Retirement Planning Software for DIY Planners: How to Choose

0.75% to 1.25% of your assets, every year. EnoughMoney says that is the fee advisor-grade planning tools like RightCapital and eMoney are "usually bundled with," because you can only get them through an advisor. Paid DIY tools, by EnoughMoney's count, run about $79 to $249 a year (EnoughMoney, "Best Retirement Planning Software 2026," 2026). That gap is why many people go looking for retirement planning software for DIY use. You want a real answer to "When can I stop working?" without handing over a percentage of your savings.

One disclosure first. EnoughMoney sells a planning tool. Quicken, which publishes a popular ranking, sells one too. So do we. Most of what you'll find when you search this topic is written by a vendor. We'll try to be useful anyway. That means honest prices, plain explanations, and a clear note on where DIY tools stop being enough.

The short answer

Good DIY retirement software should help you answer three questions:

• When can you actually retire?
• How much can you safely spend each month?
• What are the odds your money lasts as long as you do?

If a tool gives you one confident number based on an average return, it's answering an easier question than the one you asked. Look for software that shows a range of outcomes. It should let you change your assumptions and see what happens when things go wrong.

If you're just starting out, a free calculator is often enough. A full planner earns its cost once you need to model taxes, Social Security timing, Roth conversions, or required minimum distributions.

What to look for in retirement planning software for DIY planners

The top tools overlap a lot. Here's what separates them, and what each feature does for you.

• Probability-based results (Monte Carlo). The tool runs your plan through many possible market futures, not one average. More on this below. It's the most important feature, and it's the one people most often misread.
• Stress testing and what-ifs. Retire two years earlier. Spend more in your first decade. Take a bad market in year one. You should be able to break the plan on purpose and see what happens.
• A long enough horizon. Longevity is a real risk. A plan that stops at 85 can look fine and still leave you short at 90.
• Health care costs. These are one of the largest and least predictable costs in retirement. Check how a tool handles them.
• Detailed modeling, if you need it. Boldin and WealthTrace advertise taxes, Social Security timing, Roth conversions, RMDs, pensions, annuities, and real estate (Boldin; WealthTrace). Useful, but only if your situation calls for it.
• Account linking, if you want it. Some tools sync your accounts and track net worth. Others are deliberately private. Decide which you prefer before you pick one.
• A way to ask questions. AI assistants that can answer questions about your plan are now common. Boldin has one, and so do we.

What DIY retirement software costs

Prices change often, and published lists don't always agree. Treat this table as a starting point and confirm on each vendor's own pricing page.

Sources: Quicken, "Top Retirement Planning Software with Savings and Retirement Calculators 2026"; EnoughMoney, "Best Retirement Planning Software 2026"; AOL, "Best financial planning software of 2025"; VeriPlan.

EnoughMoney also claims free tools can "handle 80% of planning for free." That's a vendor's opinion, not research. Still, the general point holds: you don't need to pay to get started.

Monte Carlo, in plain English

Almost every tool lists "Monte Carlo simulation" as a feature. Few explain it.

Here's the idea. Markets don't deliver their average return in a smooth line. Some years are great. Some are awful. And the order matters. A big drop in your first year of retirement, while you're also withdrawing money, does more damage than the same drop fifteen years later. Planners call this sequence-of-returns risk.

A Monte Carlo simulation deals with this by running your plan through many possible futures, each with its own order of good and bad years. In the plan you build here, that's 1,000 simulated futures. Then it counts how many of them end with money left.

If your money lasts in 870 of 1,000 futures, your success rate is 87%. (That's an illustration, not a benchmark.)

It's a probability, not a promise. But it's a much more honest answer than "at a 7% average return, you'll be fine."

How to read a success rate

This is where most comparison articles stop. It's also where the useful part starts.

Don't chase 100%

A plan that works in every single simulated future usually means you're planning to spend as if the worst case will happen. That can mean working years longer than you need to, or underspending for decades. There's no single "right" number. The right range depends on how flexible you can be.

Look at the failures, not just the count

Two plans can both show 80% and be very different.

• When does the money run out? Running short at 94 is a different problem from running short at 78.
• How deep is the shortfall? A small gap you could cover by trimming travel is not the same as a large one.

If your tool lets you see this, use it.

Remember that you can adjust

Simulations often assume you spend the same amount no matter what. Real people cut back when markets fall. Spending rules that react to market conditions, often called guardrails, can make a plan much sturdier. Even if your software doesn't model them directly, you can test the idea yourself. Rerun the plan with lower spending and see how much the success rate moves.

Your assumptions drive the answer

Every result depends on what you feed in: expected returns, inflation, how volatile the market is, and how long you plan for. Change one and the answer moves, sometimes a lot.

A few habits help:

• Plan longer than feels necessary. Our plans default to age 95, and you can extend them. Longevity risk is easy to underestimate.
• Test a pessimistic case. Lower the return assumption and see what happens. If your plan still holds up reasonably well, that's a good sign.
• Get a second opinion from a different tool. EnoughMoney suggests running your numbers through two or three tools to see if they agree. It's good advice. If they disagree sharply, find out which assumption is causing it.

Which tool for which stage

Not everyone needs the same tool. Here's a simple path.

1. The quick check. You want to know roughly where you stand. A free calculator that takes a few inputs and returns a probability is enough. Three numbers. One answer.
2. The what-if stage. Retirement is getting closer. You want to test different retirement ages, spending levels, and bad markets. Look for stress testing and a way to ask questions.
3. The detailed plan. Your situation has moving parts: when to claim Social Security, Roth conversions, RMDs, a pension, rental property. Full planners like Boldin, ProjectionLab, or WealthTrace are built for this. CNBC Select calls Boldin "best for a complete retirement roadmap" and picks Fidelity as best overall (CNBC Select, "The best retirement planning tools").
4. The professional layer. Some things DIY software doesn't handle well. More on that next.

Most people move through these stages over several years. Rerun your numbers when something real changes: a market drop, a health event, a new retirement date.

Where DIY software falls short

Software is good at math. It's less good at:

• Estate planning. Wills, trusts, and beneficiary strategy need a professional.
• Complex equity compensation. Stock options and RSUs bring tax decisions most consumer tools don't model in depth.
• Judgment calls. A simulation can tell you the odds. It can't tell you what trade-off fits your life.

That's why we describe Monte Climb as planning software, not advice. It's a way to understand your odds before you make decisions, or before you sit down with a professional.

Where Monte Climb fits

We built Monte Climb for the first two stages: getting a clear, honest answer fast, and then pressure-testing it.

You enter your age, your retirement savings, and your monthly spending. We run them through 1,000 simulated futures and show the probability that your money lasts. It runs in your browser, and nothing is saved until you choose to save it. If you want to go further, William, our AI planner, can answer questions like "Am I on track?" or "Can I retire at 62?" He shows his work, so you can see how he got there.

We don't model every tax rule the heavier planners do. If you need that, use one of them alongside us as a second opinion. If what you need is a straight answer to "Will my money last?", start here.

Three numbers. One honest answer. Show my answer with the free retirement calculator, or try the full Monte Climb planning app for 7 days for $1.

Frequently asked questions

Is free retirement planning software good enough for DIY planners?

Often, yes, especially to start. Quicken's 2026 list includes free options from Boldin, ProjectionLab, Empower, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Vanguard. Paid tools earn their cost when you need detailed modeling of taxes, Social Security timing, Roth conversions or RMDs.

How much does DIY retirement planning software cost?

EnoughMoney puts paid DIY tools at roughly $79 to $249 a year. Advisor-grade tools such as RightCapital and eMoney are usually available only through an advisor and are often bundled with 0.75–1.25% AUM fees. Published prices often conflict, so confirm on each vendor's pricing page.

What is a good Monte Carlo success rate for retirement?

There's no single right number, and 100% usually isn't the goal, because it often means overly cautious spending. Look at when and how badly the failed simulations run short, and how much your result improves if you're willing to cut spending in bad markets. This is general information, not personalized advice.

Do I need my own software if my financial advisor already uses one?

Not strictly. But running your own numbers gives you a second opinion and helps you understand the assumptions behind your advisor's plan. If two tools disagree sharply, find out which input is driving the difference.

What's the difference between a retirement calculator and retirement planning software?

A calculator gives a quick answer from a few inputs. Planning software lets you model more detail, test what-if scenarios and track your plan over time. Many people start with a calculator and move to a full planner as retirement gets closer or their situation gets more complex.