How TaxWiseRetire compares to other retirement planners.
There are a handful of other DIY tools that, like TaxWiseRetire, run a real year-by-year, tax-aware retirement projection instead of a single ballpark number. Here's an honest look at how we stack up against the closest ones — Boldin (formerly NewRetirement), ProjectionLab, MaxiFi Planner, and Pralana.
Starting price
The clearest difference is price. TaxWiseRetire's paid tier starts well below every tool here.
| Product | Paid tier starts at | Free tier |
|---|---|---|
| TaxWiseRetire | $8.99/mo or $74.99/yr | Full household + up to 50 plans, 1 free calculation & export |
| Boldin (formerly NewRetirement) | $144/yr | Basic plan |
| ProjectionLab | $129/yr | Basic plan, no saved plans |
| MaxiFi Planner | $109/yr | None |
| Pralana Online | $89/yr ($119 first year) | Free downloadable Excel version |
Pricing shown is each provider's own list price for an individual/DIY tier, checked directly against their pricing pages in July 2026. Providers change pricing — always confirm current numbers on their own sites before deciding.
Feature comparison
All five tools model Roth conversions and run year-by-year projections. Where they differ is depth of tax modeling and a few specific planning questions.
| Feature | TaxWiseRetire | Boldin | ProjectionLab | MaxiFi | Pralana |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year-by-year, tax-aware projection | |||||
| Combined federal + state income tax | all 50 states + DC | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | ||
| Roth conversion optimization | |||||
| Automated Roth ceiling recommendation (searches ceilings for you, not just manual entry) | |||||
| Medicare IRMAA awareness | Not confirmed | ||||
| ACA subsidy cliff modeling | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | |||
| Social Security claiming-age comparison | 62 / FRA / 70 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | ||
| Best-state-to-retire ranking (tax + property tax + cost of living, all 50 states) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | |
| Monte Carlo / probability-of-success simulation | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | ||
| Inherited IRA / SECURE Act 10-year rule modeling | |||||
| Minimum-income floor with automatic account draw-down order | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | |
| Excel export | multi-sheet workbook | Not confirmed | PDF reports | Not confirmed | Excel-native (desktop version) |
"Not confirmed" means we didn't find clear evidence of the feature on the provider's own site as of July 2026 — it doesn't necessarily mean the feature doesn't exist. We'd rather under-claim about a competitor than overstate it; check each provider's own feature pages for the full, current picture.
Where TaxWiseRetire is different
Every tool above does real retirement math — none of this is about the others being unsophisticated. A few things we specifically built TaxWiseRetire around:
- Price. $8.99/month or $74.99/year is meaningfully less than any paid tier above — we wanted the full year-by-year projection to be affordable enough that price isn't the reason someone sticks with a spreadsheet.
- A genuinely usable free tier. Free accounts can fully build out their household and up to 50 saved plans with no time limit, plus one real full calculation and Excel export — not just a teaser screen.
- Best-state-to-retire ranking that isn't income-tax-only. We re-run your exact plan against all 50 states and DC and rank by combined income tax, property tax, and cost-of-living savings — a state with no income tax but a high cost of living won't automatically outrank one with real income tax but a much lower cost of living.
- IRMAA-aware Roth conversions, specifically. Conversion sizing can optionally factor in Medicare Part B/D surcharge thresholds two years out, not just the current year's tax bracket.
- Inherited IRA modeling under the actual SECURE Act rules. Add an already-inherited Traditional or Roth IRA and TaxWiseRetire applies the correct 10-year distribution deadline or annual life-expectancy stretch based on your beneficiary category — including an honest disclaimer on the one part of the rule (the "ghost RMD" during the 10-year window) that's still genuinely disputed among tax professionals, rather than silently picking an interpretation.
Learn more about each tool
- Boldin pricing & features — comprehensive planner, formerly NewRetirement.
- ProjectionLab pricing & features — modern, privacy-first planner with deep Monte Carlo simulation.
- MaxiFi pricing & features — built around lifetime spending optimization and Social Security timing.
- Pralana pricing & features — highly detailed tax modeling, available as an online tool or Excel workbook.
See your own numbers before you compare tools.
Building your household and first plan is free — no card required.