Monarch Money alternative
Retirology vs. Monarch Money
Monarch is a budgeting and net-worth app: it syncs your accounts, categorizes transactions and tracks goals. Retirology is a retirement planner: it projects decades ahead and works out taxes, withdrawals and when you can stop working. They overlap less than you might think.
Updated October 2026
The short version
| Retirology | Monarch Money | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Retirement and FIRE planner | Budgeting and net-worth tracker |
| Price | $19+ once; every update free | $99.99/year or $14.99/month |
| 10 years of use | $19–$65 total | About $1,000 |
| Transactions | No — budget by category | Synced and categorized automatically |
| Decades-long projections | Yes — accumulation and drawdown to age 95+ | Forecasting on the Plus plan |
| Taxes in retirement | Federal + all 51 state codes, Roth conversions, ACA, IRMAA | Not modeled |
| Your data | On your computer only | In your online account |
Monarch details are from its public pricing page as of October 2026.
How they fit together
A budgeting app tells you what you spend. A retirement planner tells you what that spending means: how big your target is, when you'll reach it, and how to draw the money down without overpaying tax. Retirology's Budget Analysis turns a category-by-category budget into your FI target and date, so the numbers from your budget app have somewhere to go.
When Monarch is the better choice
- You want every transaction synced and categorized, shared with a partner.
- Your main goal right now is controlling day-to-day spending.
Common questions
How much does Monarch Money cost?
Monarch's pricing page lists $99.99 a year or $14.99 a month. Forecasting tools are part of its Plus plan.
Does Retirology track my spending?
Retirology has a budget analyzer — your paycheck and recurring expenses by category, savings rate and years to FI — but it doesn't import transactions. Many people keep using a budgeting app day to day and enter the totals in Retirology.
Can Monarch plan my retirement withdrawals?
Monarch focuses on budgeting, net worth and goals. It isn't built to model Roth conversion ladders, ACA subsidies, SEPP or state retirement taxes year by year.