Plot My Money and FIRECalc compared

FIRECalc and Plot My Money both ask how long your savings would last at a given level of spending. FIRECalc answers with one focused calculation you can run in a minute. Plot My Money builds a full household plan with taxes, Social Security and accounts. This page sets out what each one does, so you can choose the tool that fits the question you're asking.

Who each one is for

FIRECalc is for anyone who wants a quick test of a spending rate. Its How It Works page says it "analyzes what would have happened if you retired in 1871, in 1872, in 1873 and so on". You enter spending, a portfolio value and a number of years, and it reports the share of those historical periods in which the money lasted.

Plot My Money is for US households planning for retirement or already retired. It shows what's safe to spend each month, tests the plan across thousands of simulated markets, and plans taxes, Social Security and withdrawals year by year. It runs in a browser on phones and computers, and has an Advisor plan for planners who work with clients.

Features side by side

“Not published” means we didn't find the feature on FIRECalc's public pages. It doesn't mean the feature is missing.

Notes on the table:

• Monte Carlo (Partial). FIRECalc's main method replays history. Its calculator also offers a "random performance" option that uses a mean return and standard deviation you supply.
• Spending strategies. The calculator offers three spending models. One keeps spending power constant, one lowers spending gradually in your 50s and 60s, and one spends a share of what remains.
• Taxes. The How It Works page says "FIRECalc ignores taxable versus nontaxable portfolios right now."
• Scenarios (Partial). The calculator's Investigate tab compares allocations, fees and retirement dates, and solves for a target success rate. It doesn't save named scenarios side by side.
• Spreadsheet. FIRECalc offers a spreadsheet of its calculations, which it describes as "not formatted" and meant for checking numbers.
• Plot My Money. Monte Carlo runs up to 1,000 simulated markets on the free plan and up to 10,000 on Plus. Balances are entered by hand or imported from files.

Pricing as published

Plot My Money has a free plan and two paid plans. Plus covers your household, at a yearly price of the amount shown before you subscribe. The Advisor plan covers a set number of client households, at a yearly price of the amount shown before you subscribe. Until paid plans go on sale, every feature is included for every household. See plans and billing.

FIRECalc (from its calculator page and supporter page, checked November 5, 2026):

• The calculator runs in your browser without signing in. The page doesn't state a price.
• A supporter sign-up adds "an extra feature or two". The calculator page says supporters "can make yearly spending revisions throughout the duration of their plan." The pages we read don't state what supporting costs.

Where FIRECalc is stronger

• No sign-up and instant results. You can run it straight away, and the page says "FIRECalc does not store any information you enter on this page."
• A simple, open method. The How It Works page explains each historical cycle and what counts as success, in plain language.
• Fast to compare a few inputs. The Investigate tab tries several allocations, fees or retirement dates in one run.
• A spreadsheet of every cycle you can download to check the arithmetic yourself.

Who should pick which

• Pick FIRECalc if you want a quick, no-account check of a spending rate against past market periods.
• Pick FIRECalc if your question is mainly "would this withdrawal rate have survived history?" and taxes don't matter yet.
• Pick Plot My Money if you want taxes, Social Security, Medicare and withdrawal order worked out year by year for your household.
• Pick Plot My Money if you want a saved plan you update over time, with scenarios, rules and a monthly safe-to-spend figure.

How to switch

Plot My Money doesn't import FIRECalc files, so you set up your plan again. Have your latest balances, pay, spending and Social Security estimates to hand.

1. Start a plan and answer the setup questions about your household, income, spending and accounts.
2. If you have a holdings file, import it as Excel or CSV on the Accounts screen.
3. Add Social Security from your SSA statement, plus pensions and any other income.
4. Compare the results with your old plan. Differences usually come from assumptions about returns, inflation, taxes and spending.

You can download your plan as a JSON file at any time. See getting started and importing and exporting.

Sources

Each page below was read on November 5, 2026.

• FIRECalc calculator
• FIRECalc: How It Works
• FIRECalc supporters page