How it compares
What the other tools do well. Where they fall short for people like us.
fjordFIRE leads on the cross-border case: multi-currency, multi-country households, relocation runways, expat pension straddles. We haven't found another product that covers that layer without asking for bank logins.
Every finance tool optimises for something. The comparison below makes the trade-off visible.
fjordFIRE is built around a monthly check-in and awareness over alerts. The tools below make different bets, and none of them are wrong. This page is about which one fits you.
ProjectionLab
A scenario-modelling sandbox for FIRE planning.
Optimises for: US scenario depth
Where it's better
- +Forking and comparing many scenarios in parallel
- +Detailed asset-class breakdowns and US-tax modelling
- +Long-form retirement spend-down strategy testing
Where fjordFIRE differs
- →A monthly habit that updates every dimension at once
- →Multi-currency-native portfolio tracking
- →Cross-pillar attribution after a check-in
Cfiresim
A free, focused Monte Carlo retirement simulator.
Optimises for: historical-data simulation
Where it's better
- +Quick what-if simulations against historical data
- +Sequence-of-returns risk testing
- +Free, fast, no account needed
Where fjordFIRE differs
- →Tracking a real portfolio across months
- →Multi-currency or relocation
- →Goals, pensions, emergency-fund coverage in one model
Monarch / Empower (formerly Personal Capital)
Bank-scraping aggregators with categorised transaction feeds.
Optimises for: daily transaction visibility
Where it's better
- +Automatic transaction import via Plaid
- +Spend categorisation and budget tracking
- +US-centric brokerage and 401(k) coverage
Where fjordFIRE differs
- →Cross-border households: salary in one currency, savings in another, family obligations in a third
- →Anyone who doesn't want a third party reading every transaction
- →Multi-country, multi-currency net worth that doesn't lie when FX moves
- →Long-term FIRE projection rooted in real expenses
A really good spreadsheet
What most thoughtful FIRE planners start with.
Optimises for: total flexibility
Where it's better
- +Total flexibility: bend the model however you want
- +Free, private, fully under your control
- +Whatever calculation you can imagine, you can build
Where fjordFIRE differs
- →Keeping FI date, runway, goals, currencies, and history in sync every month
- →A trustworthy audit trail of who edited what, when
- →Per-country inflation and cost-of-living without manual data hunting
Switching from Monarch / YNAB / Copilot?
Run both for a while.
fjordFIRE doesn't replace a daily budgeting tool, because it isn't one. If you rely on automatic transaction import and spend categorisation, keep your existing tool for that. We give you the long-term layer it can't: a rolling FI date, multi-currency truth, cross-pillar attribution after every check-in, a relocation runway, and a household view your accountant can read but not break.
The onboarding cost is one monthly check-in. You type four to ten balances yourself; we don't scrape them. The sensible split: keep the budgeting tool for the day-to-day, and use fjordFIRE for the part that's hard to do anywhere else. If, after six months, you find the day-to-day tool is the part you don't open any more, that's a separate decision.
Your first thirty minutes
00:00
Add four to ten accounts.
Each one in its native currency, with today’s balance. Bank, brokerage, pension, emergency fund. No bank login; you type the numbers.
00:10
Set your monthly expenses and pillars.
One number for monthly spend, accounts assigned to Protect / Growth / Retire. Pillar scores compute. The FI number drops out of your real expenses, not a guess.
00:20
See your first useful output.
Your FI date with a 1,000-path Monte Carlo fan around it, your safety-net runway in months, and goals that update every check-in. Day-to-day budgeting stays where it is.
Want to see it on your own numbers?
fjordFIRE is open to everyone, free.