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Best Personal Finance Software Options

Quicken is our pick for the best personal finance software

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Personal finance software and apps can help you master the basics, become more efficient at managing your money, and even help you discover ways to meet your long-term financial goals. Choosing the best personal finance software depends on your current financial needs. Some personal finance software can help you master budgeting and expense tracking, while others can help with investment portfolio management. Of course, your budget for personal finance software matters, too.

To develop our list, we researched several popular personal finance software options. We evaluated factors such as price, variety of features, the types of financial goals they help you meet, and company reputation. Our list of the best personal finance software includes both free and paid options to suit a variety of financial goals.

Best Personal Finance Software Options of 2024

Best Personal Finance Software Options
Best Personal Finance Software Options

Best Overall : Quicken


Quicken

 Quicken

  • Free Trial Available: No
  • Cost: $41.88/year and up
Why We Chose It

Quicken is a full-featured software offering a holistic approach to financial management at a relatively low cost.

Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Several features available

  • Relatively low cost

  • Money-back guarantee

Cons
  • May be overwhelming if you're looking for simple budgeting software

Overview

Quicken is one of the most established personal finance software on the market. You can use the software to manage various aspects of your financial life, from budget creation to debt tracking, savings goals, and even investment coaching. It also features Excel exporting, which allows you to manipulate and perform additional calculations on your data.

One of the more advanced features Quicken offers is bill pay, which allows you to set up payments for your bills right from the software. You can even use it to track the value of your assets to have an accurate calculation of your total net worth. The software can be used to manage both your personal and business expenses and even handle property management functions like rental payments from tenants.

Quicken offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. The software starts at $41.88 per year and is available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. However, the lowest cost option, Quicken Starter, is not available on mobile devices.

Best for Budgeting : Mint


Mint

 Mint

  • Free Trial Available: N/A
  • Cost: Free
Why We Chose It

Mint is our top pick for budgeting because it lets you easily link your accounts, budget, and track your spending for free.

Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Free to download and use

  • Spending categorization available

Cons
Overview

Mint is one of the most popular budgeting and expense tracking tools available. You can have the software pull in your bank and credit card information to analyze your spending and pinpoint areas where you can cut back to improve your finances.

For more accountability, Mint allows you to set up alerts for payment due dates and low balances to keep you on track. These features help you avoid expensive fees on late payments and overdrafts from your bank account.

When you set up budget categories, Mint will give you information about the amount you can spend on things like food and gas. Mint is free to download and use on iOS and Android devices. You can also use it in a web browser on your computer.

Best for Habit Building : YNAB


YNAB

 YNAB

  • Free Trial Available: Yes
  • Cost: $14.99/month or $99/year
Why We Chose It

You Need a Budget, or YNAB, offers tutorials and tools that can help you learn better budgeting and financial habits.

Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Helpful tutorials designed to keep you motivated

  • Detailed budgeting and spending reports

Cons
  • Relatively expensive

  • No investment tracking

Overview

YNAB is a personal finance software designed to help you improve your financial literacy as you manage your monthly budget. As you create your budget and manage your daily finances, the software provides you with tutorials that will help you tackle some of the tougher financial topics. If you’ve been struggling with bad financial habits, YNAB can help you break those through a few basic financial management rules.

The software automatically links to your bank account, integrating your spending information for analysis and budget tracking. You can keep tabs on how you’re tracking toward your monthly budget and take action if you’re overspending. But it doesn’t include any investment tracking capabilities.

YNAB offers a 34-day free trial that allows you to use the software while you decide whether it’s right for your personal finance goals. The full software is $14.99 monthly or $99 annually.

Best for Taxes : TurboTax


Intuit TurboTax Logo
  • Free Trial Available: N/A
  • Cost: Free version (for simple tax returns only), plus paid options starting at $69
Why We Chose It

Nobody loves filing their tax returns, but TurboTax's handy software helps take the headache out of the process.

Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Step-by-step tax preparation

  • Live support available with higher-tier versions

Cons
  • Can be expensive

Overview

You may not necessarily need TurboTax to manage your finances throughout the entire year, but when it’s tax time, the software can come in handy. While it’s one of the pricier tax preparation tools, it’s also consumer-friendly, walking you through your taxes to help you accurately file your return. Entering your tax information is fairly simple—import your W-2 information from your employer or take a picture of it, and the software will transfer the information into the form.

If you’ve used TurboTax before, the software will remember your personal information and ask whether there have been any major changes. The basic version lets you file your federal and state return for free if all you use is form 1040 with no attached schedules.

On the higher end, TurboTax Live connects you with a tax expert to give you personalized advice and answer questions about your tax return. Paid versions of TurboTax include a feature to help you uncover deductions you may not have known were available to you. While you can use TurboTax on the web, you can also download the software to your device for added security.

TurboTax offers a few tiered plans, ranging from $0 to $129 for federal tax filing on your own. Filing your state taxes will be an additional cost with its higher-tier options. Versions where you can consult with a live tax expert cost even more.

Best for Investing : FutureAdvisor


FutureAdvisor

 FutureAdvisor

  • Free Trial Available: N/A
  • Cost: 0.50% annual assets under management fee
Why We Chose It

Those who appreciate the option of getting investment advice but managing their portfolio independently may want to consider FutureAdvisor.

Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Relatively low investment requirement

  • Helpful recommendations

Cons
  • Website doesn't offer much information

  • AUM fee is relatively high

Overview

If you’re a DIY investor looking for low-cost access to a financial advisor, FutureAdvisor could be a great option. The investment software provides personalized recommendations to help you diversify your portfolio, which you can follow or not follow as you see fit. You're eligible to sign up for the software if you have at least $5,000 in investable assets.

FutureAdvisor manages the assets you transfer into the account for a flat annual fee of 0.5% of the managed assets, billed quarterly at 0.125%. When you transfer your assets into the account, FutureAdvisor works to consolidate them into accounts with its partners, Fidelity or TD Ameritrade.

Best for Investment Advice : Empower (Formerly Personal Capital)


Empower
Empower.

Empower

  • Free Trial Available: No
  • Cost: Budgeting tool is free. Wealth management fee of 0.89% on the first $1 million of balance.
Why We Chose It

Empower (formerly Personal Capital) offers both budgeting and investing tools to help you stay on track with your day-to-day spending and long-term financial goals.

Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Manage all your accounts in one place

  • Personalized financial advice available for certain users

Cons
  • High AUM fee

Overview

Empower (formerly Personal Capital) lets you manage all your financial accounts in a single platform. You can include your bank accounts, mortgage, and other credit accounts, plus your investment accounts, to have your complete financial picture right in front of you. If you have multiple accounts, using Empower can save you from having to switch between tabs to understand where you stand.

If you have a portfolio of more than $100,000, you can get personalized financial advice based on your goals. While you’re charged a fee for this service, financial advisors are obligated to provide you with advice that works in your best interest.

Use the software to determine if you’re on track with your retirement and other investment goals. Even if you’re not quite ready to take advantage of the financial advisor, Empower can help you track your finances and investments in one place. There is no monthly fee, and the annual management fee is tiered based on the investment amount. It starts at 0.89% for balances under $1 million.

Best for Spreadsheet Management : Tiller Money


Tiller Money

 Tiller Money

  • Free Trial Available: Yes
  • Cost: $79/year
Why We Chose It

If you're a visual person that appreciates a well-crafted spreadsheet, Tiller might be the financial tool you've been looking for to manage your accounts in one place.

Pros & Cons
Pros
  • High-level view of all your accounts

  • Relatively low cost

Cons
  • Spreadsheet tracking may be too complicated for some users

Overview

Tiller Money lets you see all your money in one place by automatically updating your checking, credit card, loan, investment, and other account data into a customizable Google Sheet or Excel template. You can choose from templates that organize your data for you or customize your spreadsheet to suit your needs. It'll also send you daily emails with a summary of your recent transactions and balances.

The service costs $79 per year, but you can take advantage of the 30-day free trial to decide if it's right for you.

Software Free Trial Cost
Quicken Best Overall No $41.88/year & up
Mint Best for Budgeting N/A Free
YNAB Best for Habit Building Yes $14.99/month or $99/year
TurboTax Best for Taxes N/A Free version, plus paid options from $69
FutureAdvisor Best for Investing N/A 0.50% of annual assets under management
Empower Best for Investment Advice No Free budgeting tool; wealth management fee of 0.89% on first $1 million under management
Tiller Money Best for Spreadsheet Management Yes $79/year

Final Verdict

We chose Quicken as the best overall personal finance software because of its all-around strengths. It helps with creating budgets and tracks debt and expenses while allowing you to export data to Microsoft Excel. On top of that, you can set up bill payments through the software, which is compatible with Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows operating systems.

For budgeting specifically, you can't go wrong with Mint, and we like TurboTax for handling tax filing. For those looking for software that also will help with investments, Empower is a good choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Personal Finance Software?

Personal finance software is any application that helps with all aspects of your personal finances. You can choose different software for different goals. Some software is ideal for budgeting, others are good for investing, and others are right for debt tracking and savings goals. It’s designed to make managing and tracking your finances easier and more efficient and helps you set up systems that work for you. 

How Does Personal Finance Software Work?

Personal finance software typically works by collecting your personal data, linking the software to your financial institution, investment accounts, and credit cards, and then helping you set up your financial goals. Once you've linked your accounts, it can monitor your credit, track your spending and savings habits, help you create a budget, offer tips and investment advice, and send out bill pay and savings goal reminders.

How Much Does Personal Finance Software Cost?

Personal finance software varies in features, functions, and costs. Some software offers basic features with free and paid versions. Other software helps you meet more complex financial goals and charges monthly fees.

Personal finance software typically costs between a few dollars and around $15 per month, or you can pay annually for a discounted rate. Other software charges an annual fee of around $40 or more, and software that focuses on investing charges an annual percentage based on managed assets.

Is Personal Finance Software Worth the Cost?

Personal finance software is worth the cost if it helps you meet your financial goals. It may help you stick to a budget and save money or manage and track your investments and gain money. If you use it and it’s helping, then it’s typically worth the relatively low cost. 

Methodology

To come up with our list of the best personal finance software, we researched and reviewed several personal finance applications based on criteria important to the consumer. We chose our top personal finance software options after considering factors like price, variety of features, the types of financial goals they help you meet, company reputation, and more. Note that we did not evaluate all options in the market.

Personal Finance Software

Thomas Barwick / Getty Images

Article Sources
  1. Empower. "Wealth Management."

  2. Personal Capital. "Wealth Management."

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