Compare
Dipperfield, Pralana, MaxiFi, Boldin and ProjectionLab
Four of these model your whole retirement, decades ahead. Dipperfield answers one year at a time: how much to take from each account and convert to Roth this year, under the lines you care about, with every figure traced to its table.
| Product | Price | Free to try | Built around |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dipperfield | $129 a year | Every calculator and this year’s plan, without an account | This year’s withdrawals and Roth conversion against the tax lines you pick, then a check before December 31 |
| Pralana Online | $99 a year plus a $30 sign-up fee; Family $159 plus $40 | 10-day trial | A full retirement model with a Roth conversion optimizer |
| MaxiFi Planner | $149 a year (Unlocked) | 14-day trial, card required | Lifetime spending smoothed across the years, from the economics of consumption smoothing |
| Boldin PlannerPlus | $168 a year | Free basic planner | Long-range projections of net worth, income and taxes |
| ProjectionLab | Premium $129 a year; Pro $549 a year | Free Basic plan | Long-range projections with Monte Carlo and historical runs; Roth conversions aimed at a tax bracket, IRMAA or ACA line |
Prices and trials as listed on each product’s own site on October 16, 2026, before any sales tax. Check the current price there.
Where they differ
Pralana, MaxiFi, Boldin and ProjectionLab start from a long-range model: your accounts, spending and returns projected decades ahead, with Social Security, taxes and Roth conversions inside it. They answer “will the money last” and “which long-term strategy is better”.
Dipperfield starts from this tax year. You enter what you have and what comes in, choose the lines to stay under (a tax bracket, the ACA 400% line, an IRMAA tier, the 0% gains rate), and get one withdrawal and conversion amount for each account, with how every number was computed and which table it came from. The subscription adds a conversion path to a target RMD and a year-end check that compares the plan with what actually came in before December 31.
Things people often ask a planner to do
- Plan withdrawals from several accounts in the same year to stay under a tax line. In the order you choose, the plan stops drawing a taxable source at your line and moves to the next, so a year can mix IRA withdrawals, a brokerage sale, cash and Roth.
- Work backward from the RMD you want. Name the first RMD you can live with and the conversion path shows how much to convert each year to get there.
- Top up the conversion in December. The year-end check takes what actually came in (interest, dividends, withdrawals so far) and recomputes the room left under your line.
- Count the tax on selling shares to pay the tax. Gain on a brokerage sale is taxed in the year of the sale, in the same plan.
- Use the room left in the 0% capital gains rate. The plan can include selling and buying back shares in your brokerage account up to the line you pick, which raises your cost basis without taking cash out. You place the trades yourself.
- Count municipal bond interest toward IRMAA and the ACA, and include the 3.8% net investment income tax.
- Work out the tax for the year after a spouse dies, when the survivor files single, and print a page for them with the accounts and the first steps.
- Hand the numbers to an accountant: a printable summary, and a spreadsheet file with every figure and the table it came from.
When another tool fits better
- You want Monte Carlo odds or a net-worth chart for the decades ahead: ProjectionLab or Boldin.
- You want a plan that sets how much you can spend each year for life: MaxiFi.
- You want one detailed model of every account and decade, with an optimizer over it: Pralana.
You can keep a long-range planner and use Dipperfield for the numbers you act on this year.
Calculations, not tax, legal or investment advice.
Open the full plannerEvery account, several target lines in priority order, Roth conversions, and how every number was computed. The free run needs no account.
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