Side by side
FI Calc vs MoneyHelper Retirement Budget Planner
Both stand on retirement planning software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
FI Calc offers historical-data retirement simulations with configurable assets, income, and withdrawals, plus CSV export. Its tax and Monte Carlo limits matter, and its URL-based sharing and analytics have privacy implications for saved inputs.
Visit FI CalcChoose MoneyHelper Retirement Budget Planner if you want a free web-based way to estimate retirement costs and organize income and spending. Look elsewhere if you need regulated financial advice or require the accessibility issues identified for this planner to be resolved.
Visit MoneyHelper Retirement Budget PlannerThe facts
| FI Calc | MoneyHelper Retirement Budget Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | ficalc.app | retirement-budget-planner.moneyhelper.org.uk |
| On retirement planning software | #6 of 26 | #10 of 26 |
FI Calc: what it does well
- Free web access to the calculator.
- Models equities, bonds, cash, and changing allocations.
- Includes wages or Social Security as income.
- Exports all simulations or a single simulation as CSV.
- Supports withdrawal planning and scenario analysis.
What to know first
- Does not automatically account for taxes or RMDs.
- Does not currently support Monte Carlo simulations.
- Saved calculations are encoded in URLs.
- Historical results do not guarantee future performance.
MoneyHelper Retirement Budget Planner: what it does well
- Free online tool for retirement cost estimates
- Totals income and outgoings, showing what remains
- Breaks down spending to help identify potential savings
- Converts yearly variable costs into monthly averages
- Budget support is available through webchat and guides
What to know first
- Accessibility statement identifies issues with expandable menu buttons and tab-panel structure
- The service says its tools are general information, not advice to rely on
- The Money and Pensions Service says it is not FCA-regulated and provides no regulated service
Alternatives to FI Calc Alternatives to MoneyHelper Retirement Budget Planner The whole list