Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center vs Flexible Retirement Planner

Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center8.6Visit Flexible Retirement Planner—Visit

Higher score Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center #2 in Retirement Planning Software 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Fidelity

vs

Flexible Retirement Planner #6 in Retirement Planning Software —/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit site

• Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center fits best

  Fidelity customers wanting free, connected planning

• Flexible Retirement Planner fits best

  Users wanting detailed free Monte Carlo planning

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Side by side

Feature	Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center 8.6/10 Visit ↗	Flexible Retirement Planner —/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.6	—
Ranking	#2 in Retirement Planning Software	#6 in Retirement Planning Software
Best for	Fidelity customers wanting free, connected planning	Users wanting detailed free Monte Carlo planning
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Desktop
Platforms	Web	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Features Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center 5/5 · Flexible Retirement Planner 5/5
Income projection	✓	✓
Savings growth projection	✓	✓
Withdrawal planning	✓	✓
Social Security modeling	✓	✓
Scenario analysis	✓	✓
Specs
Tax modeling	Detailed	Detailed
Account synchronization	Read_only	Not published
Our review
Pros	Models retirement income, savings growth and withdrawal strategies Estimates federal, state and local taxes and Social Security benefits Connects Fidelity and external accounts through Full View	Models 10,000 life cycles for retirement simulations Includes Roth conversions, RMDs, and withdrawal-order controls Runs on web, Windows, macOS, and Linux
Cons	Plans are informational and hypothetical, not actual tax calculations External account data is read-only; manually entered accounts do not update Investment expenses and trading or transaction fees may still apply	Limited to personal, non-commercial or educational use No verified integrations or account synchronization Requires detailed year-by-year financial inputs
Our verdict	Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center gives Fidelity customers and workplace-plan participants a free way to assess retirement readiness and plan other financial goals. It considers savings, future contributions, income sources, expenses,… Read the review →	Flexible Retirement Planner models savings accumulation and retirement spending through Monte Carlo simulations, making it suited to individuals and educators who want to examine how changing financial assumptions may affect retirement… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center — where it wins

  • Models retirement income, savings growth and withdrawal strategies
  • Estimates federal, state and local taxes and Social Security benefits
  • Connects Fidelity and external accounts through Full View

  Where it doesn't

  • Plans are informational and hypothetical, not actual tax calculations
  • External account data is read-only; manually entered accounts do not update
  • Investment expenses and trading or transaction fees may still apply

• Flexible Retirement Planner — where it wins

  • Models 10,000 life cycles for retirement simulations
  • Includes Roth conversions, RMDs, and withdrawal-order controls
  • Runs on web, Windows, macOS, and Linux

  Where it doesn't

  • Limited to personal, non-commercial or educational use
  • No verified integrations or account synchronization
  • Requires detailed year-by-year financial inputs

• Fidelity Planning & Guidance Center8.6/10 · Free plan

  A free planner with tax, Social Security, withdrawal and what-if analysis.

  Visit FidelityFull verdict →
• Flexible Retirement Planner—/10 · Free plan

  A free retirement planner with detailed inputs, withdrawal controls, and 10,000 modeled life cycles.

  Visit siteFull verdict →