I’m guessing that you are still not convinced about how useful free online personal finance software can be, but try to bear with me. Just continue reading this post and you will realize why so many people turn to online personal finance software because it is so incredibly helpful for staying on top of your finances. I have compiled a list of the best free personal finance software which I know will help you get started!
Do you want to know the best online personal finance software that you should be using? Or maybe where to get the best free personal finance software? You’ve come to the right place. I’ll teach you all about personal finance apps, services and tools.
Mint
REASONS TO BUY
+Full featured but simple to use
+Free with ads
+Subscription monitoring
+Mintsights feature offers guidance
REASONS TO AVOID
-Some ads promote poor financial habits-You can edit subcategories but not top-level ones
Price: Free with ads
If you’re looking for a one-stop shop in your personal finance software and want a full-featured tool that still keeps things simple, Mint is the choice for you. Mint is a web-based tool (with mobile apps, of course) that will help you track spending, design a budget, manage debt, set goals and combine all your accounts (including the weird ones like balloon mortgages) in a single place. Many users love its simple, clean UI — the 2021 design refresh is getting raves — and at-a-glance financial dashboard, with net worth right there at the top.
While Mint and Quicken have long been the top contenders for full-featured financial management for everyday finances, Mint wins as the best personal finance software by being both free and slightly simpler than Quicken. Life is complicated enough already, and you can start your new era of fiscal responsibility right now by saving yourself the $42 annual price tag for Quicken Deluxe.
Mint makes setting up a budget a simple and straightforward process: Once you’ve set up your accounts, Mint takes a crack at categorizing your expenses for you. New in 2021, you can bulk-edit to make category adjustments.
Other powerful additions for 2021 include subscription monitoring, which helps you keep track of the subscriptions that seem to proliferate with every free trial. Mint will even tell you if those subscriptions change price. And personalized Mintsights offer guidance and suggestions to tweak the habits and behaviors that Mint “sees” in your financial activities, in order to help you pay down debt and save more. Mintsights are personalized for each user.
One feature our testers particularly appreciated was Mint’s free credit-score tracking and education. This feature gives you the “why” behind the numbers, breaking down on-time payments, credit usage, and average age of your credit and showing how your behaviors in these areas aid – or hurt – your overall rating.
Quicken
REASONS TO BUY
+Fair pricing
+Secure online backup
+Desktop and app
REASONS TO AVOID
-Slender app versions-Rivals come cheaper
Quicken is a long-established tool for managing personal accounts, and while its reputation was built on a desktop version, it’s now available to run as an app on your mobile devices.
Quicken offers a good range of financial reporting tools. These are set around a few different areas, namely budgeting, bills, accounts, and even investments. For budgeting, it offers you a chance to input your purchases and income so you can compare them both together to get a better idea of how much you are spending compared to how much you are earning.
In terms of bills, you can also see which utilities and similar you are constantly paying out to, and see both the amounts to be paid and how much money you have left over. For accounting purposes you can even bring your banking and credit card bills together in one place so that you have a very clear idea indeed of how much you’re paying out. This is especially handy as people easily underestimate how much regular small purchases can add to costs.
For investments it also offers the ability to track these, whether as part of your savings, investment portfolio, or 401k pension plan. This means you have a clear idea of how much your savings and investments are worth, though it’s fair to say you shouldn’t panic about short-term fluctuations in the stock market.
Altogether, Quicken brings together your budgeting, banking, and investment reporting into a single dashboard, which you can view from your desktop or even via your cell phone from the mobile app.
Quicken – Try it for 30 days risk-free!
Start taking control of your money with the Starter package at $35.99/yr, manage your money and save with the Deluxe option at $46.79/yr down from $51.99/yr, maximize your investments with Premier for $70.19/yr, down from $77.99/yr or manage personal and business finances all in one place with Home & Business at $93.59/yr, reduced from $103.99/yr.
YNAB
You Need a Budget, or YNAB, is a personal finance software that’s aimed 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 budgeting tracking. You can keep tabs on how you’re tracking toward your monthly budget and take action if you’re overspending. 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 $11.99 per month or $84 a year.
Personal Capital
REASONS TO BUY
+Robust investment & retirement toolset blows competitors out of the water
+Great educational offerings to truly understand your wealth
REASONS TO AVOID
-While it’s possible to add non-retirement savings goals, the guidance offered is thin
Price: Free app, with fees for wealth-management services should you choose to use them.
To be blunt: Personal Capital is what you graduate to, from Mint. Both personal finance managers are free, easy and friendly to learn and use, and will show you a comprehensive view of your finances.
Personal Capital, though, has foregone budgeting and bill-payment tools to focus on next-level concerns. Features like its 401(k) analyzer, what-if Retirement Planner, and projected portfolio values are exactly what you need if you have the good fortune to arrive at the phase in which “How am I going to save some money” has become “What am I going to do with it all?” It’s next-level personal finance software, best for people who have gotten to that next level.
Banktree
REASONS TO BUY
+30-day free trial
+Supports multiple currencies
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can be a bit tricky to navigate-Needs their online banking subscription for syncing
BankTree is more than happy to support worldwide currencies, and in fact does a solid job if you’re working simultaneously with more than one, offering balances in multiple currencies rather than rounding them off into a single total. It’s also good for keeping track of everything, allowing you to scan receipts with its mobile app and import them later on.
It’s not the prettiest software around, and it’s slightly more awkward to use than many of its more refined cousins, although BankTree does produce very neat reports which you can break down by time, or by payee. It may be worth experimenting with the free trial before you choose to invest in this one.
REASONS TO BUY
+30-day free trial
+Supports multiple currencies
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can be a bit tricky to navigate-Needs their online banking subscription for syncing
BankTree is more than happy to support worldwide currencies, and in fact does a solid job if you’re working simultaneously with more than one, offering balances in multiple currencies rather than rounding them off into a single total. It’s also good for keeping track of everything, allowing you to scan receipts with its mobile app and import them later on.
It’s not the prettiest software around, and it’s slightly more awkward to use than many of its more refined cousins, although BankTree does produce very neat reports which you can break down by time, or by payee. It may be worth experimenting with the free trial before you choose to invest in this one.
BankTree – Personal Finance
BankTree Desktop Personal Finance software is available now for just £35.00. We will provide you with free email support, and free updates, and bug fixes to the current version of BankTree Desktop Personal Finance version 3.0. You can install the software on one computer. Any additional installations are charged at just £5.00 per computer.
Conclusion:
Personal finance software is changing the way people do their taxes. Essentially, these services will help you save money, estimate your taxes (link to personal financing Taxes page), and provide financial insight to you even if you aren’t completing your taxes with them.