Microsoft Money or Quicken: which has the features you need to manage your personal finances? Do you get more features for your money with Quicken or with Microsoft Money? Is Money or Quicken easier to use?
Is Microsoft Money or Quicken Better?
Individual box shots courtesy of Microsoft and Intuit.
Microsoft Money Plus and Quicken are compared below, feature by feature.
Some features covered may not be available in Microsoft Money Essentials or Quicken Starter Edition.
Microsoft stopped annual upgrades for Money Plus. It is not clear whether this signals the end of Money Plus desktop software or whether Microsoft is developing an alternative to Microsoft Money.
Some features covered may not be available in Microsoft Money Essentials or Quicken Starter Edition.
Microsoft stopped annual upgrades for Money Plus. It is not clear whether this signals the end of Money Plus desktop software or whether Microsoft is developing an alternative to Microsoft Money.
Navigating Microsoft Money and Quicken
Click Image for Larger View - Screen Shot by Shelley Elmblad
Microsoft Money Plus features a home page that can be customized to show the data that is most important to you when you first start up Money. Quicken also has a customizable home page and customizable views.
Quicken provides account balances and quick access to accounts in the Account Bar on the left for all windows unless it is minimized. Click on tabs to move between centers for Cash Flow, Property and Debt, and others. The Cash Flow center provides a link to customizable Quicken financial reports graphs.
Quicken provides account balances and quick access to accounts in the Account Bar on the left for all windows unless it is minimized. Click on tabs to move between centers for Cash Flow, Property and Debt, and others. The Cash Flow center provides a link to customizable Quicken financial reports graphs.
The Microsoft Money home page navigation bar has access to sections such as Account Lists, Bills, Reports, etc. Access account balances and customizable financial reports and graphs by clicking on links on the navigation bar.
Quicken and Microsoft Money Account Registers
Click Image for Larger View - Screen Shot by Shelley Elmblad
Quicken's account registers are more straight-forward to use than Money registers. Open account registers in Quicken by clicking on the account on the left Account Bar. The register opens, resembling a checkbook register and transactions are added and edited directly in that register.
Microsoft Money has two register formats: Essential and Advanced registers. Editing data in the Essential register is similar to Quicken's register, but adding new transactions requires two clicks before a data entry form opens. The Essential register does not provide enough information to be useful, but Money's Advanced register has a more complete display.
Microsoft Money has two register formats: Essential and Advanced registers. Editing data in the Essential register is similar to Quicken's register, but adding new transactions requires two clicks before a data entry form opens. The Essential register does not provide enough information to be useful, but Money's Advanced register has a more complete display.
Online Banking
Both Microsoft Money and Quicken update account balances and download transactions directly from most financial institutions over the Internet. Saving financial account passwords in Quicken or Microsoft Money is required.Microsoft Money uses background banking to accomplish automated financial data downloads, which occurs when Money is opened and at a variety of intervals.
Quicken automates data downloads with One Step Updates, which can be set to download data at a particular time each day or just some days. Because Quicken must be closed to run scheduled updates, if you try to open Quicken while a scheduled update is running you will be told to wait before launching Quicken.
Attaching or Linking Files to Transactions
Quicken and Microsoft Money can link digital copies of receipts and other documentation to transactions, with significant differences:Quicken attachments are digital images associated with transactions and accounts.
- Acquire images directly from Windows clipboard, scanner or a file
- Attach multiple images to accounts and transactions
- Attachments are viewed within Quicken and are stored with Quicken data files
Microsoft Money Plus supports linking files to transactions.
- Link image, Word, Excel and other files to transactions.
- Files saved apart from Money data files
- Save files, then link; cannot use images directly from clipboard, scanner, etc.
- One linked file per transaction, cannot link to accounts.
Investments in Quicken and Microsoft Money
Click Image for Larger View - Screen Shot by Shelley Elmblad
Quicken Premier and Microsoft Money Plus Deluxe and Premium can track investments. Money Plus Deluxe costs significantly less, but you need to use Money Plus Premium for capital gains tracking (included in Quicken Premier) so the cost is about the same for equal investing features.
The Money Plus Deluxe investing center looks like an online magazine with ads and investment-related news pulled from the Internet. Click on the selections under My Investing Tools on the left to see your portfolio details in Money Plus.
Quicken Premier's investing center opens directly to asset allocation graphs, mutual fund ratings and other details specific to your investment accounts, with no ads or news.
The Money Plus Deluxe investing center looks like an online magazine with ads and investment-related news pulled from the Internet. Click on the selections under My Investing Tools on the left to see your portfolio details in Money Plus.
Quicken Premier's investing center opens directly to asset allocation graphs, mutual fund ratings and other details specific to your investment accounts, with no ads or news.
Microsoft Money and Quicken Desktop Gadgets
Click Image for Larger View - Screen Shot by Shelley Elmblad
In 2008, both Microsoft Money Plus and Quicken added features for monitoring accounts and getting alerts right on your computer desktop.
Quicken Billminder Gadget works only with Windows Vista, so if you are running Windows XP or lower you will not be able to use Quicken Billminder.
Microsoft Money Plus Insights are actually three separate gadgets (Quicken Billminder is one gadget) that run on Windows XP and on Vista: Cash Flow Insights, Spending Insights and Bills Insights.
Quicken Billminder Gadget works only with Windows Vista, so if you are running Windows XP or lower you will not be able to use Quicken Billminder.
Microsoft Money Plus Insights are actually three separate gadgets (Quicken Billminder is one gadget) that run on Windows XP and on Vista: Cash Flow Insights, Spending Insights and Bills Insights.
Advertisments in Microsoft Money and Quicken
Both Quicken and Money serve up ads through the software while you are using online features. However, the ads in Quicken are unobtrusively small and located in a lower corner while Microsoft Money's partner ads are larger and more liberally (and annoyingly) sprinkled throughout the software. If you use firewall or ad blocking software, the ads in Money should be blocked.Sunset Policies for Obsolete Software
Sunset or obsoletion policies define how long software is supported. When Money or Quicken versions sunset, there is no longer tech support and the software will lose access to online features such as account downloads and investment updates. Features that require online access are a major part of both Quicken and Money, making either software little more than a glorified check register once these features stop functioning.The Microsoft Money Internet Services Policy states that Money is supported for two years, while Quicken supports the most recent version for three years. This difference can be the factor that evens out how prices for Quicken tip the scale: you pay more for Quicken, but it is supported longer.
Quicken and Microsoft Money Software Reviews and Pricing
Get more details on Microsoft Money Plus features with price comparisons in this Microsoft Money Plus review.Check out my Quicken review to get the scoop on the latest Quicken features and compare prices in this
