Comparison pages written by a vendor are usually worthless, because the vendor wins every row. These are written to be useful instead: each one has a "choose them if" section that means it, and each names the things Killion does not do — no tax modelling, no free tier, no shared household access.
Head to head
Killion vs ProjectionLab
Both tools simulate a whole financial life rather than answering a single retirement question. They differ most in how your data gets in, and in what the simulation is actually doing under the hood.
Killion vs Boldin
Boldin is the most complete retirement-tax modeller aimed at individuals. Killion is the deeper simulation engine. Which matters more depends on how close you are to drawing down.
Killion vs Empower Personal Dashboard
Empower’s dashboard is free because it is the front door to a wealth-management business that charges a percentage of your assets. Killion charges a flat subscription and sells nothing else.
Killion vs Monarch Money
These two products are often shortlisted together and are not really competing. Monarch is the best-in-class budgeting and shared-household tool. Killion is a simulator that also budgets.
Killion vs Kubera
Kubera is the broadest net-worth tracker available — it will hold your house, your startup equity and your wine. Killion is a simulator: fewer asset types, far more done with them.
Looking to switch
ProjectionLab alternatives
Most people looking for a ProjectionLab alternative want one of three things: automatic account syncing, tax modelling, or a lower price. Those point at three different products.
Boldin alternatives
Boldin covers two things at once — retirement tax planning and lifetime projection. Replacing it means deciding which half you actually used.
How to choose between them
Almost everyone shortlisting these tools is really answering one of four questions. Working out which one you have narrows the field faster than any feature matrix.
- "When can I retire?" — a simulation question. Killion or ProjectionLab.
- "Should I convert to a Roth this year?" — a tax question. Boldin.
- "Where is my money going?" — a budgeting question. Monarch.
- "What am I actually worth?" — a tracking question. Kubera, or Empower if you want it free.
If you have two of those questions, running two tools is usually cheaper and better than finding one that does both adequately. The whole category costs less per year than a single month of a 1% assets-under-management fee on a mid-sized portfolio — you can check that on the investment fee calculator.