Last updated: 9 August 2026
Browser-based calculations
GuideStead is designed to work without an account. GuideStead calculators run in your browser, and the financial numbers entered into the calculators are not uploaded by the calculators.
Each calculator saves your entries in this browser on this device so it can remember them next time. Saved inputs may be removed if you use Start fresh, clear browser data, use private browsing, switch devices, or reset your browser.
What we ask for
GuideStead calculators may ask for pay, tax, commute, benefit, and inflation-related numbers to produce an estimate.
GuideStead does not require a name, email address, password, or login to use the calculators. GuideStead does not receive or maintain an account-based finance profile about you.
Website services, ads, and cookies
The financial numbers entered into the calculators are not sent to an advertising or analytics service.
When GuideStead pages load, the hosting provider and Google Fonts may receive basic technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, requested page, and request time. The technical request information does not include calculator inputs.
If Google ads are enabled, Google and other advertising partners may use cookies, IP addresses, web beacons, or similar technologies to serve, measure, and protect ads. Google and other advertising partners do not receive the financial numbers entered into the calculators.
Google may use advertising cookies to personalize and measure ads. You can manage personalized ads through Google Ads Settings.
GuideStead uses Google Analytics to count visits and see which calculators get used — the page you viewed, roughly what part of the world you’re in, and how you arrived. It sets a cookie to tell repeat visits apart, and you can opt out anytime (below).
The numbers you type into the calculators never leave your browser. They aren’t sent to us, to analytics, or to any ad service — nothing is transmitted when you press Calculate, and no values are ever put into the page address.
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, GuideStead automatically turns off advertising cookies and ad personalisation for your visit. This is honoured wherever you are, not only in states whose law requires it. Several browsers and extensions send this signal, and some send it by default.
Visitors in the UK, Switzerland, and the European Economic Area are treated as having declined analytics and advertising cookies unless they say otherwise, so no such cookies are set for them. GuideStead is built around United States tax rules and is not aimed at visitors elsewhere.
You can opt out of Google Analytics entirely, on every site you visit, with Google’s browser add-on. Blocking cookies or using a content blocker also stops it, and the calculators work exactly the same either way.
Your choices
You can remove saved inputs with Start fresh in each calculator or by clearing your browser data. Private browsing can also prevent inputs from remaining after the session, depending on your browser settings.
Important note
Do not enter information you are not comfortable keeping in your browser. GuideStead calculators are designed for practical estimates, not for storing sensitive records.