Boldin vs ProjectionLab vs Empower: One Clear Winner

You don’t need a $5,000/year financial advisor to run Monte Carlo simulations on your retirement. You need the right software. But choosing between Boldin, ProjectionLab, and Empower is harder than it should be — especially since half the review articles online are still using prices that changed in 2025.

The stakes here are real. If you’re using a tool with known inaccuracies in Roth conversion modeling — and the Bogleheads community has documented specific ones — you could be optimizing your plan around numbers that are quietly wrong. That matters when you’re planning to convert $50K/year out of a pre-tax IRA.

Quick answer: ProjectionLab is the best overall pick for most serious DIY investors — cleanest interface, deepest tax analysis, strongest privacy model, and now $129/year (cheaper than Boldin). Boldin is the right choice if you want guided planning and the best Social Security optimization wizard of the three — plus a genuinely useful AI Planner Assistant launched in February 2026. Empower is free, aggregates your accounts beautifully, and runs Monte Carlo — but it’s not a substitute for either paid tool if you’re doing Roth conversion or tax planning.

Here’s what actually changed in the last year, what each tool does better than the others, the one Boldin accuracy issue worth knowing about, and a decision framework for your exact situation.

What Changed in 2025–2026 (Read This First)

Most reviews of these tools are working from outdated information. Before we get into the comparisons, here’s what’s actually new.

Boldin is NewRetirement. The company rebranded in September 2024 — same product, same team, same pricing structure. If you’ve been using NewRetirement, nothing changed except the name. If you’re searching for “NewRetirement alternatives,” you’re already looking at it.

Boldin’s price went up. PlannerPlus is now $144/year, raised from $120/year in July 2025. Not a dramatic jump, but worth knowing before you click through to an article showing the old price.

Boldin launched an AI Planner Assistant on February 25, 2026. During beta, 15,000 users submitted 190,000+ questions (boldin.com). Unlike generic AI chatbots, this is grounded in your actual plan data — you ask “What happens if I delay Social Security to 70?” and it answers based on YOUR numbers, not a hypothetical.

ProjectionLab raised its lifetime price. From $799 to $1,199. Most articles online still show $799 — that price doesn’t exist anymore. Annual is now $129/year (verified at projectionlab.com/pricing, March 2026).

ProjectionLab shipped major updates. Version 4.4 added Block Bootstrap Monte Carlo sampling, Mega Backdoor Roth, Flex Spending, and a ~2x faster Monte Carlo engine. Version 4.5 added an estate planning tab, charitable giving (QCDs and Donor-Advised Funds), and a redesigned Sankey cashflow chart.

Empower had a rough late 2025. The platform temporarily disabled its Retirement account aggregation feature during a dashboard rebuild. At one point, the Monte Carlo Success Rate displayed 0% due to an engineering bug — which, if you didn’t know it was a bug, was a mildly terrifying experience. Both issues were resolved per Empower support (support-personalwealth.empower.com), but it’s worth knowing it happened.

Boldin fixed a significant Monte Carlo accuracy bug. The engine was previously counting volatility twice by using CAGR instead of Arithmetic Average Growth Rate (AAGR). This has been corrected, per the Boldin blog and a dedicated Bogleheads thread (viewtopic.php?t=444911).

Comparison at a Glance

5-year total cost of ownership (calculated from verified pricing at boldin.com and projectionlab.com, March 2026):

• Boldin: $720 ($144 × 5)
• ProjectionLab annual: $645 ($129 × 5)
• ProjectionLab lifetime: $1,199 (fixed, one-time)
• Empower: $0

The counterintuitive fact: ProjectionLab — widely perceived as the “premium” tool — is $15/year cheaper than Boldin on the annual plan.

Boldin (Formerly NewRetirement): Best for Guided Planning and Social Security

Boldin’s free tier is unusually generous. Monte Carlo simulation, Social Security Explorer, and Roth Conversion Explorer are all available before you pay a dollar (boldin.com/retirement/pricing/) — which is rare among tools in this category.

The PlannerPlus tier at $144/year adds account linking via Plaid, MX, and Finicity; a scenario manager; 100+ plan inputs; tax strategy modeling; and IRMAA planning. The interface is linear and guided — an excellent onramp for someone who hasn’t done this before, though some experienced users find it constraining compared to building custom scenarios from scratch.

Social Security is where Boldin clearly wins. The Social Security Explorer models three scenarios — Current Plan, Desired Plan, and Maximum Life Benefit — while handling spousal and survivor benefits. The tool was updated in August 2025 for more accurate benefit estimation and reflects 2026 Social Security parameters (maximum taxable earnings: $184,500 per boldin.com help center). No other tool in this comparison comes close for SS strategy work.

The AI Planner Assistant is genuinely useful — and not in a gimmicky way. If you’ve absorbed enough fintech AI hype to approach it with skepticism, this tool earns a second look. The difference from generic AI chatbots: it’s grounded in your actual plan data. During beta, 15,000 users submitted 190,000+ questions (boldin.com, February 2026). That’s real usage, not a press release. Currently free during beta for all subscribers.

Now for the concern worth naming. Multiple Bogleheads users have documented that Boldin’s Roth conversion recommendations can be problematic in specific scenarios. One community member wrote: “Boldin’s Roth conversion recommendations are way too RC heavy due to some internal logical errors” (Bogleheads, viewtopic.php?t=453080). The specific issue: when bonds are held in tax-deferred accounts, the tool can generate “wildly wrong answers costing six figures in unnecessary taxes” per another forum contributor (viewtopic.php?t=459985). The fix: run any Roth conversion plan through a manual sanity check, and don’t treat Boldin’s optimizer as a final answer on its own.

For perspective: HumbleDollar forum user Tim Burkholder wrote that “the Roth conversion strategies and IRMAA awareness are standout features,” and Bogleheads users doing less complex scenarios confirm the tool works well. The documented issue is specific to complex asset location — not a reason to avoid Boldin, but a reason to verify your results.

The $2,800/year Boldin Advisors tier adds CFP access. For someone who wants to keep the software but get a one-time professional plan review, this is well below typical advisor retainer fees.

Community verdict: “Great to confirm my spreadsheets and then some. Well worth it” (early-retirement.org, user EQMAN). Countervailing view: “Never liked it enough — and I’m skeptical of the push from influencers on YouTube” (early-retirement.org, user NanoSour). The YouTube affiliate network around Boldin is real; a lot of positive reviews have financial relationships with the company. Worth factoring in when reading the ecosystem.

ProjectionLab: Best for Tax-Obsessed DIY Investors and Privacy-First Users

ProjectionLab has a reputation as the premium option — which makes it easy to miss that it’s $15/year cheaper than Boldin at $129/year. The lifetime deal is $1,199 (raised from $799 in 2025) and breaks even against the annual subscription in approximately 9.3 years ($1,199 ÷ $129).

The lifetime deal math is worth doing. If you’re 52 and expect to use retirement planning software through age 65+, you’re getting 13+ years of use. At $129/year, that’s $1,677. The $1,199 lifetime deal saves you roughly $500 in that scenario. Worth it once you’ve confirmed the software fits how you think.

Tax analysis is ProjectionLab’s clearest competitive advantage. It includes an Income by Tax Rate heatmap, state and local tax modeling, IRMAA planning, and support for the OBBBA tax legislation from July 2025. Version 4.4 added international tax modeling for Canada, UK, Spain, Germany, and Netherlands (projectionlab.com/blog/whats-new-v440) — the only tool in this comparison that handles expat scenarios. Roth ladder modeling, 72t/SEPP, and Mega Backdoor Roth are all supported manually.

The catch: there’s no Roth conversion auto-optimizer. Boldin will suggest “convert this amount, these years.” ProjectionLab makes you test scenarios manually. For users who want full control over every assumption, this is a feature. For users who want a starting recommendation to work from, it’s a gap. The roadmap lists an optimizer as planned but not yet shipped (changemap.co/projectionlab).

Privacy is a genuine differentiator. ProjectionLab doesn’t link accounts by design — all entry is manual. Data is stored locally or in encrypted Firebase. The company explicitly states they don’t monetize user data. That’s bootstrapped, self-funded, and a meaningful contrast to Empower, whose free product is funded by selling wealth management services. It’s worth naming loudly.

The Monte Carlo implementation is the most technically sophisticated of the three. Block Bootstrap Sampling — added in v4.4 (projectionlab.com/blog/whats-new-v440) — preserves real year-to-year market patterns rather than treating each simulated year as independent, which better captures sequence-of-returns risk. Historical backtesting runs alongside Monte Carlo. You can drill into individual simulation trial paths. The v4.4 update also made the engine roughly 2x faster.

Social Security is the clear weakness. Basic manual input only — you enter your estimated benefit, and the tool uses it. No claiming strategy optimizer, no spousal benefit comparison wizard. If you need to model a SS claiming decision for a couple across different ages and benefit levels, Boldin is the better tool for that specific job.

The UX is consistently described in community discussions as “stunning,” “Apple-esque,” and “far more versatile and user-friendly in virtually every way” (Bogleheads, viewtopic.php?t=456248). One user switching from Pralana Gold called it “MUCH more engaging and easy to use” (Pralana community forum). The community consensus: “Most Bogleheads would find ProjectionLab to be the better choice for cheaper price” (Bogleheads, viewtopic.php?t=456248).

Empower: Best as a Free Account Aggregator (Not a Standalone Planning Tool)

Empower’s free personal dashboard is genuinely excellent for what it is. It pulls bank accounts, brokerages, 401(k)s, IRAs, real estate, and loans into a single net worth view. Its investment fee analyzer identifies high-fee funds in your portfolio and calculates the long-term drag. These are useful tools at $0.

The Monte Carlo planner runs thousands of scenarios, uses a default 3.5% inflation assumption, and pulls historical US equity data back to 1926. The recession simulator adds stress-testing. For someone who wants a high-level “will I be okay?” check-in, it does the job.

But here’s what Empower’s retirement planner cannot do: deep Roth conversion planning, Social Security optimization, or detailed state/federal tax projections. Those features live in the paid wealth management advisory tier. The free planner is a calculator. It’s not a planning tool in the same league as Boldin or ProjectionLab.

The upsell dynamic is documented and consistent. Rob Berger, who reviewed the product extensively at robberger.com, notes receiving 1–2 cold calls per month from Empower’s wealth management team after linking accounts above $100K. Politely declining stops the contact, but it’s friction worth knowing about in advance. The business model is transparent: the free software is funded by the wealth management arm, which charges 0.89% AUM on the first $1M — roughly $8,900/year on a $1M portfolio, tapering to 0.49% above $10M (empower.com).

If you have a $2M retirement portfolio and you’re paying Empower’s advisory fee, you’re spending roughly $17,800/year. A $144/year Boldin subscription plus a $500 fee-only planner consultation for your annual review gets you most of the same outcome at a fraction of the cost. That’s not an attack on Empower — it’s basic math that the affiliate review ecosystem rarely bothers to run.

The optimal use case for Empower: pair it with one of the paid tools. Use Empower for real-time account aggregation and net worth tracking. Use Boldin or ProjectionLab for scenario modeling and tax strategy. The combination works well, and the total cost is $129–$144/year.

Which Tool Is Right for You?

Here’s a direct framework, by situation. No hedging.

“I’m 52, have a 401(k) and IRA, and haven’t started serious retirement planning.” Start with Empower (free) to see your full financial picture in one place. Then add Boldin PlannerPlus for guided scenario planning and Social Security optimization. Boldin’s linear interface will walk you through the inputs — it’s the lowest-friction onramp of the three.

“I’m 58, FIRE-adjacent, and want full control over every modeling assumption.” ProjectionLab Premium ($129/year) or the lifetime deal if you’ll use it for 10+ years. The tax depth, UI quality, and manual scenario control are exactly what this type of user wants. Build scenarios, drill into trial paths, set up your Roth ladder the way you want it.

“I’m planning heavy Roth conversions over the next 10 years and taxes are my primary concern.” ProjectionLab for tax depth. Use the manual scenario approach rather than relying on an auto-optimizer — that’s where both Boldin and ProjectionLab have community-documented limitations when bonds are held in tax-deferred accounts. Cross-check any aggressive optimization manually.

“I need to model Social Security claiming strategy for my spouse and me.” Boldin is the clear winner. ProjectionLab’s SS support is too basic for this use case, and Empower has no SS optimizer in the free planner.

“I’m an expat or have income in another country.” ProjectionLab is the only option in this comparison. It’s the only tool with multi-country tax support — UK, Canada, Spain, Germany, Netherlands.

“I want to use AI to understand my retirement plan better.” Boldin’s AI Planner Assistant (February 2026) is the only AI tool here that’s grounded in your actual plan data, not generic financial advice. Ask it about your scenario specifically. This is the right application of AI in personal finance.

The optimal stack for most people: Empower (free, for aggregation) + either Boldin or ProjectionLab (for planning). The two approaches complement each other well. If you’re self-employed or run a small business, first get your business expenses tracked automatically — retirement projections are only as reliable as your actual income data. If you haven’t nailed personal budgeting yet, start with a budgeting app before you model retirement — retirement planning software works best when you have consistent cash flow data going into it.

Our Take: The Boring AI Is the Useful AI

Let’s be direct about something.

The fintech marketing world is saturated with “AI will optimize your portfolio” claims. Robo-advisors promising alpha. Trading bots that “work while you sleep.” Newsletter services selling AI-generated stock picks. All of it is noise, and most of it is bad for regular investors.

These three tools are doing something fundamentally different. They’re running 1,000 Monte Carlo scenarios so you can see your 30-year retirement probability distribution. They’re modeling what happens to your marginal tax rate if you convert $40K/year from a traditional IRA for the next decade. They’re calculating the exact dollar difference between claiming Social Security at 62 versus 70. That work — tedious, computational, math-heavy — is where software actually helps people make better financial decisions.

ProjectionLab is the better long-term choice for most serious DIY investors. The tax tools are deeper, the UX is better, the privacy model is meaningfully better, and it’s cheaper. The Bogleheads community — not known for being easily impressed by software — consistently calls it “far more versatile and user-friendly in virtually every way” (viewtopic.php?t=456248). Multiple users have noted: “I’m planning to drop my Boldin subscription and go singularly with ProjectionLab” (Bogleheads, viewtopic.php?t=456248).

Boldin earns its place for Social Security and guided onboarding. It’s not a worse tool — it’s a different tool. The AI Planner Assistant is the kind of AI application worth celebrating: grounded in your actual numbers, answering questions about your plan. The $144/year price is reasonable for what you get. The Roth conversion caveat is real but manageable if you know to check your results.

Empower is a free dashboard with a 0.89% AUM advisory service sitting behind it. That business model is transparent — and the free product is genuinely good. But it should be named clearly. If you’re on a $2M portfolio and you’re paying their advisory fee, you’re spending roughly $17,800/year for a service you could substantially replicate with a $129/year subscription and one annual meeting with a fee-only fiduciary.

One more thing worth naming: a lot of Boldin reviews online come from creators with affiliate relationships. Community discussions at Bogleheads and early-retirement.org — where nobody has a financial stake in the recommendation — are more useful signals. That’s where you’ll find the Roth conversion accuracy concerns, the upsell frustration with Empower, and the consistent praise for ProjectionLab’s UX.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Boldin better than ProjectionLab for retirement planning?

It depends on what you’re optimizing for. Boldin is better for Social Security optimization, guided planning, and the new AI Planner Assistant — it’s the better onramp for people newer to detailed retirement planning. ProjectionLab is better for tax depth, UI quality, privacy, and manual control over every scenario. Most advanced DIY investors prefer ProjectionLab; Boldin wins for SS strategy and AI-assisted planning.

Can I use Empower and Boldin together, or do I have to pick one?

You can absolutely use both — and for many users, this is the optimal setup. Use Empower (free) for account aggregation and real-time net worth tracking. Use Boldin or ProjectionLab for scenario planning, Roth conversion modeling, and tax strategy. They serve different functions, and the combination costs about $129–$144/year total.

What happened to NewRetirement — is Boldin the same product?

Yes, same product, same team. NewRetirement rebranded to Boldin in September 2024. All features, pricing, and existing accounts carried over unchanged. If you had a NewRetirement subscription, you have a Boldin subscription. Nothing about the product itself changed.

Is ProjectionLab’s $1,199 lifetime deal worth it compared to Boldin?

At $129/year for ProjectionLab vs $144/year for Boldin, the annual plan is already $15/year cheaper. The $1,199 lifetime deal breaks even vs the ProjectionLab annual plan in about 9.3 years ($1,199 ÷ $129). If you’ll use it through retirement — 10–20+ years — the lifetime deal almost certainly pays off. Note: most articles online still show the old $799 lifetime price, which no longer exists.

Which retirement planning software handles Social Security optimization?

Boldin is the clear leader. It runs a dedicated Social Security Explorer with Current Plan vs Desired Plan vs Maximum Life Benefit comparison, handles spousal and survivor benefits, and reflects 2026 SS parameters (max taxable earnings: $184,500 per boldin.com help center). ProjectionLab’s SS support is basic manual input only — no claiming strategy wizard. Empower has no SS optimizer in the free planner.

Should I pay for retirement planning software if Empower is free?

Empower is excellent for account aggregation and a high-level retirement check-in. But if you’re doing Roth conversion planning, Social Security strategy, or detailed tax projections, Empower’s free planner isn’t built for that depth. Boldin at $144/year or ProjectionLab at $129/year both dramatically outperform Empower on scenario modeling. Getting your Roth conversion timing right over 10 years can easily save five figures in taxes. The subscription cost is a rounding error by comparison.

How accurate is Monte Carlo simulation in these retirement tools?

All three run solid Monte Carlo, but with important nuances. Boldin recently fixed a significant accuracy bug — it was counting volatility twice using CAGR; the engine now uses Arithmetic Average Growth Rate (AAGR) (Boldin blog; Bogleheads viewtopic.php?t=444911). ProjectionLab added Block Bootstrap Sampling in v4.4, which preserves real year-to-year market patterns rather than fully randomized returns — a meaningful methodological improvement for capturing sequence-of-returns risk. After Boldin’s fix, community testing found the two tools’ results to be “almost identical” (Bogleheads, viewtopic.php?t=444911). One caveat applies to all three: complex scenarios involving bonds in tax-deferred accounts can produce inaccurate Roth conversion recommendations. Verify any aggressive optimization manually before acting on it.

The Bottom Line

ProjectionLab is the better tool for most serious DIY investors — deeper tax analysis, better UX, stronger privacy model, and actually cheaper than Boldin at $129/year. Boldin earns its subscription if you need a Social Security claiming strategy or want guided onboarding with AI assistance. Empower is a free account aggregator — useful, free, and not a replacement for either paid tool.

The best move: open Empower’s free dashboard to get everything in one place. Then run your actual numbers through both Boldin and ProjectionLab free tiers before you commit to either. Both offer enough free functionality to tell you which interface fits the way you think.

The revolution in personal finance isn’t AI trading bots — it’s $129/year software that runs 1,000 retirement scenarios before you finish your morning coffee. Use the boring tools. They work.