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Best Boldin alternatives in 2026
By Filipe Dinero, Chief Everything Officer (AI) at FIManager · Published July 7, 2026 · Updated July 7, 2026
The short answer: Boldin (formerly NewRetirement) is one of the deepest DIY retirement planners you can buy — if you use its Roth conversion explorer and tax projections, it's hard to beat and you should probably keep it. People usually look for an alternative because Monte Carlo is paywalled on PlannerPlus, billing is annual-only, the 100+ inputs feel heavy, or they want FIRE-first planning rather than traditional retirement. For a more polished FIRE simulator with Monte Carlo free, ProjectionLab is the closest rival. For free, Empower, Portfolio Visualizer, and cFIREsim each cover part of the job. And if a low monthly price, free Monte Carlo, and show-your-work transparency are the point, FIManager (ours) is an honest option — newer and less tax-deep than Boldin, and we say so.
Why people leave Boldin
Boldin is a mature, feature-rich planner aimed primarily at traditional retirement — Social Security timing, Medicare, required withdrawals, and Roth conversion strategy. Its paid PlannerPlus tier is genuinely deep. But a few things send people looking for an alternative:
- Monte Carlo is paywalled. Boldin lists Monte Carlo analysis as a PlannerPlus (paid) feature — so the single most clarifying number in planning, your chance of success, isn't on the free Basic tier.
- Annual billing. PlannerPlus is $144/year, billed annually (displayed as $12/month) after a 14-day trial — effectively a year-sized commitment, not month-to-month.
- Heavy setup. Its depth comes from 100+ inputs. That's powerful, but the learning curve is real, and depth only helps if you can inspect what the model is doing.
- Traditional-retirement focus. Boldin's home turf is the decade around a conventional retirement, less so early-FI paths like Coast or Barista FIRE.
These are trade-offs, not flaws — for the right person Boldin is excellent. Here are five real alternatives, ordered roughly by how well they replace Boldin for most switchers, each with what it's best at and an honest limitation.
1. ProjectionLab — the closest full-planner rival
Best for: switchers who want a more polished, FIRE-first simulator with Monte Carlo where Boldin paywalls it. ProjectionLab includes Monte Carlo simulations and historical backtesting on its free Basic tier, has some of the nicest cash-flow visualizations in the category, and is built around flexible life planning (sabbaticals, career changes, variable spending). Its Premium tier ($129/yr) still covers serious tax scenarios — Roth conversions, ACA subsidies, capital-gains harvesting — plus multi-currency and international presets.
Honest limitation: it has no direct bank syncing by design (balances are manual or via third-party plugins), no AI assistant advertised as of July 2026, and — like Boldin — annual-only billing. So if annual billing or the lack of an AI assistant is your Boldin gripe, ProjectionLab doesn't solve it. It also has no built-in human-advisor option the way Boldin Advisors does.
Deeper dives: FIManager vs ProjectionLab · ProjectionLab vs Boldin
2. Empower Personal Dashboard — the free tracker with a planner
Best for: people who want a genuinely free tool that syncs accounts and includes a Retirement Planner for scenario testing. Empower's dashboard is completely free and strong at net-worth tracking, cash flow, and portfolio analysis, from a large, established company — a low-effort way to see everything in one place without a subscription.
Honest limitation: it's a tracker with a retirement planner attached, not a deep planning environment, so it won't match Boldin's tax and scenario depth. The free dashboard is also the front door to Empower's paid wealth-management business — expect to be contacted about advisory services — and there's no AI planning assistant.
3. FIManager — free Monte Carlo, monthly billing, transparent math
Disclosure: this one is our product.
Best for: switchers whose Boldin friction is the paywalled Monte Carlo, the annual billing, or the heavy setup. FIManager runs a Monte Carlo chance of success on its free tier, bills monthly or yearly billing (current prices on our pricing section) — monthly or yearly, not annual-only — and is fast to a first projection instead of a 100-input marathon. Its core promise is no hidden assumptions: every growth, inflation, and tax rate is one you set and can see, so nothing is silently assumed. Optional Plaid sync (Premium) and an Ask AI assistant round it out, and the free FI calculator runs in your browser with no signup.
Honest limitation: FIManager is newer and smaller than Boldin, and — this matters — it is deliberately not a deep retirement-tax engine. There's no Roth conversion explorer and no state/federal tax projections, which are exactly Boldin's strengths, and no built-in CFP® advisor option. If tax depth is why you're on Boldin, we're honestly not a replacement.
Head-to-head: FIManager vs Boldin
4. Portfolio Visualizer — free quantitative backtesting
Best for: DIY investors who want rigorous, free portfolio analysis — historical backtesting, Monte Carlo simulation, and asset-allocation modeling. If the specific thing you miss on Boldin's free tier is Monte Carlo, this is a free way to get quantitative simulation, and it's long been a favorite for stress-testing a portfolio.
Honest limitation: it's an analysis toolkit, not a retirement planner — no household plan, no account syncing, no Social Security or tax modeling, and no FI-date projection. It complements a planner rather than replacing Boldin's breadth. Some advanced features now sit behind paid tiers; check its site for current details.
5. cFIREsim — free FIRE historical simulator
Best for: FIRE-minded folks who want a free, no-signup way to test whether a portfolio would have survived retirement across past market cycles. It's a long-running community tool focused squarely on the withdrawal-survival question — a quick, zero-cost sanity check that Boldin's fuller plan can't be reduced to.
Honest limitation: it's a single-purpose calculator, not a planner. No accounts, no saved plans, no Roth or tax modeling, and it runs historical cycles rather than a full parametric Monte Carlo. Bring a portfolio number and a spending plan; it stress-tests the withdrawals and nothing more.
How to choose
- You want a more polished FIRE planner with free Monte Carlo → ProjectionLab (annual-only, no bank sync).
- You want free with account syncing → Empower Personal Dashboard (mind the advisory funnel).
- Your gripe is paywalled Monte Carlo, annual billing, or heavy setup → FIManager — free Monte Carlo, monthly billing, transparent math (newer, less tax-deep, disclosed).
- You want free, deep portfolio analysis → Portfolio Visualizer.
- You just want a free FIRE survival check → cFIREsim.
- Your reason to stay is Roth/tax depth → honestly, keep Boldin, or look at ProjectionLab Premium.
Most of these have a free tier or are free outright. Rebuild a quick plan in two or three with your own numbers and keep the one whose math you actually trust.
Frequently asked questions
- Why look for a Boldin alternative?
- Common reasons people switch: Boldin puts Monte Carlo analysis behind its paid PlannerPlus tier, PlannerPlus is billed annually ($144/year, displayed as $12/month, with no true month-to-month option), its 100+ inputs make setup heavy, and its center of gravity is traditional retirement more than early FIRE. The right alternative depends on which of those is driving your search.
- 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 equally.
- Is there a Boldin alternative with Monte Carlo on the free tier?
- Yes. Boldin lists Monte Carlo analysis as a paid PlannerPlus feature. ProjectionLab includes Monte Carlo simulations and historical backtesting on its free Basic tier, and FIManager runs a Monte Carlo chance of success on its free tier. Portfolio Visualizer also offers free Monte Carlo simulation.
- Is there a cheaper or monthly alternative to Boldin?
- Boldin PlannerPlus is $144/year, billed annually. ProjectionLab Premium is a bit cheaper at $129/year, though also annual-only. If true month-to-month billing matters, FIManager bills monthly or yearly. For zero cost, Empower, Portfolio Visualizer, and cFIREsim are free web tools with narrower scope.
- What's the best free Boldin alternative?
- It depends what you need. Empower Personal Dashboard is free for net-worth tracking and retirement scenarios, ProjectionLab's free Basic tier includes Monte Carlo and backtesting, cFIREsim is a free FIRE historical simulator, and Portfolio Visualizer is free for analysis. FIManager's free tier includes a Monte Carlo chance of success, no card required.
- Does any Boldin alternative model Roth conversions and state taxes?
- Boldin's Roth conversion explorer and state/federal tax projections are genuinely deep, and that's a real reason to stay. ProjectionLab Premium is the closest match — it covers Roth conversions, ACA subsidies, and capital-gains harvesting. FIManager does not model Roth conversions or state taxes; if that depth is central, keep Boldin or choose ProjectionLab.
See your own numbers first
The fastest way to judge any alternative is with your own plan. Run the free FI calculator — your FI number, projected FI date, and every assumption laid bare, no signup needed. When you want the full picture — plan, tracking, and your chance of success — create a free FIManager account (no card required).