FIManager vs Boldin (formerly NewRetirement): an honest 2026 comparison

The short answer

What is Boldin?

Boldin is the retirement-planning platform previously known as NewRetirement; the company announced the rebrand in December 2024, which is why you'll still see both names in reviews and forums. It's a mature, feature-rich DIY planner aimed primarily at people planning a traditional retirement: Social Security timing, Medicare, required withdrawals, Roth conversion strategy. It offers three tiers: a free Basic plan, the PlannerPlus subscription, and a flat-fee advisor engagement (Boldin Advisors, $3,200) that includes CFP® consultation.

Boldin's paid tier is genuinely deep. On its own pricing page, PlannerPlus advertises "100+ more inputs, for total control," a Roth conversion explorer, state and federal tax projections, Monte Carlo analysis, account linking, and unlimited conversations with Boldin AI. That depth is real, and if it's what you need, we'd rather you buy Boldin than be disappointed by us.

The flip side of 100+ extra inputs is that many people find the setup heavy, and depth only helps if you trust — and can inspect — what the model is doing underneath. That's the gap FIManager is built for.

What is FIManager?

FIManager is a DIY financial planning app for people working toward financial independence — the point where your assets can cover your life. You build a plan, project your net-worth trajectory and FI date, and stress-test it with Monte Carlo simulation to get a chance of success. Track your actual finances against the plan, manually or synced through Plaid.

Three things define it:

• No hidden assumptions. FIManager never pre-fills a growth rate, tax rate, or inflation rate for you. If you haven't set a value, it's zero — visibly. Every number in your projection is one you chose and can change. You'll never wonder which buried default moved your result.
• Fast to a real answer. The goal is minutes from signup to your first projection and chance of success — not an afternoon of form-filling. Start with a handful of inputs; add detail as your plan earns it.
• Ask AI, grounded in your plan. FIManager's assistant answers questions about your actual plan and data (available on both paid tiers), and helps automate the boring parts, like categorizing synced transactions (Premium).

FIManager is new and small, and we won't pretend otherwise — no invented user counts, no fake testimonials. What you get instead is software that shows its work.

FIManager vs Boldin at a glance

Boldin details from boldin.com, accessed July 4, 2026 (sources at the bottom of this page). FIManager details from our live pricing page.

Where Boldin is stronger — honestly

We're not going to pretend to out-model Boldin on retirement taxes. As of July 2026:

• Roth conversion planning. Boldin PlannerPlus has a dedicated Roth conversion explorer. FIManager has no Roth conversion module.
• Tax projections. Boldin models state and federal taxes across your retirement. FIManager keeps taxes simple and explicit: you set the rates in each plan's tax settings, and the projection uses exactly those. Simple and inspectable — but not a tax engine.
• Traditional-retirement detail. Social Security decisions, Medicare-era planning, retirement-income sequencing: this is Boldin's home turf, backed by 36+ detailed charts and 16+ classes on PlannerPlus.
• A human option. If you want a CFP® professional to review the plan, Boldin sells that ($3,200 flat fee). We don't.

If those are your decision drivers, use Boldin. Seriously.

Where FIManager is different

• No hidden assumptions — as a hard rule, not a slogan. FIManager never assumes a growth, inflation, or tax rate on your behalf. Unset means zero, and you can see it. More inputs only build confidence when you can trace every one of them into the result; our bet is that a smaller set of fully-visible assumptions beats a bigger set you have to trust.
• Monte Carlo on free. Your chance of success — the single most clarifying number in FI planning — doesn't sit behind our paywall. Run it on the free tier; upgrade when you want scenario comparison, Plaid sync, or Ask AI.
• Monthly billing, low commitment. Boldin bills PlannerPlus annually ($144/year). FIManager has monthly and yearly billing on both paid tiers, so trying it properly doesn't require a year-sized decision.
• Built for FI, not just retirement at 65. FI date, Coast-style trajectories, sabbaticals, starting a business — the plan is built around when work becomes optional for you, whatever age that is.
• Couples without shared passwords. One shared portal, two logins, separate and joint accounts. Planning together shouldn't mean sharing credentials.

Pricing compared

Boldin (boldin.com/retirement/pricing/, accessed July 4, 2026):

• Basic — free. Build a plan, try what-if scenarios, 2 interactive explorers, up to 5 alerts, limited Boldin AI conversations.
• PlannerPlus — $144 billed annually (displayed as $12/month), 14-day free trial. Adds unlimited Boldin AI, 100+ more inputs, account linking, Roth conversion explorer, state and federal tax projections, Monte Carlo, 36+ detailed charts, 16+ classes. Note: the price rose from $120 to $144/year for new subscribers in July 2025 — Boldin's first increase in over two years, with existing subscribers price-locked.
• Boldin Advisors — $3,200 flat fee for a comprehensive plan checkup with a CFP® professional.

FIManager (fimanager.app, live pricing):

• Free — $0. Full dashboard, track current finances, net worth and cash flow history, build a financial plan, run a Monte Carlo success rate. No card required.
• Basic — monthly or yearly billing (current prices on our pricing section). DIY planning, cash flow projections, Monte Carlo simulations, compare scenarios, manual tracking, and Ask AI.
• Premium — monthly or yearly billing (current prices on our pricing section). Everything in Basic plus Plaid account linking, automatic transaction and balance sync, and AI transaction categorization.

Which should you choose?

Choose Boldin if you're within roughly a decade of a traditional retirement and your big questions are Roth conversions, Social Security timing, and multi-state tax scenarios — or you want the option of a CFP® review. It has years of depth there that we don't.

Choose FIManager if you're planning for financial independence on your own timeline and you want a projection you can fully see through: every assumption yours, chance of success on the free tier, monthly billing, sync optional, and an assistant that talks about your plan rather than in generalities.

Or don't choose yet. Boldin's free Basic tier and FIManager's free tier can hold the same weekend. Build a quick plan in both and keep the one whose numbers you actually understand.

FAQ

What is the best Boldin alternative?

It depends on what you're replacing. For transparent, FI-focused planning with Monte Carlo on a free tier and monthly billing, FIManager is built to be exactly that alternative. For manual-entry planning with a large scenario library, ProjectionLab ($129/year Premium, annual billing only) is the other tool most often compared. There's no single "best" — match the tool to whether your core problem is tax depth, transparency, or simplicity.

Is Boldin the same as NewRetirement?

Yes. NewRetirement announced its rebrand to Boldin in December 2024. Same company and platform; if you're searching for a "NewRetirement alternative," everything on this page applies.

Does Boldin have a free version?

Yes. Boldin's Basic tier is free and includes plan building, what-if scenarios, 2 interactive explorers, and limited Boldin AI conversations. Monte Carlo analysis, tax projections, the Roth conversion explorer, and account linking are PlannerPlus features ($144/year, as of July 2026).

How much does Boldin cost in 2026?

PlannerPlus is $144 per year, billed annually (Boldin displays it as $12/month), with a 14-day free trial. The price increased from $120/year for new subscribers in July 2025. Boldin Advisors, a separate flat-fee CFP® engagement, is $3,200.

Is FIManager really free?

The Free tier is genuinely free — no card required — and includes building a plan, tracking your finances, and running a Monte Carlo success rate. Paid tiers add scenario comparison and Ask AI (Basic) and Plaid sync plus AI categorization (Premium), with monthly or yearly billing.

Does FIManager model Roth conversions or state taxes?

No. Boldin is meaningfully deeper on tax scenarios — it has a dedicated Roth conversion explorer and state/federal tax projections. FIManager takes the opposite approach for now: you set your own tax rates per plan, explicitly, so the projection contains no rate you didn't choose. If Roth conversion optimization is central to your decision, use Boldin.

Can I switch from Boldin to FIManager?

There's no one-click import, but FIManager's whole design keeps switching cheap: start with a handful of inputs, get a projection and chance of success in minutes, and add detail from there. Try the free FI calculator first — it takes about a minute and requires no account.