RetireZest vs Optiml (2026): Features and Prices Compared

Disclosure: this page is written by RetireZest. Everything about Optiml is taken from Optiml's public pages as they read on 4 November 2026 (sources below). We have not used Optiml's software, so this compares what each company publishes, not how well either one works. Please check each company's site before you decide.

TL;DR: Both are Canadian retirement planning tools. With RetireZest you can run your whole plan free, with 8 withdrawal strategies compared and a holding company included, then keep it current with Premium at $47 a year.

What RetireZest's free plan includes

No credit card and no time limit:

• 10 free simulations, then 5 a month
• Strategy Fit: your plan compared under 8 withdrawal strategies
• Corporate and holding-company planning
• Monte Carlo stress testing: up to 250 simulations a run
• CPP, OAS and GIS projections, singles and couples, all 13 provinces and territories
• Your Zest Score, quarterly check-ins and the Explore page for quick what-ifs
• Real estate, LIRA and LIF, pension income splitting and tax at death

The first time you run your complete retirement plan, every Premium feature is unlocked for that plan, so you can see what Premium adds before you decide.

Start your free plan: no credit card needed.

Side by side

How we compared: we used the eight criteria in Optiml's own buying guide, so neither tool picks the questions. Each Optiml cell repeats where Optiml's pricing page lists the feature on 4 November 2026; it does not describe how the feature works.

	RetireZest	Optiml
Price
Free option	Free plan, no time limit	Optiml lite (1); 14-day trial
Price per year (CAD)	$47	$99 / $249 / $499
Price per month (CAD)	$9.99	$9.99 / $24.99 / $49.99
Canadian rules
Tax and benefits	All 13 provinces and territories; CPP/QPP, OAS clawback, GIS	Described as built in (2)
Registered accounts	RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, LIRA, LIF	The same, plus FHSA, RESP, RDSP
Whole household
Real estate	Free plan	Home: Essentials; rentals, cottage: Pro+
Holding company	Free plan	Legacy
Operating company, trust	Not modelled	Legacy
Optimization
Withdrawal strategy	Free plan (8 compared)	Withdrawal Optimizer; plan not stated (3)
CPP/OAS timing	Free plan shows what it is worth; Premium shows the ages	Test start ages: Essentials; Optimizer: Pro+
Scenario testing
Compare plans side by side	Premium	Pro+
Monte Carlo	Free plan (250 simulations); Premium (10,000)	Pro+
Saved plans	10 free; unlimited in Premium	1 / 20 / 20
Keeping it current
Linked investment accounts	Not offered, by design: no bank connection, no logins or account numbers (7)	Pro+
Plain-English explanations
AI	AI-Powered Retirement Insights, Premium (4)	Virtual Assistant: Essentials; AI Insights: Pro+ (5)
Support	Priority email, or a call on request: Premium	Email: Essentials; 1:1 calls: Pro+
Reports	PDF report and data export, Premium	Download your plan, Pro+
Data residency
Data stored in Canada	Yes (6)	Yes (6)

Prices for Optiml are Essentials / Pro+ / Legacy, as are its saved-plan counts.

1. Optiml lite's page says: "Upgrade to the full Optiml calculator for deeper insights, advanced customization, and long-term planning tools."
2. Optiml's comparison page says its "provincial-tax rule is built in natively rather than retrofitted."
3. "Withdrawal Optimizer" appears in the feature list on Optiml's site, not under a plan on its pricing page.
4. AI-Powered Retirement Insights: test a what-if and AI gives you the bottom line, the trade-off in dollars, and one thing to check before you decide.
5. Optiml's comparison page says: "Ask EVA any question about your plan."
6. RetireZest: database hosted in Canada. Optiml's pricing page: "Canadian data storage (PIPEDA compliant)."
7. RetireZest's security page: we do not connect to your bank or hold any login credentials. You type in your balances, so we never need your bank logins or account numbers.

If you own a holding company: RetireZest includes it in the free plan. Optiml's pricing page lists HoldCo in Legacy, at $499 a year. Try it on your own company, free

Ten years at today's yearly prices

Plan	10 years (CAD)
RetireZest Premium	$470
Optiml Essentials	$990
Optiml Pro+	$2,490
Optiml Legacy	$4,990

Assumes prices stay as published on 4 November 2026, which they may not. The plans include different features, so compare the table above, not only the totals.

What RetireZest Premium adds

Premium is $47 a year or $9.99 a month. It does more than keep your plan current:

• Keeps your plan current: unlimited simulations, so check-ins and re-runs against each year's tax brackets and CPP/OAS numbers never hit a limit.
• Priority support: email, or a call on request, with a real person to answer your questions.
• Reporting: a professional PDF report and full data export.

Premium also includes AI-Powered Retirement Insights, every what-if scenario, your suggested CPP/OAS claiming ages and Monte Carlo stress testing with up to 10,000 simulations a run.

Cancel any time; Premium stays active to the end of the period you paid for.

Start free, upgrade when you are ready

Frequently asked questions

Is RetireZest really free? Yes. The free plan runs your full plan with 10 free simulations, then 5 a month, and needs no credit card.

How is RetireZest different from Optiml? Going by what each company publishes: RetireZest's free plan includes 8 withdrawal strategies compared and holding-company planning, and Premium is $47 a year. The table above shows what Optiml lists in each of its plans.

Sources

• RetireZest: pricing, security
• Optiml: pricing, Optiml lite, comparison page, buying guide

Statements about Optiml are as published on these pages on 4 November 2026. Optiml is a trademark of its owner. RetireZest is not affiliated with or endorsed by Optiml.