Comparison

RetirementPlannerSimulator vs Pay

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RetirementPlannerSimulator

This app offers comprehensive, privacy-first retirement planning calculations directly on your device. It analyzes taxes, Social Security, Roth conversions, and withdrawal strategies with detailed projections and risk analysis. Learn financial jargon with an integrated glossary and tutorial.

Highlights
  • Tax-aware year-by-year projections
  • Social Security claiming optimization
  • Roth conversion engine
  • Tax-smart withdrawal strategies
  • Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) calculations
  • Monte Carlo risk analysis
  • Integrated financial glossary and tutorial
Features
Read full description

RetirementPlanner is a privacy-first retirement planning app that runs entirely on your device. No account. No server. No tracking. Every calculation — from Social Security optimization to estate tax exposure — happens on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. COMPREHENSIVE TAX-AWARE PROJECTIONS Year-by-year projections that account for federal income tax across all brackets, capital gains tax, Medicare IRMAA surcharges, Net Investment Income Tax, ACA marketplace premium credits, and all 50 states + D.C. state income tax. One plan covers the complete picture. SOCIAL SECURITY OPTIMIZER Evaluate claiming ages 62–70 for yourself and your spouse. See breakeven analysis, COLA projections, and the long-term dollar impact of every timing decision. ROTH CONVERSION ENGINE Three conversion modes: standard bracket fill, IRMAA-aware (stays under Medicare premium thresholds), and minimize conversions (fills the bracket until Traditional is low enough to keep future RMDs in check). Conversion tax can be paid from the converted funds or from a taxable account. TAX-SMART WITHDRAWAL STRATEGY Six-tier withdrawal engine across eight named strategies — Spending Needs, Fixed Amount, Fixed Percentage, Maximum Spending, Guardrails, Tax-Aware, Sequence of Returns, and Lifetime Income. Dynamic spending guardrails set a ceiling and floor on year-over-year adjustments. REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS Annual RMD calculations using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table with SECURE Act 2.0 updates, automatically factored into the withdrawal plan. SEPP / 72(t) CALCULATOR Early access to retirement accounts without the 10% penalty. All three IRS-approved methods: fixed amortization, fixed annuitization, and required minimum distribution. ACA SUBSIDY CALCULATOR Estimates ACA marketplace premium tax credits based on projected Modified Adjusted Gross Income. Roth conversions and other income shifts show their subsidy impact before you commit. MONTE CARLO RISK ANALYSIS Historical simulation using 98 years of S&P 500 annual returns (1928–2025) and a parametric mode. Parallel execution for fast results. Reports portfolio success rate, median ending balance, and sequence-of-returns risk. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS AND PERMUTATION SEARCH Tornado-chart sensitivity across return, inflation, withdrawal amount, and Social Security timing. Grid search across hundreds of plan combinations filtered by your target success rate. BUILT TO TEACH, NOT JUST CALCULATE A 100+ term plain-language glossary and a guided tutorial on every screen explain the jargon — MAGI, IRMAA, RMDs, capital gains, Roth conversions — right where the numbers appear. The report tables show their work (see exactly how each year's taxable capital gain, MAGI, and tax bill are built), and a Reference Data browser lets you inspect the actual IRS brackets, IRMAA thresholds, and state rates behind your projection. Great for learning the mechanics, prepping for a meeting with an advisor, or younger savers modeling how today's choices compound and what they cost in taxes decades later. ICLOUD SYNC — PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your plans sync privately through your own Apple iCloud account. Easy Chair Apps Lab never has access to your data. iCloud sync is optional — the app works fully offline. PRO UNLOCK — ONE-TIME PURCHASE The planning and analysis features above are free. Pro (one-time purchase) adds CSV export from any report page, full PDF report generation, JSON import and export for Personal Data and Plan Strategy, permutation drill-down, and save-as-strategy.

About

Pay

Read full description

Pay-Calc is a paycheck, tax, and budget calculator that helps you know your exact take-home pay before payday — and plan your monthly budget around it. Built for 2026 with verified tax rates for all 50 states. FREE CALCULATORS - Salary-Calc — take-home pay from your annual salary across all pay schedules - Hourly-Calc — take-home pay from your hourly rate and hours worked - Budget-Track — track your monthly budget by expense item, with optional actual-spending tracking - Budget-Calc — see the income you need to cover any budget amount PAY-CALC PRO — $4.99/YEAR 7-day free trial. Unlocks three additional calculators and removes banner ads: - Indie-Calc — self-employment tax for freelancers including quarterly estimates - Compare-Calc — compare two income scenarios side by side - Biz-Calc — true total cost of an employee including benefits and overhead Subscription auto-renews annually at $4.99 unless cancelled at least 24 hours before renewal. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Any unused trial will be forfeited when a subscription is purchased. Payment charged to Apple ID at confirmation. ALL 50 STATES SUPPORTED Federal and state tax rates verified for 2026 against official IRS and state revenue department publications. PRIVACY FIRST All calculations happen on your device. Your financial information is never transmitted or stored on external servers. DISCLAIMER Pay-Calc provides estimates for informational purposes only. Results may differ from your actual paycheck. Consult a tax professional for advice specific to your situation. Privacy Policy: https://pay-calc.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

RetirementPlannerSimulator4 screens
Pay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pay at none against RetirementPlannerSimulator's 1. Pay also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). RetirementPlannerSimulator's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. RetirementPlannerSimulator sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pay asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
RetirementPlannerSimulator versus Pay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRetirementPlannerSimulatorPay
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Monthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEasy Chair Apps Lab, LLCBrightray Technologies llc

In-app purchases

1 purchases

RetirementPlannerSimulator

One-time1
  • Unlock All Functionality$29.99
None

Pay

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RetirementPlannerSimulator free?
RetirementPlannerSimulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pay free?
Pay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RetirementPlannerSimulator or Pay have ads?
Pay shows ads; RetirementPlannerSimulator does not.

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