The short answer
Early Retirement Calculator, from Retire Early Ltd, is a focused retirement modelling engine sold as a £29.99 twelve-month software licence, with a free one-week check-up once every 12 months. It projects inflation-adjusted income, charts how pensions, ISAs and cash evolve, sequences withdrawals across accounts and models two people in one household.
WealthR is a wealth tracker and planner with a free plan that never expires, and Pro at £5.99/mo or £39.99/yr after a 7-day trial. It keeps a month-by-month record of what you own, then plans tax, pensions, drawdown and inheritance around it.
Honestly: on price alone, theirs is cheaper. £29.99 a year against £39.99. If all you want is one modelling run to answer "can I retire at 55?", that is a fair price for a tool built to answer it. The case for WealthR is not that it costs less — it is that you can use it free for as long as you like, and that it keeps answering after the first question.
What we could and could not check
Their software sits behind a licence key, so everything below about Early Retirement Calculator is taken from their own public pages as of 6 November 2026. Where we could not confirm something, the table says not published rather than guessing — that is fairer to them, and more useful to you than a tick we cannot stand behind.
Side by side
| Feature | WealthR | Early Retirement Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | ✓ A tracker and a planner — your figures recorded over time, then projected | ~ A modelling engine — projections from assumptions you enter |
| Free access | ✓ A free plan with no time limit and no card | ~ One week of full access, once every 12 months |
| Price | ✓ £5.99 a month or £39.99 a year for Pro | ✓ £29.99 a year — cheaper than WealthR Pro |
| Try before you buy | ✓ 7-day Pro trial, plus the free plan underneath it | ~ The annual check-up week, then a licence key |
| Calculators without an account | ✓ 34 free calculators, no sign-up | — None published |
| Month-by-month tracking | ✓ A record of every month, with history and performance | — Not published |
| Life-event scenarios | ✓ Fourteen, six of them on the free plan — income shock and a pay rise among them | ~ Side-by-side comparison of retirement dates and assumptions |
| Monte Carlo | ✓ 5,000 simulated futures, seeded so one plan gives one answer | — Not published |
| Drawdown / cash flow plan | ✓ Year by year, per person, with the tax charged where it falls | ✓ Withdrawal sequencing across asset types |
| Defined benefit pensions | ✓ Final-salary schemes, AVCs, lump sums and the Lump Sum Allowance | — Not published |
| Couples | ✓ Household planning, with each person's allowances their own | ✓ Two people in a single scenario |
| State Pension | ✓ From your NI record, with the 2027/28 figures | ✓ Integrated into the projection |
| UK tax | ✓ Income tax, NI, dividends, CGT and the Scottish bands | ~ Their words: estimates "based on generalised rules" |
| Inheritance tax | ✓ Estate planning with gifts, the residence band and the April 2027 pension change | — Not published |
| Bank linking | — None, deliberately | — None |
| Ads or data selling | — Neither, ever | — Neither, they say |
| Where it is built | ✓ Edinburgh — WealthR Ltd, registered in Scotland | ✓ Retire Early Ltd, registered in England and Wales |
| Regulated advice | — No — software, not advice, and not FCA authorised | — No — they say the same |
What each does well
Early Retirement Calculator
It does one job and does not pretend otherwise. Enter your assumptions, get a sustainable income and an asset trajectory, compare two retirement dates side by side. The pricing is honest — a licence, not a subscription treadmill — and the company publishes worked examples from the r/FIREUK community so you can see the engine's output before buying. If you have a single clear question and want it answered cheaply, that is a reasonable thing to pay £29.99 for.
WealthR
It starts before the projection. You record what you own each month, so the plan is built on a real history rather than a snapshot you typed once. Then the UK-specific work: final-salary pensions and AVCs, tax-free cash against the Lump Sum Allowance, a drawdown plan that charges tax where it actually falls, two sets of allowances for a couple, inheritance tax with the April 2027 pension change already modelled. And 34 free calculators you can use today without an account.
It also keeps working after the question is answered. A retirement date is not a thing you decide once.
When to choose which
Choose Early Retirement Calculator if you want one focused modelling run, you are comfortable paying up front, and you do not need to keep a record between sessions. It is cheaper and it is built for exactly that.
Choose WealthR if you want to try something properly before paying, you want your figures tracked rather than re-entered, or your situation involves a final-salary pension, a drawdown order, a partner with their own allowances, or an estate. Start on the free plan and stay there as long as you like.
FAQ
Is Early Retirement Calculator free?
Not permanently. Their site offers a free annual check-up — one week of full access, once every 12 months, with an email address. After that it is a £29.99 twelve-month licence. WealthR's free plan has no time limit.
Which is cheaper?
Theirs, on list price: £29.99 a year against WealthR Pro at £39.99 a year or £5.99 a month. WealthR's free plan costs nothing, and the 34 free calculators need no account.
Can I try WealthR before paying?
Yes — the free plan has no time limit and asks for no card, and Pro adds a 7-day trial on top. The calculators work with no account at all.
Does either give financial advice?
No. Both describe themselves as software rather than a financial service, and neither is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. For decisions involving significant sums, speak to a regulated adviser.
Does either connect to my bank?
No. Neither links bank accounts — both work from figures you enter yourself.
Try WealthR free
The free plan has no time limit and no card. 34 calculators need no account at all.
Get started free →Figures for Early Retirement Calculator are taken from its public pages as of 6 November 2026 and may have changed since. WealthR is general information, not financial advice, and WealthR Ltd is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. For decisions involving pensions or significant sums, please consult an FCA-authorised adviser.