Coastline vs Fidelity
Fidelity offers solid, free retirement calculators and a Planning & Guidance Center — excellent if you’re a Fidelity customer, though the richest features expect a login and the projections lean on simplified, conservative assumptions. Coastline is brokerage-agnostic, needs no account to use, and shows the full calculation behind every number.
Coastline vs Fidelity, feature by feature
| Feature | Coastline | Fidelity |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Yes | Yes |
| No customer account needed for full use | Yes | Best with a Fidelity login |
| Brokerage-agnostic | Yes | Fidelity-centric |
| Year-by-year projection you can inspect | Yes | Limited |
| Detailed federal + state tax math | Yes | Simplified |
| Roth conversion / withdrawal-order strategy | Yes | Limited |
| Shows the exact math behind every number | Yes | No |
| All 50 states + DC, itemized deductions, IRMAA, ACA, 72(t) | Yes | Limited |
The same plan, run through Coastline
Fidelity’s calculator gives a guided, conservative estimate against its own market assumptions. Below is the same plan with the withdrawal tax shown explicitly, brokerage-agnostic. One retiree, $1,000,000 at 65 split 60% taxable / 30% traditional / 10% Roth, single filer, no-income-tax state, no Social Security, spending $40,000 a year in today’s dollars to 95:
| Figure | Coastline |
|---|---|
| Spending the accounts delivered, 65 to 95 (today’s $): the $40,000 a year plus Medicare premiums from 65 | $1,287,081 |
| Gross withdrawn to deliver it | $1,295,071 |
| Tax on the way out, federal + state (today’s $) | $7,990 (0.6% of withdrawals) |
| Real net worth left at 95, straight-line 6% return | $382,148 funded to 95 |
| Most the plan can spend after tax and still last to 95, retiring at 65 | $47,000 (4.7%) |
| … retiring at 45 instead | $28,000 (2.8%) |
The tax row is what a pre-tax simulator leaves for the reader to guess, and for this particular retiree it is small: a single filer drawing about $12,000 a year from a traditional account and the rest from a taxable account whose gains fall in the 0% capital-gains bracket has little to tax. A larger traditional balance, a pension or Social Security stacking on top, or a state with an income tax moves it — which is the case for running your own plan rather than reading this one. The figures are identical on every comparison page on this site because they are one plan run once; only the tool being compared changes.
When to use Fidelity
Fidelity’s tools are a great, trustworthy starting point — especially if your accounts are already at Fidelity, where the calculators can pull in your real balances and give quick, guided guidance.
When to use Coastline
Choose Coastline when you want brokerage-independent modeling with detailed tax math, strategy comparisons, and a transparent, inspectable projection — no account needed, no product ecosystem, and the reasoning behind every figure laid out.
Both tools are free. This comparison is written by Coastline, so weigh it accordingly — try both and use whichever answers your question. Fidelity is a well-regarded tool; the differences here are about focus, not quality.
Common questions
Is the Fidelity retirement calculator free?
Yes. The most complete experience is geared toward Fidelity customers and a login, whereas Coastline is free to anyone, no account needed.
Which is more detailed?
Coastline exposes more of the underlying math — detailed federal/state taxes, Roth-conversion and withdrawal strategy, and a full year-by-year table — while Fidelity favors quick, guided, conservative estimates.
Do I need to be a Fidelity customer to use Coastline?
No. Coastline is independent of any brokerage and works the same for everyone.