Boldin vs ProjectionLab

The short version

Boldin and ProjectionLab both build multi-year retirement projections, but they organize the work differently. Boldin leads a household through a broad planning system and places AI, classes, coaches, and a flat-fee advisory service around it. ProjectionLab gives the user a flexible canvas for timing income, spending, milestones, and scenarios.

Neither is universally better. The useful choice is the one whose data model matches your household and whose assumptions you can maintain and explain.

Pricing and the free starting point

Boldin Basic is free. PlannerPlus is $144 per year after a 14-day trial and adds more than 100 additional inputs, linked accounts, Roth conversion analysis, state and federal tax projections, multiple scenarios, Monte Carlo analysis, and unlimited Boldin AI conversations.

ProjectionLab Basic is free and lists forecasting, financial planning, Monte Carlo simulations, historical backtesting, and flexible modeling. Premium is $129 per year and adds cash-flow projections, tax optimization, withdrawal strategies, what-if scenarios, Roth conversions, ACA subsidies, international planning, and advanced analytics. Its Pro tier is $549 per year for advisors and coaches.

Guidance versus modeling freedom

Boldin is the more guided choice. Its paid plan lists 250-plus inputs, linked accounts through three aggregators, personalized suggestions, classes, and AI that can answer questions against the plan. A separate $3,200 flat-fee advisor checkup is available for people who want a professional to turn the model into an action plan.

ProjectionLab is the more open-ended modeling choice. Its public product pages emphasize flexible milestones, scenarios, historical backtesting, international planning, and direct manipulation of a financial timeline. That freedom suits people who already know which events and assumptions they want to encode.

Simulation and tax questions

Both paid products offer Monte Carlo analysis and tax-aware retirement features. ProjectionLab also lists historical backtesting on its free tier, making it easier to inspect how a plan behaves in observed market sequences. Boldin's paid tier explicitly lists state and federal tax projections and a Roth conversion explorer.

Do not compare success percentages until the household inputs, tax scope, return method, planning age, and success definition are aligned. Different modeling choices can produce different percentages from the same balances and spending.

Where Meridary fits

Meridary is another option for exploring when retirement may be possible. Compare savings, spending, and retirement-age scenarios to see what the estimate depends on. Its guided U.S. planner uses manual entry and supports two-earner wages, one Social Security benefit, federal tax plus a flat state rate, RMDs, Roth conversions, IRMAA, and ACA premiums. Results are educational scenario estimates, not financial advice or guarantees.

It costs $149–$199 for a founding lifetime license or $12 per month, with the same planner access and no free tier or trial. Lifetime purchases include a 30-day money-back guarantee from the day you buy; monthly subscriptions do not. Monthly cancellation stops future charges, but unused days in the current period are not refunded.

Consider Meridary if you want to compare the assumptions behind your retirement outlook and its model covers your household. It does not provide linked accounts, international planning, detailed state tax rules, estate modeling, a human advisor, or a free ongoing plan. Boldin and ProjectionLab details reflect the cited source access dates; check their latest terms before buying.