Sorted NZ — What It Is and How to Use It (2026 Review)

Sorted NZ is a government-backed financial guidance website run by the Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC), a Crown entity. It’s free, it’s NZ-specific, and it doesn’t sell your data. For planning-focused financial tools — especially KiwiSaver and retirement — nothing else in NZ comes close.

It is not a daily budgeting app. But used correctly, it’s one of the most valuable financial tools available to New Zealanders.

What Is Sorted NZ?

Website: sorted.org.nz
Run by: Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC), a Crown entity
Cost: Completely free
Data: No bank connection; no data selling
Focus: Financial planning tools, not daily tracking

Sorted was created as a public good — helping New Zealanders make better financial decisions through tools, calculators, and education. Because it’s government-funded, it has no advertising and no commercial incentive to push you toward particular products.

Tools Available on Sorted NZ

Budget planner

Sorted’s budget planner walks you through income and all expense categories, producing a monthly budget and showing where money is (or isn’t) going.

What’s good:

• Pre-populated expense categories calibrated for NZ costs
• Includes NZ-specific items (rates, ACC levy, KiwiSaver)
• Can be saved and revisited
• Free downloadable Excel/Google Sheets version

What it’s not:

• Not connected to your bank
• Not for daily tracking — it’s a planning snapshot, not a live dashboard

Best use: Annual or quarterly budget review. Spend 30–45 minutes once per quarter updating your numbers and reviewing against what you’re actually spending.

KiwiSaver calculator

The Sorted KiwiSaver calculator is the best free NZ-specific KiwiSaver projection tool available.

Inputs:

• Age, retirement age
• Current KiwiSaver balance
• Contribution rate (3%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%)
• Employer contribution rate
• Estimated annual income
• Expected fund type (defensive, conservative, balanced, growth, aggressive)

Outputs:

• Projected KiwiSaver balance at retirement
• Weekly drawdown amount if balance is drawn over a specified period
• Graph showing balance growth over time

Why it’s the best free option: The calculator uses NZ-specific return assumptions, accounts for the member tax credit, and shows the impact of different contribution rates and fund types side by side. No equivalent free tool in NZ is as well-designed for this purpose.

Retirement planner

Sorted’s retirement planner estimates what you’ll need in retirement and whether you’re on track.

Inputs:

• Current age and target retirement age
• Estimated retirement expenses (weekly)
• Expected NZ Super rate (pre-populated)
• KiwiSaver projection (links to KiwiSaver calculator)
• Other income sources

Output:

• Whether your current trajectory will fund your retirement
• The gap (if any) between projected income and estimated expenses
• What contribution rate change would close the gap

Best use: Annual check-in. Run this once a year to confirm you’re on track — or to discover the gap early enough to do something about it.

Compound interest calculator

Shows the effect of compound interest over time with a simple, clear interface. Excellent for demonstrating to teenagers why starting KiwiSaver at 18 beats starting at 28.

Inputs: initial amount, regular contribution, interest rate, time period.

Net worth tracker

A simple tool for recording all assets and liabilities and calculating net worth. Not connected to your bank — requires manual input.

Best use: Annual snapshot. Calculating your net worth once a year and tracking the trend is more meaningful than daily tracking.

Savings goal calculator

Enter a savings goal and target date; the tool tells you how much to save per week/fortnight/month. Simple and clear.

Debt calculator

Shows how long it will take to pay off a debt at different payment amounts and interest rates. Useful for credit card debt, personal loans, and BNPL.

Money-Go-Round (for children)

An interactive educational game aimed at school-age children (and their parents/teachers) to introduce money concepts. Endorsed by NZ schools.

Pros of Sorted NZ

• Free, forever — government-funded, no subscription, no advertising
• NZ-specific — all calculations use NZ tax rates, NZ Super rates, NZ KiwiSaver rules
• Trustworthy — no data selling, no commercial bias toward specific products
• No bank connection required — no security concerns about third-party bank access
• Excellent KiwiSaver and retirement tools — the best free NZ-specific tools in this category
• Good for planning sessions — designed for periodic reviews, not daily tracking

Cons of Sorted NZ

• No bank feeds — you must manually enter all income and expense data
• Not for daily tracking — this is a tool for planning sessions, not transaction monitoring
• Limited mobile experience — tools are web-based and not optimised for mobile use
• No real-time data — no connection to live account balances; everything is projected, not actual
• Budget tool requires discipline to update — without automatic importing, the budget tool only reflects what you tell it

How to Use Sorted NZ Effectively

Sorted is best used as a quarterly planning tool, not a daily app. Here’s a practical workflow:

Monthly (5 minutes)

• Check your bank app’s spending insights (BNZ, ANZ, ASB, or Kiwibank) — any categories significantly over?

Quarterly (30–45 minutes)

1. Open Sorted’s budget planner
2. Update income (any changes?)
3. Update fixed expenses (any bills changed?)
4. Review discretionary spending against actual (use your bank’s spending data)
5. Update net worth tracker (add any new balances)

Annually (60–90 minutes)

1. Run the KiwiSaver calculator — are you on track?
2. Run the retirement planner — is the gap getting smaller or larger?
3. Update savings goals and timelines
4. Consider: is your fund type still appropriate?

Sorted vs PocketSmith vs YNAB — Quick Comparison

The answer is not either/or. Use Sorted for planning (free) and PocketSmith Premium for daily tracking (if you want automation). The tools complement each other.

Verdict

Sorted NZ is essential for New Zealanders — not as a daily budgeting tool, but as a planning and projection tool. The KiwiSaver calculator and retirement planner alone make it worth bookmarking. Use it for quarterly reviews and annual retirement check-ins, and pair it with a bank app or PocketSmith for day-to-day tracking.

No New Zealander should make a KiwiSaver fund decision, set a retirement savings target, or review their financial position without at least visiting Sorted.

Next Steps

1. Visit sorted.org.nz and run the KiwiSaver calculator — it takes 5 minutes and will tell you whether you’re on track
2. Run the retirement planner — calculate the gap between projected income and estimated expenses
3. Bookmark Sorted for quarterly planning sessions alongside your daily tracking app

See also: Budgeting Apps hub · Best Budgeting Apps NZ · PocketSmith Review NZ · KiwiSaver guides