Smart Retirement Planner vs FIRE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Smart Retirement Planner
This app helps adults plan for retirement with simple tools and visual projections. It offers guidance on savings, account growth, withdrawal sustainability, and bridging income gaps before Social Security. Prioritizes privacy with an on-device experience and no account requirement.
- Personalized retirement overview
- Savings goal and projected balance
- 401(k) growth projections
- Monthly withdrawal planning
- Social Security bridge funding
- Monte Carlo market simulations
- On-device privacy
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Retirement planning does not need to be complicated. Smart Retirement Planner helps you answer the biggest retirement questions with simple tools, visual projections, and practical guidance. See how much you may need, how your accounts could grow, whether your withdrawals may last, and how to bridge the gap before Social Security begins. Built for real life. Built for privacy. No account required. Who is it for? • Adults planning for retirement • 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, and brokerage account holders • People who want clarity without financial jargon • Anyone looking for a focused retirement planning toolkit instead of a complicated retirement suite Start with a personalized retirement overview that brings everything together in one place. • Plan Strength score with coaching • On Track, Getting Close, or Needs Attention guidance • Savings goal and projected balance • Estimated retirement income • Chance of reaching your goal using Monte Carlo simulation • Typical outcome range across market scenarios • Retire later comparisons • Saved scenarios for easy planning Discover how much you may need for retirement and what you should save each month to reach your goal. • Inflation adjusted spending goals • Monthly savings targets • Funding gap analysis • Catch up guidance when you are behind schedule 401(k) Growth Planner Project the future value of your retirement accounts. • Paycheck contributions • Employer matching contributions • Match limits and caps • Expected growth assumptions • Expense ratio impact Explore retirement income strategies and test whether your savings may support your lifestyle. • Monthly withdrawal planning • 4% rule benchmark comparisons • Estimated taxes on traditional account withdrawals • Required Minimum Distribution estimates • Longevity projections for your savings Retire before Social Security starts and understand how to fund the gap. • Retirement age vs. claiming age comparisons • Pension and other income support • Income gap calculations • Post Social Security income coverage Smart Features • Live updates as you adjust inputs • Full horizon projection charts • Monte Carlo market simulations • Personalized coaching and plan strength insights • Welcome setup that pre fills planners from your information • Gentle plan aware reminders that adapt to your progress Try each planner with free previews. Upgrade once to unlock: • Unlimited planner runs • Printable PDF retirement worksheet • Combined summary of your Plan, 401(k), Withdrawals, and Social Security Bridge • Assumptions, charts, and Monte Carlo legend Your Privacy Matters Smart Retirement Planner stores your information on your device. • No account required • No cloud planning service • No selling your personal financial information • 100% private on device experience Important Disclaimer Smart Retirement Planner is educational estimation software intended for informational purposes only. It does not provide financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. All projections and simulations are estimates and should not be considered guarantees of future results.
FIRE
Calculate your financial independence date and track your progress with a live countdown. Explore different FIRE types and retirement scenarios with detailed projections. Everything is kept private on your device.
- Calculate FIRE number
- Live countdown to financial independence
- Home and Lock Screen widgets
- Explore retirement scenarios
- Monte Carlo simulations
- Track investment growth
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Know the date you could stop working, and see it move closer every time you invest. FIRE: Retirement Calculator is a FIRE calculator and retirement countdown for iPhone. Enter what you have invested, what you add each month and what you plan to spend. It works out your FIRE number, projects the month you reach it and your age then, and counts down to that date on your home screen. The widget follows your computed date, not one you type in, so when your investments grow, the countdown moves. No account, no ads, no tracking. We never see your numbers. WHAT IS A FIRE NUMBER? FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Your FIRE number is the amount you need invested to cover your spending without a paycheck: your annual expenses divided by a safe withdrawal rate. At the common 4% rule, spending $50,000 a year needs $1,250,000. The app shows the formula on your own numbers. THE FIRE TYPES • Traditional FIRE: your full annual expenses, covered at your withdrawal rate. • Lean FIRE: a frugal budget, 0.7× your expenses. • Chubby FIRE: a comfortable budget, 1.5× your expenses. • Fat FIRE: a no-compromise budget, 2× your expenses. • Coast FIRE: enough invested now to grow into your full number by your target age, with no more contributions. • Barista FIRE: part-time work covers part of your spending and your portfolio covers the rest. FREE, WITH NO TIME LIMIT • Your FIRE number and a live countdown to your financial-independence date • Home Screen widgets in three sizes, plus Lock Screen widgets • A Graphite or System widget background • Change any input and see the new date instantly: investments, contributions, spending, expected return, withdrawal rate, birth date • Amounts per month or per year, in your own currency • One-tap investment updates that move your date • A compound-interest growth chart to your FIRE date • Inflation-adjusted (real) returns, explained plainly • Reminders at each year to go, the final 200, 100, 30, 7 and 1 days, and when your plan projects 25%, 50% and 75% of your number • A monthly check-in on the 1st to keep your date current • An optional fixed target date • "How this is calculated", step by step on your numbers FIRE PRO: ONE-TIME PURCHASE • Explore scenarios: change one number and see how much sooner or later you get there • Chance of success: a Monte Carlo simulation of 2,000 market paths shows how often your money lasts • FIRE types: count down to Lean, Coast, Barista, Chubby or Fat FIRE, with a widget for each • Pension and Social Security: add income that starts at a set age and lowers your number • Account for taxes: add the tax on your withdrawals so your number reflects what you'll really need • Growth vs. savings: how much of your balance is contributions and how much is growth, year by year • History: your investments over time • Extra widget styles: progress ring and target date Every install starts with 14 days of full Pro. No card, no auto-charge. After that, your FIRE number, countdown, standard widget and growth chart stay free. QUESTIONS IT ANSWERS • When can I retire, and how old will I be? • What is my FIRE number? • How much do I need for Lean, Coast, Barista, Chubby or Fat FIRE? • How much sooner could I retire if I invest $500 more a month? • Will my money last to age 95? • How much more do I need once taxes on withdrawals are included? PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your plan stays on your device, and in your own private iCloud if you sync between devices. No account, no sign-in, no ads, no analytics. The app switcher shows a plain cover instead of your numbers, and an optional Face ID or Touch ID lock keeps the app closed until you confirm it's you. App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected. NO SUBSCRIPTION FIRE Pro is a single purchase. Restore it anytime on your other devices. FIRE: Retirement Calculator is an educational planning tool, not financial advice. Projections are estimates from the assumptions you enter, not guarantees. Available in English and Spanish.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: FIRE at weekly against Smart Retirement Planner's every 3 weeks. Smart Retirement Planner's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Smart Retirement Planner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and FIRE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Smart Retirement Planner against 5.0 for FIRE. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
Smart Retirement Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, FIRE weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Smart Retirement Planner | FIRE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gary Cox | KEVIN LAN |
Customer experience
Smart Retirement Planner
FIRE
In-app purchases
Smart Retirement Planner
- Unlock Pro$4.99
FIRE
- Fire Pro$19.99
Questions
Is Smart Retirement Planner free?
Is FIRE free?
Which has better reviews, Smart Retirement Planner or FIRE?
Do Smart Retirement Planner or FIRE have ads?
Which is updated more often, Smart Retirement Planner or FIRE?
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