Early retirement planning is not a one-size-fits-all process.
Some people want a detailed workbook they can download, keep on their computer, and use indefinitely.
Others want an online planner they can reopen every month, update as balances change, compare across devices, and stress-test as retirement gets closer.
Those are different planning styles, so BridgeToRetired Pro now offers two separate paths:
- Pro Excel Planner: $39 one-time
- Online Pro: $15 per month
- Free tools and Free Excel Planner: still $0
The goal is simple: let you pay for the planning system you will actually use.
You can own the complete offline Excel workbook without starting a subscription. Or you can use the online platform for ongoing scenario planning without paying for an Excel file you may not need.
Here is exactly what changed, what each option includes, and which version is likely the better fit for your retirement plan.
The Quick Answer
BridgeToRetired now has three levels:
The two paid products are separate.
Online Pro does not include the Pro Excel v3 download.
Buying Pro Excel does not include Online Pro membership.
That separation is intentional because the products serve different jobs.
Compare all BridgeToRetired options →
Why We Changed the Pro Options
The original Pro experience combined two very different products under one label:
- A downloadable Excel planning system
- An ongoing cloud-based retirement planner
But buying a workbook and subscribing to an online service are not the same decision.
A downloadable spreadsheet is something you own and use locally. It does not need cloud storage, member accounts, saved online data, or continuous access from different devices.
An online planner is designed to change with you. It stores scenarios, reruns calculations, compares retirement dates, generates reports, and gives you a place to return as markets, balances, spending, and retirement goals change.
The new pricing structure makes that difference clear.
You can now choose:
Own the complete workbook once.
or:
Keep your plan saved and stress-tested online.
Neither approach is automatically better. The best option depends on how you prefer to plan.
What Is Still Free?
The free level remains the starting point for anyone working through an early-retirement bridge.
It includes all 10 interactive retirement calculators, the Bridge Strategy Visualizer, Roth conversion ladder builder, ACA subsidy estimator, Social Security break-even calculator, Rule 72(t) / SEPP calculator, the seven-sheet Free Bridge Planner v2.2, and access to the complete BridgeToRetired blog.
You do not need a credit card to use the free tools or download the free workbook.
The free level is designed to help you answer questions such as: How long is my retirement bridge? How much taxable brokerage might I need? Could a Roth conversion ladder help? What would a Rule 72(t) payment look like? How might Social Security timing affect the plan? How much could health insurance cost before Medicare?
Explore all free early-retirement tools →
Option 1: Pro Excel for $39 One-Time
Pro Excel is the complete downloadable version of the Bridge Planner. You purchase the current version once, download it, and use it on your own computer without an ongoing subscription.
What Pro Excel includes
The Pro Excel Planner contains nine connected sheets.
1. INPUTS — Enter the core plan once: ages, retirement date, account balances, filing status, state, spending, Social Security benefit, and investment assumptions. The remaining sheets update from those inputs.
2. BRIDGE — Creates a year-by-year funding plan from retirement to age 59½. Models the withdrawal cascade across taxable brokerage, Roth assets, and traditional 401(k), 403(b), and IRA balances.
3. TAX ESTIMATE — Estimates federal tax during each bridge year using the included 2026 tax structure. Switches between married filing jointly and single based on the main inputs.
4. ROTH LADDER — Models annual conversions and checks how the strategy interacts with estimated ACA income thresholds.
5. POST-59½ — Continues the projection beyond the initial bridge and incorporates Social Security income beginning at the selected claiming age.
6. MONTE CARLO — Runs 200 randomized return sequences. Outputs include success rate, median outcome, 10th-percentile result, and 90th-percentile result. Press F9 to rerun.
7. RISK FLAGS — Nine automated checks scan the plan for potential issues such as high withdrawal rate, taxable bridge shortfall, early-withdrawal penalty exposure, ACA income risk, Social Security timing, IRMAA exposure, and weak Monte Carlo results.
8. REBALANCE — Compares target and actual asset allocation. Highlights drift and produces potential buy-or-sell signals.
9. Supporting planning output — The workbook ties the bridge, taxes, conversions, later retirement, Monte Carlo results, risk flags, and allocation together into one offline planning system.
Who should choose Pro Excel?
Pro Excel is likely the better fit when you prefer working in Excel, want a one-time purchase, do not want recurring billing, want to keep the file locally, are comfortable entering and updating numbers manually, primarily plan from one computer, and want to keep using the purchased version indefinitely.
The $39 purchase includes the current Pro Excel v3 workbook. Future major versions are separate purchases and the file does not receive automatic feature updates.
Get the Pro Excel Planner for $39 →
Option 2: Online Pro for $15 Per Month
Online Pro is designed for an early-retirement plan you expect to revisit. Instead of managing separate spreadsheet copies, your retirement scenarios are saved to your account and available from different devices.
Save up to five scenarios
You can create and name up to five retirement plans — for example: Retire at 50, Retire at 52, Retire at 55, Lower-spending plan, Part-time-income plan. Instead of changing one set of numbers and losing the previous result, you can save each version and move between them.
Compare retirement scenarios
Scenario comparison lets you evaluate trade-offs side by side across retirement age, annual spending, withdrawal rate, taxable bridge length, ending portfolio, Monte Carlo success, and long-term funding status.
The question is often not simply, "Can I retire?" It is:
What do I gain by waiting two years, spending $5,000 less, claiming Social Security later, or adding temporary income?
Bridge Risk Score™
The Bridge Risk Score analyzes the structural health of the plan and converts multiple risk factors into one result.
A score does not guarantee success or failure. Its purpose is to show which risk deserves attention first.
Sequence-of-Returns Stress Tester
The stress tester examines how the plan responds when poor returns arrive early instead of later. Losing 20% after 25 years of retirement is very different from losing 20% during year one while actively withdrawing money.
Online Monte Carlo simulation
Online Pro runs randomized return sequences and updates the estimated success rate as the scenario changes — retirement age, spending, account balances, Social Security timing, allocation, or income.
PDF retirement-plan export
Online Pro can turn the modeled scenario into a PDF report you can save for your records, review with a spouse, bring to a tax professional, or discuss with a fee-only financial advisor.
Access from any device
Because the plan lives online, you can return without locating the latest spreadsheet copy — particularly useful for a plan that may evolve over several years before retirement.
Read how the Online Retirement Planner works →
Who should choose Online Pro?
Online Pro is likely the better fit when you expect to update the plan regularly, want scenarios saved automatically, want to compare several retirement dates, want Bridge Risk Score results, want sequence-of-returns stress testing, want PDF reports, want access from more than one device, or prefer a guided interface over a spreadsheet.
Online Pro costs $15 per month and can be canceled through account settings. The subscription does not include the Pro Excel v3 download.
Start Online Pro for $15 per month →
Pro Excel and Online Pro Are Not Identical
Which Option Is Right for You?
Choose Free when you are still exploring — learning the bridge concepts, testing individual questions, or building your first early-retirement model.
Choose Pro Excel when you want the complete workbook, do not need cloud scenario saving, and prefer paying once. This is the stronger option for someone who enjoys spreadsheets and wants direct access to detailed tax, Roth, post-59½, risk, Monte Carlo, and rebalancing sheets.
Choose Online Pro when retirement is a moving target rather than a one-time calculation. This is the stronger option when you want to maintain several scenarios, compare trade-offs, stress-test market conditions, monitor Bridge Risk Score, and reopen the plan from any device.
A Simple Example
Suppose you are 49 and considering three possibilities: retire at 50 with $55,000 of spending, retire at 52 with $55,000 of spending, or retire at 50 but reduce spending to $48,000.
With Pro Excel, you can model each version by changing the workbook inputs and saving separate copies.
With Online Pro, you can save all three as named scenarios and compare their withdrawal rates, Monte Carlo outcomes, bridge risk, and ending balances together.
The underlying retirement question is the same. The preferred tool depends on how you want to work with the answer.
Why Online Pro Costs More Than a Download
A downloadable workbook is a finished file. Online Pro is an ongoing planning environment that supports member accounts, cloud-saved scenarios, online calculations, scenario switching, risk analysis, stress testing, PDF generation, access across devices, and continued online development.
That is why the Excel planner is sold once while Online Pro uses a monthly membership. The subscription is not simply a payment plan for the spreadsheet. It is access to a separate online product.
Bottom Line
BridgeToRetired Pro now gives you two ways to move beyond the free tools.
Pro Excel — $39 one-time: Choose it when you want a downloadable nine-sheet workbook, detailed offline analysis, no monthly subscription, and a file you can use indefinitely.
Online Pro — $15 per month: Choose it when you want cloud-saved retirement scenarios, scenario comparison, Bridge Risk Score, stress testing, online Monte Carlo, PDF reports, and access from any device.
The products are sold separately because they serve different planning habits.
Compare Free, Pro Excel, and Online Pro →
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Online Pro include the Pro Excel workbook?
No. Online Pro and Pro Excel are separate products. The $15 monthly membership does not include the downloadable Pro Excel v3 workbook.
Does the $39 Pro Excel purchase include Online Pro?
No. The one-time Excel purchase does not include online scenario saving, Bridge Risk Score, online stress testing, or other membership features.
Can I still use the free calculators?
Yes. The interactive retirement calculators and free Bridge Planner remain available without a paid membership.
Is Pro Excel a subscription?
No. Pro Excel v3 is a $39 one-time purchase. You can use the purchased workbook indefinitely.
Does Pro Excel receive automatic upgrades?
No. The purchase includes the current version. Future major versions may be offered separately.
Can I cancel Online Pro?
Yes. Online Pro can be canceled through account settings, with access continuing through the paid billing period.
Which product includes Bridge Risk Score?
Bridge Risk Score is an Online Pro feature. Pro Excel includes automated RISK FLAGS, but not the Online Pro Bridge Risk Score interface.
Which product includes Monte Carlo simulation?
Both paid products include Monte Carlo modeling. Pro Excel runs the simulation inside the workbook, while Online Pro runs it through the cloud-based planner and connects the result to saved scenarios.
Which version is better for comparing retirement ages?
Online Pro is designed for scenario saving and side-by-side comparison. Pro Excel can also model different retirement ages, but you will need to change inputs or save separate workbook copies.
Is BridgeToRetired financial advice?
No. BridgeToRetired provides educational modeling tools. The results are estimates and should not replace personalized financial, legal, or tax advice.