Best Retirement Calculators of 2026
The best retirement calculator for you depends less on the brand name and more on what it actually models. Some tools run a simple fixed-rate projection; others run thousands of randomized market scenarios (Monte Carlo simulation) to score your odds of not running out of money.
We compared nine widely used retirement calculators on methodology — not made-up accuracy scores — looking at whether each one models market volatility, Social Security, taxes, and inflation, and whether it's free. No provider paid for placement on this list.
How we ranked these retirement calculators
This list is compiled from each provider's own published methodology pages, help-center documentation, and public calculator interfaces — not a paid placement or an aggregator's ranking. We did not assign a numeric "accuracy" score to any tool, because two calculators built on different methodologies aren't measuring the same thing.
Instead, we checked five factual questions for each tool wherever the provider discloses it: (1) does it run a Monte Carlo simulation across many possible market outcomes, or a single fixed-rate projection; (2) does it estimate or let you enter Social Security income; (3) does it factor in taxes; (4) does it adjust for inflation; and (5) is it free to use. Where a provider didn't publish enough detail to answer one of these confidently, we say so rather than guess.
#1 Bankrate
Best for: A quick, no-signup projection with an inflation toggle
Bankrate's retirement calculator is a single-page tool: you enter your age, savings, contributions, and expected return, and it projects a retirement savings total against your income goal through age 95. It includes an optional toggle to factor in inflation and a built-in Social Security estimate based on your income, so you don't need a separate Social Security calculator to get a rough number.
Bankrate does not publish documentation describing a Monte Carlo or probability-based methodology for this tool, so its projection should be treated as a single deterministic scenario rather than a range of possible outcomes. Confirm the exact inputs it currently supports on bankrate.com, since free tools are updated periodically.
Strengths
- Free, no account or signup required
- Optional inflation adjustment built in
- Rough Social Security estimate included automatically
- Fast — a handful of fields, results on the same page
Limitations
- No published Monte Carlo or probability-of-success methodology — appears to be a single fixed-scenario projection
- Does not model taxes on withdrawals
- Less input control than a full retirement-planning platform
Pricing: Free with no account required. Check bankrate.com for the current input fields, which can change.
#2 NerdWallet
Best for: Comparing a straightforward savings gap against a target
NerdWallet's retirement calculator compares what you're on pace to save against what you'll likely need, using default assumptions of a 6% pre-retirement return, a 5% post-retirement return, 3% annual inflation, and a life expectancy of 95 — all of which you can override in its advanced-details panel. It has an optional field for Social Security, pension, or other retirement income, but it does not estimate that number for you the way some calculators do; you enter your own estimate.
Like Bankrate, this is a fixed-rate projection rather than a simulation across many market scenarios. NerdWallet's own explainer describes the mechanics in those terms — a single assumed return path, not a range of probability-weighted outcomes.
Strengths
- Clear default assumptions, all shown and editable
- Accounts for projected salary increases over time
- Free with no signup
- Simple two-number output: what you'll have vs. what you'll need
Limitations
- Fixed-rate projection, not Monte Carlo — doesn't model a range of market outcomes
- Requires you to estimate your own Social Security or pension income rather than calculating it
- No explicit tax modeling on withdrawals
Pricing: Free with no account required.
#3 SmartAsset
Best for: A built-in Social Security benefit estimate without a separate lookup
SmartAsset's retirement calculator estimates your Social Security benefit directly from your stated income, using the same general approach the Social Security Administration uses — indexing your earnings history and averaging your highest 35 years to estimate your benefit at full retirement age, adjusted for early or delayed claiming. It also applies different assumed returns before and after retirement, and separates savings accounts from investment accounts in its projection.
SmartAsset's own methodology notes that its projection assumes steady positive growth and does not model market volatility or the possibility of investment losses along the way, which is the same fixed-scenario limitation as Bankrate and NerdWallet.
Strengths
- Built-in Social Security benefit estimate using SSA-style methodology
- Distinguishes savings-account returns from investment-account returns
- Free with no signup
- Detailed written methodology published alongside the tool
Limitations
- Does not model market volatility — assumes steady growth with no down years
- No stated Monte Carlo or probability-of-success feature
- Tax treatment of withdrawals is not detailed in its published methodology
Pricing: Free with no account required.
#4 Boldin (formerly NewRetirement)
Best for: DIY planners who want Monte Carlo modeling without hiring an advisor
Boldin, the company formerly known as NewRetirement, offers a free tier with a basic retirement projection plus a paid PlannerPlus tier that adds a Monte Carlo simulation running 1,000 market scenarios to produce a probability-of-success score — for example, a score of 90 means savings lasted through the plan's end in 90% of the simulated scenarios. Boldin's help center publishes a detailed explanation of how the simulation is built, including the historical return and volatility assumptions behind it.
Boldin also supports modeling Social Security claiming ages, multiple income sources, and side-by-side comparison of up to ten planning scenarios, which is a deeper feature set than most free calculators on this list — but the Monte Carlo simulation specifically is gated behind the paid tier.
Strengths
- Published, detailed Monte Carlo methodology (1,000 simulations)
- Free tier available for a basic projection before upgrading
- Supports multiple scenarios and Social Security claiming-age comparisons
- Deep input set — taxes, pensions, part-time income, healthcare costs
Limitations
- Monte Carlo simulation and scenario comparison require a paid PlannerPlus subscription
- More inputs mean more setup time than a five-field calculator
- Best suited to people willing to do the data entry themselves
Pricing: Free basic version; PlannerPlus is a paid subscription — check boldin.com for the current price.
#5 Empower
Best for: Linking real accounts for a Monte Carlo simulation against your actual portfolio
Empower's free Retirement Planner links your actual 401(k), IRA, brokerage, and bank accounts (via Plaid) and runs a Monte Carlo simulation — Empower's own site describes running 5,000 scenarios — against your real holdings rather than numbers you type in by hand. It models Social Security income and lets you enter major financial events like when you plan to claim Social Security or a home purchase, and includes a separate recession-simulator feature to stress-test a plan against a market downturn.
Empower's own marketing pages emphasize the linked-account simulation and recession stress-test rather than detailed tax-bracket modeling, Roth conversion analysis, or withdrawal-sequencing guidance — confirm on empower.com whether those specific features have been added if they matter to your plan.
Strengths
- Free — no subscription required for the Retirement Planner
- Runs Monte Carlo simulation (5,000 scenarios per Empower's own site) against your actual linked accounts, not manual entry
- Models Social Security claiming age and major one-time life events
- Includes a recession-simulator stress test
Limitations
- Requires linking financial accounts through Plaid to get the full simulation
- Empower's own pages don't detail tax-bracket, Roth-conversion, or withdrawal-sequencing modeling — confirm current depth on empower.com
- Empower also markets paid advisory services alongside the free tool
Pricing: Free to use with linked accounts. Empower separately offers paid wealth-management advisory services.
#6 Fidelity
Best for: Fidelity account holders who want published, downloadable methodology detail
Fidelity's retirement planning tools — including its Planning & Guidance Center analysis and Retirement Score — use Monte Carlo simulation and publish detailed methodology documents that spell out the math, including how many market simulations are run per time horizon. Fidelity also publishes a separate, detailed methodology for estimating Social Security benefits, using the same indexed-earnings, top-35-years approach the SSA itself uses.
One specific limitation Fidelity discloses in its own documentation: for savers in a state that taxes Social Security income, the tool does not calculate or incorporate the effect of state and local taxes on that benefit. Read the specific methodology PDF for whichever Fidelity tool you're using, since Fidelity offers several retirement calculators with different depths.
Strengths
- Monte Carlo methodology with published, downloadable detail
- Detailed, SSA-style Social Security benefit estimation
- Free to use, including for non-Fidelity account holders in most cases
- Multiple tools at different depths (quick check vs. full planning analysis)
Limitations
- Does not incorporate state or local taxes on Social Security income, by Fidelity's own methodology disclosure
- Fidelity offers several similarly named retirement tools — confirm which one you're using and its specific methodology
- Deeper tools may prompt account linking for a fuller picture
Pricing: Free. Some tools are more fully featured when linked to a Fidelity account.
#7 Charles Schwab
Best for: Comparing a quick savings projection against a deeper Monte Carlo income plan
Charles Schwab offers two distinct free tools worth telling apart. Its retirement savings calculator is a straightforward accumulation projection where you enter Social Security income yourself. Its separate Retirement Income Calculator explicitly uses Monte Carlo simulation, targeting an 80% probability of success — meaning your specified withdrawals lasted through your selected time horizon in about 80% of simulated market paths — and adjusts your withdrawals for inflation using Schwab's own long-term return and inflation projections.
Schwab's own methodology page states plainly that the Retirement Income Calculator's math does not include taxes or investment-management fees, which is worth knowing before you treat the output as a take-home number.
Strengths
- Retirement Income Calculator has a clearly published Monte Carlo methodology
- Adjusts withdrawals for inflation using Schwab's own published assumptions
- Both tools are free with no account required to try
- Lets you compare a simple accumulation projection against a probability-based income plan
Limitations
- Retirement Income Calculator explicitly excludes taxes and investment-management fees from its math, by Schwab's own disclosure
- Two similarly purposed tools can be confusing — check which one you're using
- Social Security is a manual input on the savings calculator, not auto-estimated
Pricing: Free with no account required.
#8 Vanguard
Best for: Retirees or near-retirees who want a Monte Carlo probability-of-success number for an existing portfolio
Vanguard's Retirement Nest Egg Calculator is built for the drawdown phase: you enter your portfolio balance, planned withdrawal, time horizon, and stock/bond/cash mix, and it runs a Monte Carlo simulation drawing from historical market data to estimate the probability your portfolio lasts the full period. Vanguard also offers a separate Retirement Income Calculator that instead applies a simpler 4%-rule-style approach for a quicker estimate.
Because the Nest Egg Calculator is built around an existing balance and a withdrawal amount, it's less useful if you're still in the saving-and-growing phase of your career — it answers "will this portfolio last," not "how big will my portfolio get."
Strengths
- Monte Carlo simulation drawing on historical market data
- Purpose-built for the withdrawal/drawdown phase of retirement
- Free with no account required
- Lets you test your actual asset allocation (stock/bond/cash mix), not just an assumed return
Limitations
- Designed for people already retired or close to it, not for long-range accumulation projections
- Requires you to already have a portfolio balance and withdrawal plan to model
- Availability and exact tool naming has shifted over time — confirm the current tool name on vanguard.com
Pricing: Free with no account required.
#9 ModernWallet Retirement Calculator
Best for: A fast, transparent two-stage projection — savings growth, then a 4%-rule withdrawal check
Our own retirement calculator uses a two-stage, fixed-rate methodology, not Monte Carlo simulation. Stage one compounds your current savings plus monthly contributions at a fixed annual return you choose through your target retirement age. Stage two applies the 4% rule to estimate your first-year withdrawal and shows whether your balance lasts through the life expectancy you set, and it also displays your projected balance in today's dollars using your chosen inflation rate, so a big future number doesn't overstate what it's actually worth.
Being direct about what it doesn't do: it does not run a probability-based Monte Carlo simulation, it does not estimate or model Social Security benefits, and it does not model federal or state taxes on withdrawals. It's built for a fast, understandable first-pass projection, not a replacement for a full financial plan.
Strengths
- Free, instant results with no signup or account linking
- Shows your inflation-adjusted balance in today's dollars, not just a future nominal number
- Transparent 4%-rule withdrawal check with life-expectancy modeling
- Links directly to related tools — RMD, Social Security, 401(k), and Roth calculators — for deeper follow-up questions
Limitations
- Fixed-rate projection only — no Monte Carlo simulation or probability-of-success score
- Does not estimate or model Social Security benefits within the tool itself
- Does not model taxes on withdrawals
Pricing: Free with no signup required.
Comparison: 9 retirement calculators at a glance
| Option | Methodology | Social Security | Taxes Modeled | Inflation Adjusted | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankrate | Fixed-rate projection | Auto-estimated from income | No | Optional toggle | Free |
| NerdWallet | Fixed-rate projection | Manual entry only | No | Yes (default 3%) | Free |
| SmartAsset | Fixed-rate projection | Auto-estimated, SSA-style | Not detailed | Not detailed | Free |
| Boldin | Monte Carlo (paid tier) | Claiming-age modeling | Yes (paid tier) | Yes | Free tier + paid PlannerPlus |
| Empower | Monte Carlo (5,000 scenarios) | Yes, modeled | Not detailed on Empower's own site | Yes | Free |
| Fidelity | Monte Carlo | Auto-estimated, SSA-style | Partial (excludes state tax on SS) | Yes | Free |
| Charles Schwab | Both: fixed projection + Monte Carlo (income tool) | Manual entry | No (excluded by Schwab's disclosure) | Yes (income tool) | Free |
| Vanguard | Monte Carlo (drawdown-phase tool) | Not a core input | Not detailed | Not detailed | Free |
| ModernWallet | Fixed-rate, two-stage (4% rule) | Not modeled in-tool | No | Yes, shown in today's dollars | Free |
Our verdict: which should you choose?
If you want a two-minute sanity check with no signup, Bankrate, NerdWallet, SmartAsset, and our own retirement calculator all give you a fast fixed-rate projection — pick the one whose default assumptions (return, inflation, life expectancy) you're comfortable with, and use SmartAsset if you specifically want a built-in Social Security estimate without a separate lookup.
If you want to know your probability of not running out of money, not just a single projected number, you need a tool that actually runs Monte Carlo simulation: Fidelity, Charles Schwab's Retirement Income Calculator, Vanguard's Nest Egg Calculator, Empower (free, with linked accounts), or Boldin's paid PlannerPlus tier. Empower is the easiest free way to get there if you're comfortable linking accounts; Boldin is the deepest DIY option if you're willing to pay for it and enter your numbers by hand.
No calculator on this list — free or paid — fully models taxes, so treat every output here as a pre-tax planning estimate and pair it with a tax professional's advice once your plan gets specific enough to matter.
Monte Carlo simulation vs. fixed-rate projection: what the difference actually means
A fixed-rate projection (used by Bankrate, NerdWallet, SmartAsset, and our own retirement calculator) assumes one steady annual return every year between now and retirement. It's fast and easy to understand, but it can't show you what happens if the market drops 20% five years before you retire — a real risk called sequence-of-returns risk.
Monte Carlo simulation (used by Fidelity, Schwab's Retirement Income Calculator, Vanguard's Nest Egg Calculator, Empower, and Boldin's paid tier) instead runs your plan through hundreds or thousands of randomized market paths built from historical volatility data, then reports the percentage of paths where your money lasted. A 90% probability-of-success score means your plan survived 90 out of 100 (or 900 out of 1,000) simulated market histories — it's a range of outcomes, not a single number. Neither approach is "wrong"; a fixed-rate tool is a fine first-pass gut check, while a Monte Carlo tool is better once you're deciding when to actually retire.
Why almost none of these calculators fully model taxes
Modeling taxes accurately requires knowing your filing status, state of residence, other income sources, and the specific account types you'll withdraw from — traditional 401(k) and IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, Roth withdrawals are typically tax-free, and Social Security benefits are only partially taxable depending on your total income. That's a lot of individual variation for a generic calculator to model correctly, which is why Schwab's Retirement Income Calculator and our own tool explicitly say they don't attempt it, Empower's own site doesn't describe detailed tax-bracket or Roth-conversion modeling, and Fidelity discloses a specific state-tax carve-out on Social Security.
Boldin's paid tier goes furthest on tax modeling among the free-to-try options here, but even there, confirm exactly what's included before you rely on an after-tax number. For most people, the safest approach is to treat every calculator's output as a pre-tax estimate, then use the RMD calculator and a tax professional to sanity-check the after-tax version once your plan is close to final.
How to estimate the Social Security piece these calculators handle differently
Bankrate, SmartAsset, and Fidelity all estimate a Social Security benefit for you directly from your income, generally following the Social Security Administration's own method of indexing your earnings and averaging your highest 35 years. NerdWallet and Schwab's savings calculator instead ask you to enter your own Social Security estimate, which means the accuracy of the whole projection depends on how good your own number is.
If you want your actual Social Security estimate rather than one derived from a rough income figure, start with the Social Security retirement calculator or your personal my Social Security statement at ssa.gov, then plug that number into whichever retirement calculator you're using that accepts manual entry.
A five-minute checklist before you trust any retirement calculator's number
First, confirm which methodology you're looking at — fixed-rate projection or Monte Carlo — since the two answer different questions and shouldn't be compared to each other as if they were the same kind of number. Second, check whether Social Security is auto-estimated or something you typed in yourself, and sanity-check that figure against ssa.gov. Third, note whether taxes are included; if the tool says no (most do), treat the output as pre-tax. Fourth, check the inflation assumption and make sure you're reading the inflation-adjusted (today's-dollars) figure if the tool offers one, not just the larger future nominal number. Fifth, run the same inputs through at least two calculators with different methodologies — a fixed-rate tool like our retirement calculator for a fast target, and a Monte Carlo tool like Empower or Fidelity for a probability check — before making a real decision based on either one alone.
Frequently asked questions
Which retirement calculator is most accurate?
There's no single "most accurate" calculator, because different tools are built on different methodologies that aren't measuring the same thing. A fixed-rate projection (Bankrate, NerdWallet, SmartAsset, our own retirement calculator) gives you one scenario based on assumptions you choose. A Monte Carlo tool (Fidelity, Schwab's Retirement Income Calculator, Vanguard's Nest Egg Calculator, Empower, Boldin's paid tier) gives you a probability across many scenarios. Run your numbers through more than one to see how sensitive the answer is to the assumptions.
What is a Monte Carlo retirement calculator, and do I need one?
A Monte Carlo retirement calculator runs your plan through hundreds or thousands of randomized market scenarios drawn from historical volatility data, then reports the percentage of scenarios where your savings lasted. It's most useful once you're within a decade or so of retiring, or already retired, because sequence-of-returns risk (a market drop early in retirement) matters much more once you're withdrawing money instead of adding to it. If you're decades from retirement, a simpler fixed-rate projection is usually good enough for a first pass.
Does ModernWallet's retirement calculator use Monte Carlo simulation?
No. Our retirement calculator uses a two-stage fixed-rate methodology: it compounds your savings and contributions at one assumed annual return through retirement, then applies the 4% withdrawal rule to check whether the balance lasts through your set life expectancy. It also shows your balance in inflation-adjusted, today's-dollars terms. It does not run a probability-based simulation, and it does not model Social Security or taxes within the tool.
Do free retirement calculators account for Social Security?
It varies by tool. Bankrate, SmartAsset, and Fidelity estimate a Social Security benefit automatically from your income. NerdWallet and Schwab's savings calculator let you enter your own Social Security estimate but don't calculate it for you. Empower models Social Security as part of its linked-account simulation. Our own retirement calculator does not model Social Security within the tool — pair it with a dedicated Social Security calculator for that piece.
Why don't retirement calculators model taxes the way a tax return does?
Taxes on retirement withdrawals depend on your filing status, state of residence, other income, and which account types you draw from — traditional accounts are taxed as ordinary income, Roth accounts generally aren't, and Social Security is only partly taxable depending on total income. That's too much individual variation for most generic calculators to model reliably, which is why Schwab's Retirement Income Calculator and our own tool explicitly disclose that they don't attempt full tax modeling, and Empower's own site doesn't describe detailed tax-bracket or Roth-conversion features either. Treat calculator outputs as pre-tax estimates.
Should I trust a free calculator over paying for a financial advisor?
A free calculator is a good first step to size up roughly where you stand, but it can't account for your full financial picture — outside debts, other goals, estate planning, or your personal risk tolerance the way a fiduciary advisor can. Once your numbers get large enough that mistakes are costly, or your situation is complex (self-employment income, multiple pensions, a blended family), it's worth a conversation with a professional. Our guide on how to choose a financial advisor walks through fiduciary status, fees, and credentials to check first.
Free calculators to help you decide
Sources
We prioritize primary sources for rules, formulas, rates, limits, and definitions. See our calculator methodology and editorial policy.