Comparison hub
How cinder.fi compares.
Honest, side-by-side feature tables — built by our team, sourced from public pages, and transparent about what we don't do. Pick your comparison:
US retirement
US Retirement Planners
vs Empower, Boldin, ProjectionLab
The 3 tools Americans actually use — compared on Roth conversions, withdrawal strategies, Monte Carlo, Social Security, and free tiers.
Roth conversion · Social Security · 401(k) / IRA
Canadian retirement
Canadian Retirement Planners
vs Optiml, Adviice, ProjectionLab
RRSP meltdown, OAS clawback, pension splitting, CPP optimization, and all 13 provincial tax codes. Plus: why spreadsheets aren't enough.
RRSP meltdown · OAS clawback · pension splitting
Budgeting apps
Budgeting Apps
vs YNAB, Monarch Money, Copilot
Every budgeting app tracks where your money went. Only one connects it to 50-year tax-aware retirement projections.
spending tracking · bank sync · budget → projections
Switching from a specific tool?
cinder.fi vs Boldin
The deep US-only planner (formerly NewRetirement). See where cinder.fi differs — Canada support, real tax math on the free tier, and budget sync.
Boldin alternative →
cinder.fi vs ProjectionLab
Beautiful visualizations, but estimate-based taxes and no direct bank linking. See the side-by-side on tax accuracy, Plaid sync, and pricing.
ProjectionLab alternative →
The short version
What no other tool does
Budgeting + retirement in one tool
16-category budget plan, transaction import (CSV, OFX, YNAB, Copilot), Plaid bank sync — all feeding directly into 50-year tax-aware projections. No other retirement planner does this. No budgeting app does this.
US + Canada in the same engine
Real tax brackets for all 50 US states + DC and all 13 Canadian provinces/territories. RRSP meltdown and Roth conversions. CPP/OAS and Social Security. Cross-border couples can plan both sides.
A real free tier
Full projections, budgeting, 4 charts, Plaid (1 account), plan sharing — no account required. No trial timer. No credit card. Empower is the only competitor with a comparable free offering, and its planning depth is shallow.
Multi-objective optimizer
Sweeps CPP/OAS age, withdrawal strategies, meltdown, savings allocation, spousal RRSP, PLOC — 8+ dimensions simultaneously. One-click presets: Minimize Tax, Maximize Estate, Maximize Funded Years.
Historical backtest to 1871
Test your plan against every 30-year market window since 1871. Real S&P 500 + bond returns. 4 spending strategies: Fixed, Constant Dollar, Guyton-Klinger, VPW. No other consumer planner offers this depth.
AI-native via MCP
19 retirement tools exposed via Model Context Protocol. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor can run projections, score plans, and optimize strategies. No other planner has a public API of any kind.
The real competitor
cinder.fi vs your spreadsheet
Spreadsheets are the most popular retirement planning tool — especially in Canada, where nothing else handled the tax rules. If yours works, keep it. Here's what you're leaving on the table:
What a spreadsheet can't do
- • 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations in seconds
- • Sweep 8 optimization dimensions simultaneously
- • Auto-sync your bank accounts via Plaid
- • Import transactions from YNAB, Copilot, or CSV
- • Track actual spending against your plan
- • Backtest against 150+ years of real market data
- • Auto-update when tax brackets change yearly
- • Share with a spouse or advisor via URL or PDF
What cinder.fi also does
- ✓ Real marginal tax brackets (13 CA provinces, 50 US states)
- ✓ OAS clawback + GIS + provincial supplements
- ✓ RRSP meltdown bracket-filling
- ✓ CPP/OAS/SS break-even analysis
- ✓ Pension income splitting optimization
- ✓ Year-by-year projection table
- ✓ Custom withdrawal ordering
- ✓ Multiple scenario comparison
cinder.fi is the spreadsheet — but interactive, visual, connected to your bank, and free.
Frequently asked questions
› Is cinder.fi really free?
Yes. The free tier is a full retirement planner — projections, budgeting, 4 charts, Plaid bank sync (1 account), and plan sharing. No trial timer, no credit card, no account required. Pro ($12/mo or $99/yr) unlocks Monte Carlo, the optimizer, 15 charts, unlimited scenarios, and PDF export.
› Which retirement planner has the best withdrawal optimizer?
cinder.fi's optimizer sweeps across 8+ dimensions simultaneously — CPP/OAS claiming ages, withdrawal strategies, meltdown settings, savings allocation, spousal RRSP, and PLOC configurations — to find the optimal combination for minimizing tax, maximizing estate, or maximizing funded years.
› Do I need a retirement planner if I already use a budgeting app?
Budgeting apps (YNAB, Monarch, Copilot) track where your money went. Retirement planners project where it's going. cinder.fi is the only tool that connects both — your real spending flows into 50-year tax-aware projections. See our budgeting comparison at /compare/budgeting/ for details.
› Why not just use a spreadsheet?
If your spreadsheet works, keep it. But spreadsheets can't run 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations, sweep 8 optimization dimensions simultaneously, auto-sync your bank via Plaid, backtest against 150 years of market data, or auto-update when tax brackets change. cinder.fi does all of that, and it's free. See our Canada comparison for the full spreadsheet vs planner breakdown.
› What is MCP and why does it matter for retirement planning?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor use cinder.fi's 19 calculation tools directly — running projections, scoring plans, and optimizing strategies inside an AI conversation. cinder.fi is the only retirement planner with an MCP server.
Start with a situation like yours.
See how spending, life events, and retirement timing fit together.
Start with your situation