Online financial software runs in Internet Explorer or Firefox browsers, although some run in Safari or other browsers.
Online Personal Finance Software Pros
- Since online software does not run on your hard drive, you will never deal with problems that often occur when installing software.
- Mac or PC, it usually does not matter since online financial software runs in browsers that are compatible with both systems.
- Online software accessible anywhere there is an Internet connection.
- Good online financial software stores data securely on the file servers via automatic back ups.
- Online financial software makes it easy to share data and financial reports with others.
- Online financial software is usually inexpensive, and is often free.
Online Personal Finance Software Cons
- Good online software is more secure in many ways than desktop financial software. But there is no guarantee that all online financial software is 100% hacker-proof. Check the online software privacy or security statement (see Tip at bottom of this page).
- If your Internet connection goes down, you will not be able to access your online software.
- If the online software goes out of business or you switch to another financial software, you could lose your data. To avoid this, look for online software that lets you download your data (such as a CSV file) to your hard drive.
- Check your finances online on a public computer and forget to log out, and the next person who comes along may be able to get into your records.
- Online financial software can sometimes run slowly, especially if the software has many features, like accounting software does.
- Online financial software usually has fewer features compared to desktop financial software.
Compare Online and Desktop Software Side by Side
