Retirement planning tools that know Canadian tax.
Most Canadians still plan retirement in a spreadsheet, because until recently no consumer tool handled RRSP meltdown, OAS clawback, pension splitting and 13 provincial tax codes properly. These 4 tools now do.
For you, it’s cinder.fi.
Your real spending moves your retirement date in cinder.fi. None of the other tools here do that.
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Last verified: 2026-05-26. Competitor features change; links go to their own pages.
Side by side
Showing the tools that fit what you told us.
| Feature | cinder.fiThat’s us | OptimlChecked May 26, 2026 | AdviiceChecked May 26, 2026 | ProjectionLabChecked July 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | ||||
| Price | $12/mo or $99/yr | $10/mo (Essentials) – $50/mo (Legacy) | $9/mo or $49/yr | $129/yr (annual-only) |
| Free to use | Full planner: projections, budgeting, 4 charts, Plaid (1 institution), no account required | Limited lite tier | No | Forecast (can't save) |
| Trial | Free tier is the trial | 14-day trial | 30-day trial | Free tier available |
| Users (as reported by the tool) | n/a | Not stated | 5,000+ | Not stated |
| Tax | ||||
| Provincial / territorial bracketsAll 13 jurisdictions with surtaxes | Yes (all 13) | Yes | Yes | Limited (ON/AB/BC/QC) |
| Quebec-specific rulesQPP, QST, provincial surtax, QPIP | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Yes (QC preset) |
| Provincial supplementsGAINS (ON), SAFER (BC), ASB (AB), QPP enhancement (QC), SAIP (SK) | Yes (6 provinces) | No | No | No |
| Registered accounts | ||||
| FHSAFirst Home Savings Account ($8K/yr, $40K lifetime) | Yes | Not stated | No | Not stated |
| RDSPDisability savings plan with LDAP withdrawals | Yes | Not stated | No | No |
| Contribution room trackingRRSP / TFSA / FHSA room with carry-forward | Yes | Not stated | No | No |
| Retirement income | ||||
| CPP / QPPActuarial adjustment for early (60) vs late (70) claiming | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| OAS clawback modelingRecovery tax at 15% above $95,323, which you can plan around | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement)Income-tested, non-taxable, 50% clawback on non-TFSA income | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Yes (estimate) |
| Strategy | ||||
| RRSP meltdown (bracket-filling)Draw RRSP early in low-bracket years before RRIF minimums | Yes (auto-bracket-fill) | Yes (3 aggressiveness levels) | Yes | Yes (bracket targets) |
| Pension income splittingAutomatic optimization of eligible income between spouses | Yes (auto-optimized) | Yes | Yes | Yes (2026) |
| Multi-objective optimizerSearches CPP age × meltdown × spending × withdrawal order together | Yes | Limited | No | Yes (tax strategy) |
| Stress tests | ||||
| Monte Carlo simulation1,000+ randomized market paths | Yes (odds free, deeper in Pro) | Not stated | Yes | Yes |
| Historical backtest (1928-present)Test plan against nearly 100 years of actual returns | Yes | No | Yes | Limited |
| Budgeting | ||||
| Budget plan with categoriesMonthly targets feeding into projections | Yes (16 categories) | No | No | No |
| Plaid bank syncAuto-sync Canadian bank accounts + transactions | Yes (1 free, unlimited Pro) | No | No | No |
| Transaction importRBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, Scotiabank CSV auto-detection | Yes | No | No | No |
| YNAB live syncPull budgets + transactions from YNAB API | Yes | No | No | No |
| Spending feeds projectionsReal spending → retirement date impact | Yes | No | No | No |
| Real assets | ||||
| Primary home + mortgage + HELOCAppreciation, payoff, downsizing, HELOC draw strategy | Yes | Limited | Not stated | Yes |
| Rental propertiesIncome, expenses, appreciation, sale with cap gains | Yes (up to 3) | No | No | Yes |
| Everything else | ||||
| Works without an accountUse immediately, data stays on device | Yes | No | No | No |
| French-language interfaceREER/CELI/RRQ labels for Quebec users | Yes | No | No | No |
| Also works for AmericansFull US tax engine (401k, IRA, Roth, SS) | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| MCP API for AI agents100+ tools for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, with an undo for every change | Yes | No | No | No |
Full feature list
| Feature | cinder.fiThat’s us | OptimlChecked May 26, 2026 | AdviiceChecked May 26, 2026 | ProjectionLabChecked July 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian tax engine | ||||
| Federal tax bracketsProgressive marginal rates with inflation indexation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Age credit + pension income creditNon-refundable credits that reduce tax in retirement | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Capital gains inclusion (50%)Half of realized gains taxable as income | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dividend tax credit (eligible + non-eligible)Gross-up + credit for Canadian dividends | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated |
| Registered accounts | ||||
| RRSP / RRIFTax-deferred with mandatory conversion at 71 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TFSATax-free growth and withdrawal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LIRA / LIFLocked-in pension transfers with min/max withdrawals | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated |
| Spousal RRSPIncome splitting via attribution rules | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Government benefits | ||||
| OASLate deferral bonus (+0.6%/month from 65) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CPP break-even analysisVisual: when does deferring CPP/OAS pay off? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated |
| Tax optimization strategies | ||||
| RRIF minimum scheduleMandatory withdrawal from 72 at escalating percentages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LIF max withdrawalProvince-specific maximum on locked-in fund withdrawals | Yes | Yes | Not stated | No |
| Stress testing & scenarios | ||||
| Scenario comparisonSide-by-side "retire at 55 vs 60" on same chart | Yes | Limited | Not stated | Yes |
| Spending strategiesFixed, Guyton-Klinger, VPW, custom | Yes | No | Not stated | Yes |
Prices and features were checked on the dates shown. They change, so each name links to its own site. “Not stated” means we couldn’t confirm it from their public pages.
Where the others are better
- OptimlClosest on tax depth: RRSP meltdown, OAS optimization and pension splitting. A good fit if you never want to budget.
- AdviiceA low-priced planner with drawdown optimization, Monte Carlo and historical backtesting.
- ProjectionLabPolished visuals and flexible scenarios, if you’re happy to type your numbers in yourself. Its Canada mode covers four provinces.
Why not just use a spreadsheet?
Most Canadians plan retirement in a spreadsheet because nothing else handled the tax rules. If yours works, keep it. A spreadsheet can't:
- Run 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations in seconds
- Search CPP age × meltdown × spending strategy together
- Auto-sync your bank accounts via Plaid
- Track your actual spending against your plan
- Backtest against nearly 100 years of real market data
- Update when tax brackets change (indexation happens yearly)
What a spreadsheet can do, cinder.fi also does
- Real provincial tax brackets (all 13)
- OAS clawback calculation
- RRSP meltdown bracket-filling
- CPP/OAS break-even analysis
- Pension income splitting optimization
- Year-by-year detailed projection table
cinder.fi is that spreadsheet, made interactive and visual and connected to your bank. It's free.
Plan by province
Bringing your data over
Bring your history with you. cinder.fi syncs live with YNAB, imports Copilot exports, and reads CSV and OFX files from Canadian and US banks (Pro). You can try the whole planner before you make an account.
Checking our numbers against theirs
Put your numbers into cinder.fi and compare its answer with the tool you use now. If they disagree, the “How we got” section shows every rule behind ours.
Try it with my numbersFrequently asked questions
Why can't I just use a US retirement planner for Canadian accounts?
US planners (Empower, Boldin) don't model RRSP, TFSA, FHSA, LIRA, CPP, OAS, GIS, or provincial tax brackets. A "retirement planner" that doesn't know how RRSP and 401(k) withdrawals differ, or that OAS is clawed back above $95,323, will give you numbers that are off by tens of thousands of dollars.
Does ProjectionLab work for Canadians?
Partially. ProjectionLab has a Canada mode but only supports 4 provinces (Ontario, Alberta, BC, Quebec). It models RRSP/TFSA/RRIF and CPP/OAS/GIS, and in 2026 added pension income splitting and a goal-driven tax-strategy optimizer. What it still lacks: the other 9 provinces and territories, provincial supplements, and any bank sync or budgeting. If you're in one of the 4 supported provinces, it's a capable option.
What is Optiml and how does it compare to cinder.fi?
Optiml is the closest direct competitor in Canada. It models RRSP meltdown, OAS clawback optimization, CPP/QPP timing, pension splitting, and provincial tax brackets. It costs $10-50/month. It has no budgeting, Plaid bank sync, historical backtesting, real estate modeling or free tier (only a limited lite version). cinder.fi includes all of those plus a multi-objective optimizer.
Why do most Canadians use spreadsheets instead of a planning tool?
Because until recently, no consumer tool handled Canadian tax rules properly. US tools don't work. Advisor software (Snap Projections, NaviPlan) costs $50-200/month and isn't sold to consumers. Spreadsheets let you model your own situation, but they can't run Monte Carlo, optimize across 8 variables or connect to your bank. cinder.fi was built to replace the Canadian retirement spreadsheet.
Does cinder.fi handle Quebec accounts and labels?
Yes. Quebec users see REER/CELI/RRQ labels and get QPP-specific benefit calculations. The strategy system adapts account names, tax credits, and benefit rules per province, including Quebec's surtax, QPIP, and QPP enhancement schedule. Full French-language UI is available.
Built by the cinder.fi team. Where Optiml, Adviice, or ProjectionLab do something we don't, the row says so. If you spot something wrong, tell us. The "Not stated" rows are the most likely to be wrong.
Start with a Canadian situation.
Your spending, life events, tax brackets and CPP/OAS timing in one plan.
Start with your situation