FIRECalc vs MaxiFi
FIRECalc
firecalc.com
MaxiFi
maxifi.comSide by side
| Figure | FIRECalc | MaxiFi |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $12.42/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Retirement Planning Software | 7.8 (#13) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Intended users | The site presents FIRECalc for people evaluating early retirement and whether their savings, spending, and other resources can maintain their lifestyle. | The company says MaxiFi can help people make financial decisions at any age and stage, including career, housing, and retirement choices. |
| Purpose | FIRECalc helps assess whether savings and planned spending can sustain a retirement across historical market conditions. | MaxiFi creates a lifetime financial plan and calculates sustainable annual spending based on income, assets, taxes, Social Security, and other inputs. |
| Support | The contact page directs usage questions to the FIRECalc support section of the Early Retirement forum and accepts bug reports and suggestions. | Support is provided through online tickets, with listed contact hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern; phone support is not included in the purchase price. |
Plans
In their own words
FIRECalc
FIRECalc is a free web calculator for assessing whether savings, planned spending, and other resources could sustain retirement. It tests plans against historical market conditions beginning in 1871 and reports how often the portfolio would have remained funded for the selected term across historical starting years. Users can include Social Security, pensions, and other income or spending adjustments. Spending options include inflation-adjusted constant amounts, Bernicke's Reality Retirement Plan, and a percentage of the remaining portfolio. Portfolio settings allow historical investment portfolios, fees, and consistent or random returns. Planning inputs can include a future retirement date, annual contributions before retirement, and future lump-sum changes. Defaults are a 75% stock-index and 25% bond-fund portfolio, a 0.18% fund fee, and inflation-adjusted spending over 30 years. FIRECalc says it cannot predict future returns and does not provide tax planning. The homepage reports data through January 1, 2026, updated April 17, 2026. It says it does not store financial entries; temporary spreadsheet and graphic files are deleted after about 15 minutes.
MaxiFi
MaxiFi builds a lifetime financial plan and estimates sustainable annual spending using income, assets, taxes, Social Security and other inputs. You can revise the plan to compare choices such as changing jobs, buying a home or retiring early. It models federal, state, FICA and IRMAA taxes, Social Security benefits and Medicare Part B premiums. Paid optimizers cover Roth conversions, Social Security filing and retirement withdrawals. Living Standard Monte Carlo compares how investment strategies and spending behavior affect discretionary spending; the software also estimates life insurance needs using contingency plans. Annual reports can be exported as PDF or Excel files, and plans can be shared with an advisor who has a MaxiFi PRO subscription. MaxiFi is available on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows. It offers a 14-day trial with limited features and comparison of three alternate scenarios. The Unlocked plan is listed at $149 a year. Support is through online tickets; phone support is not included.