Compared · facts verified June 2026
Granary vs ProjectionLab
ProjectionLab is the prettiest sandbox in this category, it has a larger community than Granary, and its free tier includes Monte Carlo simulation and historical backtesting — features most competitors charge for, and a genuinely generous call. If you want to spend an evening sculpting life scenarios in a beautiful modeling environment, that is ProjectionLab's home turf and we won't pretend otherwise.
The comparison sharpens when the question changes from “can I model my life?” to “what will the IRS actually do to my plan?” — because the tax machinery sits in ProjectionLab's $129 tier, and in Granary's $39 one.
Credit where due
What ProjectionLab genuinely does better
The sandbox
ProjectionLab's scenario modeling is the most polished in the category — building and comparing alternate lives is its core craft, and it shows.
Free Monte Carlo and backtesting
Both are included in ProjectionLab's free tier. If a free probabilistic simulator is all you need, you can stop reading and go use it — that's an honest answer.
Community
A larger, active user community means more shared scenarios, more answered questions, and faster word-of-mouth fixes than a smaller product can offer.
Privacy isn't ours alone
ProjectionLab markets manual entry and no data selling, and means it. We compete on privacy architecture — browser-side encryption and a local-only mode — not by pretending we're the only ones who care.
The verified facts
Side by side
Paid tier, annual (verified June 2026)
Granary
$39/yr, or $4.99/mo on the monthly plan.
ProjectionLab
$129/yr for Premium.
Monte Carlo
Granary
1,000 paths over a 50-year horizon, randomized return and inflation each year — in the $39 tier.
ProjectionLab
Included in the free tier. Genuinely generous, and worth saying plainly.
Historical backtesting
Granary
Every rolling window 1928–2024 with real CPI sequences — in the $39 tier.
ProjectionLab
Included in the free tier.
Tax depth
Granary
Federal + 50-state engine, Pub 915 Social Security taxability ramp, IRMAA across six tiers per filing status with the two-year MAGI lookback, Roth conversion ladders, and a 2026 ACA cliff engine checked against Rev. Proc. 2025-25 — all at $39.
ProjectionLab
Roth conversions, withdrawal strategies, ACA, and capital-gains harvesting are gated to the paid tier ($129/yr).
Privacy stance
Granary
No Plaid or aggregation ever; sync is encrypted in your browser (AES-GCM) before it reaches our database; local-only mode keeps your numbers off the cloud entirely.
ProjectionLab
Actively markets manual entry, no account linking, and no data selling. A real privacy posture, not a claim we dispute.
Auditability
Granary
Every number drills down to its formula and inputs; 282 CI assertions run on every release.
ProjectionLab
Varies — not verified this pass.
ProjectionLab claims verified June 2026 against public pricing and feature pages. Where we couldn't verify a detail, the cell says “varies” rather than guessing.
The honest close
Which one is for you?
Choose ProjectionLab if
- →You want the best scenario sandbox in the category and enjoy the modeling itself.
- →Free Monte Carlo and backtesting cover your needs, and you don’t need the tax engine.
- →A larger community around the product matters to you.
Choose Granary if
- →The tax math is the point: Roth ladders, withdrawal strategies, IRMAA, and the 2026 ACA cliff cost $39 here and $129 there.
- →You want federal tax and the Pub 915 Social Security ramp modeled bracket by bracket — plus all 50 states covered with a deliberately conservative, editable rate (exact for flat-tax states, top-marginal default for progressive ones).
- →You want browser-side encryption and a local-only mode, not just a no-data-selling promise.
- →You want to audit the output — every number opens its formula, and 282 CI assertions pin the math.
Also comparing Boldin, or weighing Granary against the spreadsheet you built?
Run your own numbers.
Both tools will run your scenario. Only one of them charges $39 for the tax engine. Put your real numbers in and check us.
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