Free Retirement Planning Software: What You Get (and Don't)

61%. That's the share of American workers who told EBRI this year they're confident they'll have enough to retire comfortably. It's down 6 points, and it's the lowest since 2017 (EBRI/Greenwald, 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey). So it makes sense that you're looking for free retirement planning software. You want an answer before you pay for one.

The short version: free tools can give you a real answer to "will my money last?" Some include Monte Carlo simulation at no cost. What they usually hold back is the detail, like taxes, withdrawal order and Roth analysis, and sometimes the simulation itself. And two free tools given the same numbers rarely agree. That's not a flaw. It's the most useful thing to understand before you trust any of them.

What free retirement planning software actually includes

Most "best tools" lists are affiliate roundups or pages written by the vendors themselves. Here's a plainer view of the tools that come up most often, based on recent reviews. Prices and features change, so check each vendor's site before you sign up.

Sources: Rob Berger, 4 Best Retirement Calculators; Boldin vs. ProjectionLab; Moneywise.

One caution. Some "free" lists include paid apps. Quicken Simplifi, at $3.99 a month, turns up in roundups for this exact search. Read the pricing line before you read the feature list.

What you usually don't get for free

Free tiers are good at the big question. They're thinner on the decisions that come after it. Across the reviews, the same gaps keep showing up:

• Withdrawal order. Which account you draw from first, and when.
• Roth conversion analysis. Whether moving money between account types changes your tax bill.
• Detailed tax modeling. Year-by-year taxes on withdrawals and Social Security.
• The simulation itself. On some tools, Monte Carlo sits behind the paywall.
• Account syncing. Some free tiers make you type in every balance.

None of this makes a free tool useless. It means a free tool answers "roughly where do I stand?" better than "exactly what should I do in 2031?"

Why free calculators give you different answers

Put the same household into three free calculators and you'll probably get three different verdicts. The reasons come down to method and assumptions.

Three methods, three kinds of answer

• Average-return projection. Your savings grow at one steady rate every year. You get a single tidy line. The trouble is that real markets don't move in straight lines, and a few bad years early in retirement can do more damage than the same bad years later on.
• Monte Carlo simulation. In plain terms, the tool runs your plan through hundreds or thousands of randomly generated market paths, good, bad and ordinary, and counts how many of them keep your money lasting. You get a probability, not a single line.
• Historical backtesting. The tool replays your plan through actual past market periods. You see how it would have done starting in each historical year.

The hidden assumptions

Even two Monte Carlo tools can disagree, because of:

• Expected returns and inflation. Small changes here move results a lot.
• When the plan ends. A plan that stops at 85 looks safer than one that runs to 95.
• Health care costs. Some tools charge them year by year. Others use a flat guess or leave them out.
• Spending. Whether it rises with inflation or stays flat.

So when results differ, don't average them. Look at what each tool assumed.

What a "success rate" actually means

Say a tool tells you 85%. That means that in 85 out of every 100 simulated futures, your money lasted to the end of the plan. In the other 15 it ran out at some point.

What it doesn't tell you:

• How badly the 15 failed. Running dry at 94 is very different from running dry at 78.
• That you'll be comfortable. It measures whether the money lasts, not how the spending feels.
• That it's a guarantee. It's a probability, not a promise.

Does the number of trials matter? ProjectionLab runs up to 2,000, and Vanguard's Nest Egg reportedly runs 5,000. Past a certain point, more trials mostly steady the number rather than change it. Your assumptions (returns, spending, end age, health costs) move the result far more than going from 1,000 trials to 5,000.

For context, Morningstar uses a 90% benchmark. Its 2025 research puts the safe starting withdrawal rate at 3.9% for a 30-year retirement, judged by whether money is still there in 90% of simulated outcomes, not by an average return (Morningstar, The State of Retirement Income 2025, Dec 2025). That's a research benchmark, not a target for you personally.

Three checks before you trust any free tool

Whatever tool you pick, check these three things first.

1. Where does the plan end?

About one in three 65-year-olds may live to at least 90, according to the Social Security Administration (Retirement Information for Medicare Beneficiaries, 2026). A plan that stops at 85 quietly bets against a third of retirees. If you can't set the end age, or it defaults too early, your success rate is flattering you.

2. Does it count health care?

Fidelity estimates $172,500 in Medicare premiums, deductibles and prescriptions over retirement for one 65-year-old retiring in 2025, and that leaves out long-term care entirely (Fidelity Investments, 2025 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, Jul 2025). That's a line item, not a rounding error. Check whether the tool includes it or expects you to fold it into "spending."

3. What withdrawal rate is the plan implying?

Do the arithmetic yourself. Divide your yearly spending from savings by your total savings. Spending $40,000 a year from $1,000,000 is 4%. Compare that with Morningstar's 3.9% benchmark. If you're well above it, a high success rate deserves a second look at the assumptions behind it.

What to do if your number comes back low

No roundup covers this part, and it matters most. A low success rate isn't a verdict. It's a starting point. Most planners let you test these levers:

• Spending. Lower your monthly figure a little and rerun it. Small changes can move the rate more than you'd expect.
• Retirement age. Try retiring one or two years later and compare.
• Social Security timing. If the tool models it, test different claiming ages.
• Withdrawal order and taxes. This is where free tiers tend to stop. Paid tools or a professional can go further.

Change one thing at a time. That's how you learn which lever actually matters for your plan.

And you're not alone in starting from zero. EBRI's 2025 survey found only 52% of workers had ever estimated the monthly income they'll need in retirement (EBRI/Greenwald Retirement Confidence Survey 2025, Fact Sheet 3). Getting any honest number puts you ahead of half the field.

Where Monte Climb fits

We built Monte Climb around the questions above. The calculator at the top of our homepage takes three numbers: your age, what you've saved, and what you spend each month. It runs them through 1,000 simulated futures, the same engine behind the app, and gives you a success rate. It runs in your browser, and nothing is saved until you say so.

The full plan runs to age 95 by default, and you can push it further. It charges Medicare premiums and income-based surcharges year by year instead of using a flat guess. You can also ask William, our AI planner, things like "Am I on track?", "Can I retire at 62?" or "What's a sustainable spend?" He shows his work. You can try the app for $1 for 7 days.

It's planning software, not advice. It's meant to give you a clear, evidence-based answer to think through, or to take to someone you trust.

The bottom line

Confidence is shaky right now. New York Life's midyear 2026 survey found only 52% of Americans confident their savings will last their lifetime (New York Life). Free tools won't fix that on their own. But a tool that shows a probability, runs long enough, and counts health care will tell you where you stand.

Three numbers. One clear answer. Show my answer →

Frequently asked questions

Is there free retirement planning software that includes Monte Carlo simulation?

Yes. According to Rob Berger's 2026 review, Empower's free planner and ProjectionLab's free plan both include Monte Carlo simulation, and ProjectionLab's free plan also adds historical backtesting. Boldin's free tier doesn't include it. You need its paid PlannerPlus plan for that.

What's the difference between free and paid retirement planning software?

Free tiers usually answer the big question, whether your savings are likely to last. Paid tiers tend to add detailed tax modeling, withdrawal-order planning, Roth conversion analysis and sometimes the Monte Carlo simulation itself. Some free tiers also make you enter balances by hand instead of syncing your accounts.

Why do different retirement calculators give me different results?

They use different methods and assumptions. Some project one average return, some run Monte Carlo simulations, and some replay historical markets. They also differ on expected returns, inflation, health care costs and the age the plan ends. Compare what each tool assumed instead of averaging the results.

What does an 85% success rate mean in a retirement calculator?

It means your money lasted to the end of the plan in 85 out of every 100 simulated futures and ran out in the other 15. It's a probability, not a guarantee. It also doesn't show how early or how badly the failing scenarios ran short.

Do more simulations make a retirement calculator more accurate?

Only up to a point. More trials mostly make the result steadier. Assumptions about returns, spending, health care costs and how long the plan runs usually change your success rate much more than going from 1,000 trials to 5,000.