Pralana vs Boldin: How Two Popular Retirement Planning Tools Compare

The podcast compares two retirement planning tools, Pralana and Boldin, highlighting their user interfaces, portfolio modeling capabilities, and analysis features. While Boldin has a more intuitive interface, Pralana offers more granular control and detailed analysis, including historical data and Roth conversion optimization, but at the cost of increased complexity and potential for errors if not used carefully.

User Interface Comparison

• 00:01:07 Boldin's user interface is considered better designed and easier to navigate, with a more intuitive layout and flow between sections. Pralana's interface, while having a user manual integration, is deemed more complex, with hidden complexities and a steeper learning curve.

Portfolio Modeling

• 00:08:02 Pralana allows for both simple and advanced portfolio modeling, with the latter providing more customization of asset classes and taxation. Boldin primarily focuses on account-level tracking with set returns, unlike Pralana's ability to model asset allocation over time and define asset classes.

Taxable Account Taxation

• 00:10:28 Pralana offers finer detail in how taxable accounts are taxed, allowing for customization of qualified dividends, treasury bonds, municipal bonds, and realized capital gains. Boldin offers similar features but provides less detailed control compared to Pralana.

Roth Conversion Analysis

• 00:28:00 Pralana offers Roth conversion analysis with the ability to set manual or optimized conversions, including tax bracket and capital gains limits. However, the analysis is susceptible to being influenced by assumptions made for other account types, making it necessary to carefully manage rates of return across all accounts for accurate results.

Other Analysis Features

• 00:38:32 Pralana provides a variety of analysis tools, including historical data analysis for Monte Carlo simulations, social security claiming analysis with a visual representation of potential benefits, and withdrawal priority optimization. Boldin offers some of these tools but lacks the historical data analysis and visual clarity offered by Pralana.