (You may want to bookmark this page for future reference.)

Note that you can sort the list below in different ways by clicking on the double-headed arrow at the top of any column. And you can search or filter by simply typing into the Search box at the top right. Finally, I’ve included the link to each calculator so you can easily try it out for yourself: Just click on the name.

Best Retirement Calculators

CalculatorFidelityReturnsPlatformCostNotes/FeaturesReview
CalcXML Retirement Savings1-LowAverageWeb$0Simple input. Income replacement. Social Security estimate/override. Spouse. Graphical/tabular output. PDF report.11/2014
Can I Retire Yet? - Pro3-HighAverageAndroid$5Nice interface. Social Security override. Spouse. Multiple accounts. Asset allocation. Rebalancing. Real estate. Financial events. Retirement work. Tax calculations. RMDs. Roth conversions. Annuities. Graphical/tabular output. Today's dollars option. Save data. Well documented. Support forum.12/2017
cFIREsim2-MedAverage, Historical, Monte CarloWeb$0Spouse. Asset allocation including gold. Rebalancing. Financial events. Spending policies. Graphical/tabular output. Dip analysis. Investigate scenarios. Save data. Support forum.11/2014
Dinkytown.net Retirement Planner1-LowAverageWeb$0Nice interface. Income replacement. Social Security estimate. Retirement work. Graphical/tabular output. Well documented.11/2014
ESPlanner3-HighAverage, Monte CarloWeb, Windows$0 - $199Social Security estimate. Spouse. Spending policies. Consumption smoothing. College saving. Tax calculations. Roth conversions. Today's dollars. Save data.11/2014
Fidelity Retirement Income Planner3-HighMonte CarloWeb$0Nice interface. Detailed expenses. Social Security estimate/override. Spouse. Multiple accounts. Asset allocation. Rebalancing. Real estate. Financial events. Retirement work. Scenarios. Tax calculations. RMDs. Annuities. Graphical/tabular output. Today's dollars option. Save data. Well documented. (Requires signup.)12/2014
FinancialMentor Ultimate Retirement Calculator2-MedAverageWeb$0Simple input. Social Security override. Financial events. Retirement work. Tabular output. Computes savings/contributions needed to fully fund plan.4/2013
FIRECalc2-MedAverage, Historical, Monte CarloWeb$0Simple start. Social Security override. Spouse. Spending policies. Asset allocation. Financial events. Scenarios. Graphical output.4/2013
Flexible Retirement Planner3-HighAverage, Monte CarloJava: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux$0-$20Nice interface. Social Security override. Spending policies. Multiple accounts. Financial events. Scenarios. Sensitivity analysis. RMDs. Graphical/tabular output. Today's dollars. Well documented. Support forum.2/2016
4/2013
MoneyChimp Retirement Planner1-LowHistoricalWeb$0Simple portfolio survival analysis. Input retirement length, expenses, asset allocation. Outputs success rate and list of failing time periods.11/2014
NewRetirement3-HighAverage, Monte Carlo (Beta)Web$0Nice interface. Simple input. Social Security override/optimization. Spouse. Multiple accounts. Real estate. Financial events. Retirement work. Scenarios. Tax calculations. RMDs. Annuities. Graphical/tabular output. Save data. Well documented. (Requires signup.)11/2020
2/2017
OnTrajectory3-HighAverage, Historical, Monte CarloWeb$0 - $5/mo, $50/yrNice interface. Simple input. Spouse. Multiple accounts. Asset allocation. Financial events. Retirement work. Scenarios. RMDs. Roth conversions. Graphical/tabular output. Today's dollars option. Save data. Well documented. Budgets. Goals. Track progress/view history. (Requires signup.)2/2016
2/2017
Otar Retirement Calculator3-HighHistoricalExcel$10 - $100Spouse. Spending policies. Multiple accounts. Asset allocation. Rebalancing. Real estate. Financial events. Scenarios. Risk analysis. Annuities. Graphical/tabular output. Save data. Well documented.11/2014
Personal Capital Retirement Planner2-MedMonte CarloWeb$0Nice interface. Simple input. Social Security override. Spouse. Multiple accounts. Asset allocation. Real estate. Financial events. Retirement work. College saving. Annuities. Graphical/tabular output. Today's dollars. Save data. Well documented. (Requires signup.)2/2016
Pralana PRC2021/Gold3-HighAverage, Historical, Monte CarloExcel$0 - $119Simple input. Social Security estimate/optimization. Spouse. Spending policies. Consumption smoothing. Multiple accounts. Asset allocation. Rebalancing. Real estate. Financial events. Retirement work. College saving. Scenarios. Sensitivity analysis. Tax calculations. RMDs. Roth conversions. Annuities. Graphical/tabular output. Today's dollars option. Save data. Well documented.2/2020
2/2016
5/2014
Retiree Portfolio Model3-HighAverageExcel$0Social Security override/optimization. Spouse. Multiple accounts. Asset allocation. Financial events. Scenarios. Tax calculations. RMDs. Roth conversions. SPIA. Graphical/tabular output. Save data. Support forum.12/2014
RetirePlan2-MedAverageiOS$5Simple input. Social Security override. Spouse. Multiple accounts. Financial events. Scenarios. Graphical/tabular output. Today's dollars option. Save data.11/2014
SmartAsset Retirement Calculator1-LowAverageWeb$0Nice interface. Simple input. Social Security estimate. Multiple accounts. Tax calculations. Graphical output.2/2016
Social Security & Retirement Financial Modeling3-HighAverage, HistoricalWindows$2.75Social Security override. Spouse. Multiple accounts. Asset allocation. Financial events. Tax calculations. RMDs. Roth conversions. Graphical/tabular output. Save data.2/2017
T. Rowe Price Retirement Income Calculator1-LowMonte CarloWeb$0Nice interface. Simple input. Social Security estimate/override. Spouse. Asset allocation. Rebalancing. Scenarios. Graphical output. Today's dollars. Save data. Well documented.4/2013
Vanguard Retirement Nest Egg Calculator1-LowMonte CarloWeb$0Nice interface. Simple input. Asset allocation. Graphical output. Well documented.3/2013

Selection Criteria

Only about one out of every three calculators made it onto my list. So, how did I choose them? Here are my criteria:

  • I favored general-purpose tools that take a set of financial inputs and model them over time — suitable for traditional pre- and post-retirement, or early-retirement scenarios. (Not every tool on the list is that general, but most are.)
  • I was looking for something beyond trivial time-value-of-money analysis. Each calculator chosen needed to offer some unique value — either in its user interface, its approach, or its analytical power.
  • I did not include a few well done but overly simplistic tools, intended for those with no financial experience. (It is assumed that readers of this blog have at least a minimum of financial sophistication.)
  • Conversely, I did not include tools targeted at professional advisors (with price tags to suit), or tools that were obvious loss-leaders for other bundled financial services (conflict of interest), or tools that were highly-technical or research-oriented.
  • I gave weight to reputation and precedent. In general, I wanted to see established companies or well-known individuals who could support their tools, with ongoing development, and an established user base, if possible.

Testing the Retirement Calculators

I’ve run each of the programs below, in some form, and worked with many of them extensively. However, I did not attempt to verify results mathematically. There are simply too many variables involved and too many judgment calls on the part of programmers for me to issue an opinion that a given calculator is “right” or “wrong.”

Any calculator, in any given scenario, can be caught making some simplifying assumption about reality that somebody will argue is incorrect. I don’t want to play that game.

But, do realize that, in an attempt to make retirement modeling “easy,” some calculators make assumptions that may not suit your situation. For example, a surprising number of calculators continue to have problems with early retirement or near-retirement scenarios.

Beware of calculators that:

  • Require you to input a salary, or 
  • Want to compute your expenses as some percent of your salary, or 
  • Assume that Social Security must start at your “retirement” date, or 
  • That include built-in/undocumented assumptions for stock market returns, inflation, or tax rates. (Some calculators use overly optimistic market returns; others use your marginal tax rate as an effective rate, overstating your tax liabilities.)

Rather than expecting perfection out of any single software program, I suggest getting a “second opinion.” You can simply check your situation by running more than one calculator.

There are enough good ones on the list. You can easily get a 2nd (or 3rd) opinion on just about any retirement-related financial question! And I’ll make it as easy as possible for you to choose a calculator appropriate to your needs….

Key Data

As part of my survey, I’ve compiled several columns of key data into the table to help you understand how each calculator fits into the field:

Fidelity

First, I’ve categorized all the calculators into three levels of “fidelity.” Credit goes to Stuart Matthews of Pralana Consulting for this helpful concept. By fidelity we are referring to how well each calculator can potentially reproduce reality — the realism of its simulation.

In a nutshell, to do a better modeling job, a calculator will need to collect more data, and more accurate data, from you. So, “fidelity” is also a rough measure of increasing complexity:

  • Low-Fidelity — these calculators will feature just a dozen input fields or less, and usually perform only a simple fixed rate/average return calculation. They feature ease of use, and generally will require less than 5 minutes of your time to produce answers.
  • Medium-Fidelity — these calculators add additional fields, usually handling multiple accounts with different asset allocations, and arbitrary financial “events” such as irregular future income or expenses. Generally they might require 10-20 minutes of your time to produce answers.
  • High-Fidelity — these calculators will add even more input fields, the ability to compare scenarios, and often Social Security and tax calculations. Generally they will require at least 30-60 minutes of your time to produce answers. And they could easily require several hours to understand all the options, and collect and input all the data to take full advantage of their capabilities. But these calculators have the potential to be most accurate, assuming you take the time to enter good data, and assuming your guesses about the future hold true.

Returns

Broadly speaking, there are three approaches to modeling stock market returns over time:

  • Using an average return for each year is the simplest approach. However, unless you reduce that average return by some arbitrary amount, it does not take into account the impact of volatility on your portfolio, and will be overly optimistic.
  • A Monte Carlo analysis, using an average return plus a standard deviation, takes volatility into account, but requires expertise (or trust) for choosing the necessary mathematical parameters. And there are arguments that the artificial randomness introduced by a Monte Carlo simulation doesn’t mimic the real world accurately.
  • Finally, a historical analysis uses actual market data on the performance of asset classes over the past century to model what would have happened to your portfolio over periods in the past. The issue with this approach is whether the future will be like the past or, even if it is, whether the current starting point of high market valuations leads predominantly into the realm of lower return possibilities.

There are arguments, and recognized experts, for and against each way of modeling returns.

Who’s right? My own preference is to gather as much information as possible, by using calculators that offer all three mechanisms, then compare the results, and draw my own conclusions.

Platform

The majority of modern retirement calculators run in your browser as web applications. If you want the slickest user experience, you’ll probably opt for one of these.

However a few calculators run on your desktop or tablet, using Microsoft Excel, iOS, or Windows. If you’d rather keep your financial data on your local computer, you might opt for one of these.

Cost

Many retirement calculators are free, including good ones at each fidelity level. But a few calculators are offered in different fidelities at different price points. When there are multiple versions, I’ve included the range of costs in the table below.

In general: I’ve reviewed the highest-fidelity version available, it includes all the features of any lower versions, and the lower versions are also worthy of your consideration.

Notes/Features

I’ve included brief notes on the features of each program, so you can get the flavor of its functionality. I’ve tried to standardize terms when possible: 

  • “Income replacement” means the calculator wants to estimate your expenses as a % of income (a negative if it precludes early- or post-retirement scenarios). 
  • “Spouse” means there are dedicated fields for a spouse’s data.
  • “Spending policies” means the calculator offers algorithms for automatically adjusting your spending in retirement. 
  • “Financial events” means the calculator allows entering arbitrary incoming or outgoing cash flows into the simulation. 
  • “Scenarios” means you get some capability for comparing financial alternatives. 
  • “Tax calculations” means the calculator goes beyond using a simple effective tax rate to perform detailed marginal tax calculations. 
  • “Today’s dollars” means there is an ability to display results in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars. 
  • “Save data” means you can save your work. 
  • “Well documented” means the calculator does an above-average job of explaining its assumptions.

Review

If I’ve written a review of the calculator, it will be linked from a review date. If there is no link from a review date, then that is simply the last date that I updated information on the calculator in this table.

Choosing a Retirement Calculator

Above is my list of the best calculators, for your consideration. All of these calculators have unique strengths. But each has its limitations too. So, how do you choose?

Should you pay for a retirement calculator?

Price should not be an issue: There are free calculators available at all fidelity levels. If you have a preferred platform, that may help filter your list.

Related: The 3 Best Free Retirement Calculators

How much detail should you seek from a retirement calculator?

Most importantly, decide how accurate an answer you need, and how much time you want to invest in getting it:

Do you just need a simple answer to whether your savings are roughly on track to retire in a certain time frame? You should start with the low-fidelity calculators to get quick answers.

Do you want to fine-tune the results more to your specific situation, perhaps looking at how your mixture of assets and future financial events will impact your wealth? Start with the medium-fidelity calculators.

Do you have substantial assets and need to fine-tune a tax or withdrawal strategy in retirement? Or do you want to model a range of future life events and compare alternative courses of action? Use a high-fidelity calculator.

In any case, you’ll want to use more than one calculator, to confirm your results.

For the low-fidelity calculators, I’d run three programs before drawing any conclusions, because they are so simple and easy to use.

For the medium-fidelity calculators, I’d choose at least two programs. You can become proficient in both without a big time commitment.

If you need a high-fidelity calculator, I would review the field of choices. Then become expert with the one that makes most sense to you. After that, I’d choose a medium-fidelity calculator to rough-check results.

Related: How Accurate Should Your Retirement Calculation Be?

Which do you think is the best retirement calculator?

Best wishes in your retirement planning. And let me know your experience, so I can continue to update and improve this list for everybody’s benefit….

Related: My Favorite Retirement Calculators

* * *

This post was originally published November 22, 2014 and was most recently updated on October 14, 2021.

* * *


Note: For many years, Pralana Consulting and Can I Retire Yet? were engaged in an informal technical collaboration aimed at raising standards for accuracy in retirement modeling, with no business relationship. However, as of January 2020 we have an affiliate relationship. That means, if you purchase a Pralana product here, a portion of the sale goes to support this site.


* * *

Valuable Resources

  • The Best Retirement Calculators can help you perform detailed retirement simulations including modeling withdrawal strategies, federal and state income taxes, healthcare expenses, and more. Can I Retire Yet? partners with two of the best.
  • Free Travel or Cash Back with credit card rewards and sign up bonuses.
  • Monitor Your Investment Portfolio
    • Sign up for a free Empower account to gain access to track your asset allocation, investment performance, individual account balances, net worth, cash flow, and investment expenses.
  • Our Books

* * *

[The founder of CanIRetireYet.com, Darrow Kirkpatrick relied on a modest lifestyle, high savings rate, and simple passive index investing to retire at age 50 from a career as a civil and software engineer. He has been quoted or published in The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Kiplinger, The Huffington Post, Consumer Reports, and Money Magazine among others. His books include Retiring Sooner: How to Accelerate Your Financial Independence and Can I Retire Yet? How to Make the Biggest Financial Decision of the Rest of Your Life.]

* * *

Disclosure: Can I Retire Yet? has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Can I Retire Yet? and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Other links on this site, like the Amazon, NewRetirement, Pralana, and Personal Capital links are also affiliate links. As an affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click on one of these links and buy from the affiliated company, then we receive some compensation. The income helps to keep this blog going. Affiliate links do not increase your cost, and we only use them for products or services that we're familiar with and that we feel may deliver value to you. By contrast, we have limited control over most of the display ads on this site. Though we do attempt to block objectionable content. Buyer beware.