Coastline vs FICalc
FICalc.app is a clean, free tool for backtesting retirement withdrawal strategies against historical market data — think of it as a modern cFIREsim. Coastline covers a broader job: building wealth, spending it down, and the taxes on both, with the math shown. Here’s the difference.
Coastline vs FICalc, feature by feature
| Coastline | FICalc | |
|---|---|---|
| Free, no signup | Yes | Yes |
| Historical / Monte Carlo withdrawal simulation | Yes | Yes |
| Accumulation (working years) modeling | Yes | No |
| Federal + state income tax math | Yes | No |
| Roth conversion / withdrawal-order strategy | Yes | No |
| Social Security claim-age modeling | Yes | Basic |
| Canada (CPP/OAS, RRSP/TFSA) | Yes | No |
| Shows the exact math behind every number | Yes | No |
When to use FICalc
FICalc is great when you want a fast, focused answer to "how would this withdrawal rate have held up across history?" It’s clean, quick, and free, with helpful visualizations of the range of historical outcomes.
When to use Coastline
Use Coastline when your question spans more than withdrawals — how your portfolio gets built, the taxes you’ll pay accumulating and spending it, strategy comparisons, and Social Security timing — all with a transparent breakdown of the math, and Canadian support if you need it.
Both tools are free. This comparison is written by Coastline, so weigh it accordingly — try both and use whichever answers your question. FICalc is a well-regarded tool; the differences below are about focus, not quality.
Common questions
Is FICalc or Coastline better?
They’re built for different questions. FICalc is a focused historical withdrawal-rate backtester. Coastline models the whole plan — accumulation, taxes, strategy, and drawdown — and shows its work. Use FICalc for a quick withdrawal stress-test; use Coastline for tax-aware whole-plan modeling.
Are both free?
Yes, both are free. Coastline additionally requires no signup and keeps nothing on a server.
Does Coastline simulate historical returns like FICalc?
Yes — Coastline’s Simulation Tools replay real historical market sequences and Monte Carlo draws to stress-test your plan, alongside the deterministic year-by-year projection.