When Another Tool Is the Right Choice
ExitYear is designed for early retirement and FIRE balance sheet modeling. Other tools are better suited for specific use cases:
- Automated Account Syncing: If you want automated bank syncing, real-time balance updates, and transaction categorization without manual entry, Empower or Monarch Money is the appropriate tool. ExitYear requires manual balance entry.
- Historical Market Sequence Replay: If you want to test how a withdrawal strategy performed during specific historical periods (such as 1929, 1966, or 2000) using the Shiller monthly data series, cFIREsim or FICalc is the right choice. ExitYear uses parametric Monte Carlo simulations based on mean expected returns and standard deviation.
- Full CFP Advisory & Estate Review: If you want direct human CFP financial advice, tax filing assistance, or legal estate document preparation, Boldin PlannerPlus or a fee-only fiduciary advisor provides human services. ExitYear is a client-side algorithmic modeling tool.
- Academic Consumption Smoothing: If your objective is finding the maximum stable annual discretionary spending you can consume through life expectancy based on economic theory, MaxiFi Planner provides dedicated consumption-smoothing algorithms.
- Custom Visual Cash Flow Nodes & International Tax: If you want to construct modular cash flow diagrams, custom Sankey visualizations, or non-US tax setups, ProjectionLab is the appropriate platform.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ExitYear Lite | Boldin | Empower | ProjectionLab | MaxiFi | cFIREsim / FICalc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cost | $0 (Free forever) | $144/yr ($14.99/mo) | $0 upfront (0.89% AUM advisory fee) | $129/yr ($12/mo) or $679 lifetime | $109-$149/yr ($149-$199 first year) | $0 (Free community tools) |
| Business Model | Free open utility and engine for financial content. No ads, no upsells. | SaaS subscription and CFP advisory upsells. | Wealth management customer acquisition funnel. | Indie SaaS subscriptions and lifetime software licenses. | Proprietary software licenses (Kotlikoff / ESP). | Open source or donation supported. |
| Privacy & Data Storage | 100% client-side. Zero server backend, zero database, zero tracking. | Cloud database. Financial profiles stored on remote servers. | Cloud servers. Financial credentials and balances stored via Plaid/Yodlee. | Client-first with optional cloud sync. Free tier does not persist across sessions. | Cloud servers. Financial inputs sent to remote servers for processing. | Browser localStorage or temporary in-memory session. |
| Account / Login | Zero login, zero account, zero email required. | Mandatory account and email login. | Mandatory account, phone verification, and login. | Mandatory account to save plans or use cloud sync. | Mandatory paid account and login. | No account required. |
| Plan Saving | Local browser storage, JSON file export/import, compressed scenario URLs. | Cloud database. Multi-scenario comparisons require paid tier. | Cloud database linked to financial institutions. | Local and cloud saving require paid account. Free tier wipes on browser refresh. | Cloud database linked to paid license. | Local browser storage or shareable URL hashes. |
| Multi-Account Buckets | Cash, Taxable Brokerage, Pre-Tax (401k/IRA), Roth, HSA, Illiquid Real Estate. | Pre-tax, Roth, taxable, cash, HSA, real estate. | Aggregates linked accounts; models portfolio as a pooled balance. | Granular multi-account support with custom asset classes. | Traditional, Roth, taxable, cash, real estate, annuities. | Single-bucket portfolio or basic stock/bond/cash percentage split. |
| Tax Engine | Account-aware tax drag + standalone 2026 federal, 50-state, and FICA paycheck engine. | Detailed federal brackets, state tax rates, capital gains, and Medicare IRMAA. | Flat estimated tax percentage. No state tax engine or cost basis tracking. | Configurable US federal brackets, state tax rates, and international rules. | Statutory federal and state tax engine with Medicare IRMAA and Social Security taxation. | None. Relies on gross spending or user flat tax estimates. |
| Multi-Account Withdrawal Waterfall | Account-aware tax waterfall liquidation (Cash -> Taxable Brokerage -> Pre-Tax -> Roth) + Roth conversion bracket filling (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%). | Automated withdrawal sequencing and Roth conversion explorer (paid tier $144/yr). | Pooled liquidation. No tax-efficient multi-account sequencing or Roth optimizer. | Rule-based milestone drawdowns and Roth conversion optimizer (paid tier $129/yr). | Lifetime consumption smoothing across accounts and Roth conversion analyzer. | None. Draws down from single combined portfolio balance. |
| Social Security Claiming Age Optimizer | Title II statutory adjustments across ages 62–70 (-30% to +24%), actuarial breakeven crossovers, and pre-claim bridge burden. | Social Security Explorer with optimization scenarios (paid tier $144/yr). | Simple benefit estimator. No actuarial crossover or early bridge burden math. | Age-based start configurations; lacks automated crossover optimization. | Comprehensive Social Security claiming optimization engine. | Static benefit entries or start-age delays without actuarial crossover analysis. |
| Pre-59.5 Early Bridge Math | Dedicated IRC §72(t) early draw enforcement, accessible liquid runway, and statutory penalty math. | General cash flow tracking; lacks automated bridge diagnostic ratio. | None. Assumes all portfolio assets are accessible at any age. | Custom drawdown rules can be configured; lacks dedicated bridge metric. | Models consumption across years; focused on traditional retirement horizons. | None. Assumes entire portfolio is accessible without penalties. |
| Pre-65 Healthcare & ACA Subsidies | Dedicated ACA subsidy modeler with HHS Federal Poverty Line tables and KFF benchmark premiums. | Pre-Medicare healthcare estimation (detailed modeling requires paid tier). | None. Entered as generic recurring spending. | Custom expense events; no statutory ACA benchmark subsidy engine. | Modeled as living expense stream; no standalone ACA subsidy calculator. | None. Bundled into overall spending total. |
| Debt Amortization | Fixed-rate loan and mortgage amortization schedules tracking monthly principal, interest, and payoff dates. | Mortgage and liability amortization modeling. | Reads current debt balances from linked accounts; no forward amortization schedules. | Advanced loan and debt amortization modeling. | Mortgage and liability payment modeling. | None. Debts must be modeled as temporary spending streams. |
| Simulation Engine | Dual-Engine Feasibility: deterministic 5-pillar Exit Readiness Score (0-100) + stochastic Monte Carlo. | Deterministic cash flows + Monte Carlo simulation (Monte Carlo locked to paid tier). | Stochastic Monte Carlo simulation (5,000 trials). No balance sheet feasibility scoring. | Deterministic projections + Monte Carlo and historical backtesting. | Deterministic consumption smoothing + Monte Carlo risk analysis. | Historical sequence replay (Shiller S&P 500 / bond historical data sequences). |
| Paycheck & Bonus Tax Engine | Standalone paycheck calculator with 2026 federal brackets, 50-state withholding, FICA wage base caps ($184,500), and bonus withholding. | High-level salary entries; no paycheck stub withholding calculator. | None. Reads net deposits from linked bank accounts. | Cash flow income entries; no gross-to-net paycheck calculator. | Annual wage income modeling; no paycheck-level withholding calculator. | None. |
| Curated Market Shock Scenarios | One-click stress scenarios: Immediate Crash, Stagflation, Tech Bubble, Lost Decade. | Optimistic, pessimistic, and average market return assumptions. | Basic market crash overlays (e.g. 2008 recession simulation). | Custom historical periods and return shock sequences. | Floor-and-upside living standard risk analysis. | Evaluates every historical period in dataset (1871 to present). |
| Best For | Early retirees and FIRE planners needing account-aware math, pre-59.5 bridge verification, and client-side privacy without fees or logins. | Traditional retirees seeking cash flow modeling, Medicare planning, and optional CFP advice. | Users wanting automated daily account syncing and net worth tracking who tolerate sales calls. | Power users wanting interactive cash flow diagrams, custom modular rules, and international tax configurations. | Retirees prioritizing academic consumption-smoothing economics and lifetime living standard optimization. | FIRE community members testing variable withdrawal strategies against historical market sequences. |