Top 9 Personal Finance Software
(2022): Compared & Reviewed
Personal finance means the mechanism that is established as a chain of handling your income and expenses. It is very similar to your business accounting; the only difference is that it is accounting for your income and expenses.
Several people struggle with managing their daily finances, that’s because they haven’t been acquainted with the basics of accounting, for their business, profession or themself. The biggest geniuses sometimes struggle to get finance. They are not able to know where their money went when they go shopping or buy regular needs.
There is a flaw in our schooling system; they don’t teach us how to manage money. They teach us how to get jobs but they don’t teach us how to manage our income. It will astonish you to realize that most of the people in the corporate world struggle with money, it’s not because they don’t earn enough; it’s because they don’t manage their earnings correctly. Managing your everyday income and expenses is a very small task that is capable of initializing a butterfly effect that can make you broke on the last day of the month.
The greatest of investors; be it Buffet or Zuckerberg, will know that they manage their personal finance with the highest accuracy. They don’t just depend on the fact that they are the richest guys on the planet, thus they don’t need to manage their personal accounts. If you are rich, then you manage your finances. If you want to become one then you have to make your personal finance management your highest priority.
What is personal finance software?
Personal finance software explained simply is the automated mechanism of handling your personal finance. You just need to enter what you earned and what you spent; the rest of the work will be handled by this software. Personal finance software is the best way of handling your ‘money problems’ if you struggle with keeping up with your accounting. We have already explained why it is very important to manage your software.
Personal finance software and applications help you manage your money. Managing money in simple terms means it will help you to simplify your income and expenses. It will help you gain efficiency and effectiveness in managing your money. If you use personal finance software, it will also help you achieve your short term or long-term financial goals. Personal finance software comes with features that will help you understand and gain knowledge about budgeting and track your expenses.
There are certain people who are more familiar with the concept of money, returns and interest. There are personal finance software and applications available in the market that can help you invest your money and develop your portfolio. Investing should always be your priority if you have extra savings lying around.
What software you choose for your personal finance completely depends on what your need is regarding income and expenses.
You Need A Budget developed to help people understand the basics of finance and become financially literate. It helps you manage your finances in such a way that you will be able to learn about money while managing it. It makes you interact with the financial management rules that will help you break away with bad financial habits. It has options to manage your savings and emergency funds; which are highly crucial in times of crisis.
YNAB will also help you get a better grip on basic financial activities around you. The basic expenses and incomes that happen throughout the day can be kept in the proper format so that you can stick to your monthly budget.

When you register for YNAB, it will directly get linked to your bank account. It will keep a clear track of what you have earned and what you are spending from that account. It will also note down if you withdraw cash from that account.
There are two types of account options in YNAB. One is a budget account and the other one is a tracking account. The budget account helps you to keep a check on the money that you are going to spend in the near future.
The tracking account option allows you to keep a check on the money that has been invested in your investment avenues, insurances etc.; basically, the money that you are not going to spend in the near future. It will help you to track every account transaction with the utmost ease and perfection so that you can never go off track in terms of your personal finance.
Features:
- One of the best features of YNAB is that it helps you become financially literate. You can learn everything using this software.
- It will give you tutorials, news, technologies etc. to understand finance better. It will help you accomplish your future goals.
- You can use YNAB to set small, short-term financial goals in terms of savings, investment money, emergency funds etc. You can even use YNAB to save money for a particular occasion or time period.
- Another notable aspect of YNAB is its flexibility. It is very flexible in terms of third-party integration, bank account integration etc. It is also flexible in terms of budget management.
Pros
Cons
Pricing :
The subscription fee of YNAB is $11.99 monthly or $84 annually. We have already explained to them how this has proved to be a major drawback.
2. POCKETGUARD
PocketGuard has been developed by keeping in mind the needs of students in colleges or high school. The main strategy behind this is that this tool should be an easy way for the students to keep a track of their finances.
Keeping this in mind, it has been developed with a free version that doesn’t have as many features but it is enough for the students to manage their finances. It has got features like transaction tracking, warning signs, deadline set, reminders etc.
One of the best aspects is that it has tracking features that will enable you to keep a track of every transaction that happens in your bank account.

It is capable of tracking your income as well as expenses. There is also a pie chart that will help you divide your budget, income, savings and investment. This can be an easy reflection of your income and is expensive.
PocketGuard has got a simple and beautiful user interface that can help the students manage their transactions with ease. This is beneficial in terms that the students don’t have enough time to manage complex features of any personal finance, thus the ease of this software proves to be a boon for them.
Features :
PocketGuard as we already mentioned has got a very good user interface that can help you manage your transaction most efficiently. A good user interface helps the users to create an easy financial management ecosystem.
- It can make users aware of their money habits in an easy manner.
- The feature that the PocketGuard has of an intuitive pie chart even helps beginners to understand their budget. A pie chart is a good way to understand your financial goals and track your personal finance.
Pros
Cons
Pricing :
- There is a free version available for the same.
- PocketGuard Plus model comes with a $7.99 monthly subscription cost.
It can also be subscribed at $79.99 as an annual charge and $99.99 for a lifetime subscription.
Personal Capital as the name goes is personal finance software developed for managing all your capital in one place. If you have multiple accounts and you want them integrated into one place. Personal Capital is the best option for you.
Personal Capital is capable of giving a clear reflective report of your financial data, be it of bank accounts, property mortgage, credit lines, cards etc.
How this turns out to be beneficial for you is that you will not have to switch between your accounts multiple times. This enables convenience and saves time. There is also a very good system of portfolio development in this software.

If the value of your portfolio is more than $100,000, then Personal Capital can give you personalized financial advice based on your long term and short-term goals. Even though there is a charge levied for this service, the financial advisors are obligated to provide you with the best financial advice that will help you get the optimum portfolio.
There is also a feature of retirement planning in the software. There are multiple ways in which you can establish a retirement and saving tracker in the Personal Capital software. It will give you real-time data that will give you the best financial advice at all times that will adhere to your retirement plans.
Features :
There isn’t any one feature that stands out, but there are multiple features that make Personal Capital one of the most intuitive software in the market.
- Personal Capital is a perfect blend of integration, investment and savings
- Software that gives you the best financial advice.
- It also helps you save money and develop your retirement plan is ought to be among the best choices in the market.
Even though the desktop version only provides you with the investment checkup, the IOS and Android application also don’t lack much. The application version has got a lot of features including savings checkup, bank account integration and a user-friendly interface.
Pros
Cons
4. INTUIT MINT
Intuit is one of the best companies in the market that provides multiple businesses as well as personal solutions. Mint has been developed to provide budgeting assistance to beginners. The application has been developed with features that can aggregate your accounts in a single dashboard.
By using this application, you can track your net worth, know about your financial goals, and understand the basics of finance and much more. It has got unique features like comparing your spending with the nation's habits.
Using Mint, you can easily link your accounts to the application to know about every transaction that you make.

By tracking your spending habits, Mint also tells you what your spending habits look like in front of the average spending habits of the nation. Mint is accessible using software, application as well as web-based clients. Using this high accessibility feature of this software, you can synchronize your data in an account and access it from anywhere using any device.
In Mint, you can also complete the basic functions of setting budgets, financial goals and deadlines. The fact that Mint provides all of its features at no cost is quite astonishing if seen with the aspect of features it provides.
Features of Mint-
When it comes to personal finance software, users are very concerned about their privacy and data protection. We have already seen how free software compromises the users’ data. One of the drawbacks that will always be there is that this free software irritates the users by making them a part of the targeted adware.
But as far as the users have reported that their data security features are of the industry standards and they have the state of art data security protocols. There is data encryption employed for the users’ data and there is also multi-factor authentication access.
Mint can be accessed using Android or IOS devices on mobile. Using the computers with Windows and macOS is also alright for using Mint.
Pros
Cons
Pricing :
The features of Mint can be accessed without paying any cost. It is completely free software.
Albert personal finance software is the application you want to have if you want to be big on savings. It has got money management features that are good at both facilitating the budgeting process and automating savings.
The budgeting process means establishing a clear reporting and reflective mechanism of the budget. Automation of savings means, automatically putting money in the savings wallet if it sees that dollars are lying around.
The best part of its savings is that you can earn interest on the money that has been put in the savings wallet. This saved money can be withdrawn anytime and used. There is an annual bonus available on the saved amount as well.

This application is also capable of monitoring your spending habits so that it can tell you where you are going wrong and where you need to improve. It is capable of raising red flags for your spending habits. You can also set payment deadlines in the software that is a basic requirement for any personal finance software.
Albert has features that can create an automatic budget for the users. It can help you to identify your money, income and expenses. There are features available to see your bills and pay them. There are also certain reporting options if you opt to see the report of your money.
Features of Albert (personal finance software)-
- One of the best features of Albert is that it puts this money in the savings wallet. This leads to capital accumulation with earning interest on these savings.
- Users can keep aside some of their money for later use.
- They can earn interest on their money, which leads to a bit of income. This leads to achieving the financial goals that the users have set up for themselves.
- Users can also track their goals using the data analytics features that show you the real-time progress of these goals.
- It can effortlessly identify money that is not being used.
Pros
Cons
Pricing :
- There is a free version available for Albert.
- There is also an Albert Genius add-on. This feature boosts your savings bonus and provides access to financial guidance. The pricing of this add on is starting at $4 per month.
6. EVERYDOLLAR
If building a budget is one of your main goals, then EveryDollar is the best option you have. It is among the list of elites like YNAB, Personal Capital, Mint etc. Budgeting is one of the most crucial aspects of personal finance. When you create a clear-cut budget for your money, it can help you overcome a lot of wrong spending habits.
It can give you knowledge about each dollar you spent and know whether the spending decision was right or wrong. EveryDollar is a niche of personal finance software; it mainly focuses on the budgeting aspect of personal finance.
EveryDollar has been developed by keeping families as their target market. This software is an ideal choice for families who function on a budget for their luxuries as well as needs.

It allows you to create a customized budget for your whole family. You can set every dollar before spending, thus creating an allocation of money for every expense. You can also work with customized templates, which enhances the user interface and intuitiveness.
The paid version has added features like bank account linking and reporting. When you link your bank account to the software, you get to know which family member spent how much at what time. This allows you to keep close track of your family’s financial goals.
Features :
- Even though the application’s free version doesn’t provide financial advice. The paid Ramsey comes at a higher cost than other plans but
- It offers features like “Dave Ramsey's popular Financial Peace course”.
- It also provides the guide to BabyStep Tracking that Ramsey himself has incorporated. These seven steps are the stepping guide to build your financial wealth and achieve your financial goals. The feature is one of the most unique features.
- It may be the first company of its kind that has been created by a financial advisor himself that provides financial assistance. This is a major boon for users who want to become financially literate. The first rule to earn returns is to invest in the best.
Pros
Cons
Pricing :
- The paid version starts at $129.99 annually.
- There is also a free version available for this personal finance software.
The greatest of financial advisors say that it is mandatory to invest money if you want a stable future. They have always advised us to create a diversified portfolio to keep up with the inflation, declining value for money etc.
A portfolio can help you create good stability in terms of your expenses. You can manage your personal finance by keeping investment in the limelight.
FutureAdvisor is the best option to manage personal finance in an investment-oriented manner. The users are allowed to save money while earning profits and learn about financial literacy. This investment software provides you with personalized recommendations that can help you create a diversified portfolio.

There are options to activate continuous tracking. If you opt for it then you can have a track for your investment and if you don’t want to see your investment value every day then you can opt-out of it. FutureAdvisor consolidates all your investment as well expenditure accounts in one dashboard.
The users can choose multiple accounts to link; this facilitates convenience and ease of access. FutureAdvisor charges 0.5% of the total asset under management as the fee. There is also a reminder for refilling your account for investment purposes if the need arises. It performs most of the basic functions of any personal finance management software.
Features of FutureAdvisor-
The best aspect of FutureAdvisor is that it has got a robotic financial advisor that will help you invest using the data processing it does use its state-of-the-art features. If you have your accounts at FutureAdvisor then the premium version is easily accessible to you.
These accounts are already at one of those brokers thus you won’t have to go through the hassle of moving these accounts. You will just have to sign the documents that will give FutureAdvisor management rights and the company will be able to trade on your behalf thus appointing them as your broker.
If you have accounts with other broker(s) then you will have to complete the laid down procedure of moving these accounts from another broker.
Pros
Cons
Pricing :
- There is a free version available with limited tools.
- A minimum of $5000 is required to sign up for a premium.
- The fees they charge for their services is 0.50% of the total asset managed.
8. QUICKEN
Quicken as the name suggests is the one-stop solution for all your personal finance management needs. It has got the features that make it highly integrative software. It is a personal finance management solution that allows users to access all their financial aspects in one single dashboard.
The bank accounts, cards, investments, savings, overdue, deadlines, reminders etc. can be found in one place and can quickly be accessed. It offers customized budgeting solutions that will enable you to create a budget as per your financial needs.
There is deadline reminder software that has been integrated with bill management that can help you keep up with your payments.

Quicken provides the users with money management tips that will help you to invest your money as well as learn the basics of finance. Quicken also provides comprehensive solutions for your bank accounts. You can view your account history, transactions etc. in a convenient manner. Quicken is available for Windows and IOS platforms.
Quicken also provides the users with the basics of any personal finance management software. You can access your accounts, know about your spending habits, learn about your wrong decisions etc. There is also an investment advice feature available in the software.
Features of Quicken-
- There is an investment management tool available in Quicken. The users can use Quicken's investment management tools to help easily monitor their investments.
- You can also create your finance management reports by using the data analytics tools of this software.
- Quicken can help you to track the value of your investment by synchronizing the investment with the real-time value of the stocks.
- It also helps you also learn about your knack for investment.
- The best thing about Quicken is that it has been able to create a perfect balance between each aspect of financial management.
We have already seen that there are many software that only focus on savings and there are some just on investment. This software has been able to create a perfect balance of everything.
Pros
Cons
Pricing :
- Quicken for PC starts at $35.99 and goes up to $62.39
- Quicken for Mac starts at $35.99 and it goes up to $46.79
9. GOODBUDGET
If you wish to divide your money into various categories for identifying and achieving your financial goals then Goodbudget is the best option for you. You can create a division of your available cash into different envelopes for different spending categories.
Goodbudget offers the features to take the envelope budgeting concept as your regular financial management practice. You can use these budgeted categories to sort your payments.
In Goodbudget, you can manually import bank transactions. These transactions can be seen in a more intuitive manner using the reporting techniques of this software. These techniques include graphical representation, sheet representation etc.

The users are provided with the features of data analytics to create a much better understanding of their spending habits.There is a free version for this software that has got numerous helpful features that includes the users’ ability to create up to 10 envelopes and easily transfer money between them.
There is also an option of linking your bank account with Goodbudget but if you prefer that your bank account should remain intact then you always have the option to manually enter the transactions. You can use the desktop/mobile home screen to view your envelopes. This is a very interactive feature in personal finance software.
Features :
If you are a fan of using applications with good user interfaces then Goodbudget is the best option for you in the market.
- Goodbudget’s browser-based interface is also on the same lines. It has got the easiest interactive interface that will give the users the most intuitive personal finance management features.
- There are multiple tabs available in the software to create your envelopes.
- There is also an option for you to view your bank accounts and transactions that are listed in the main pane.
- All of these things are available on a single dashboard. This enables quick access and convenience.
Pros
Cons
Pricing :
- There is a free version available for this software.
- The plus plan comes at $7 per month and the annual subscription comes at $60.
Factors affecting selection of personal finance software-
1. Ease of access-
When you select personal finance software, make sure that it is easy to use. The objective behind having personal finance software is that you want to make the complex task of handling money easy. Thus, if you are selecting an automated medium to do that then you must choose the software that is easy to access and easy to understand. The convenience of the software should be your top priority.
2. Reflective-
This software should be reflective of what you are earning and spending. It should not be too complex or too easy for you to understand what is going on with the money. Personal finance software should give you regular updates, regular reports, regular warnings (if you go on the wrong track), and sometimes even reward you for keeping up with the goals. It shouldn’t be rocket science to manage your finances.
3. Investment-
Accept it or not, investment is the biggest need of any generation. If you think that your 9-5/ 5 days a week income will get you settled forever, then you are very wrong. If you have savings, profits etc. lying around, you need to invest that money in good opportunities.
You don’t get paid an 8 figure salary for your whole life, so start managing your finances in a way that will enable you to invest some money for your future. While selecting personal finance software, you must select software that will help you to invest your money and also develop a diversified portfolio.
Benefits of personal finance software-
There are multiple benefits personal finance software provides you. They may not be the major benefits that are easily noticeable but as you progress with your financial management software, you will realize the following benefits-
1. Deadlines-
You will never miss deadlines for your payments and will be done away with paying fines for the late payments. You always manage your deadlines and cope up with the deadlines when you are using personal finance software. Personal finance software always manages your money effectively and efficiently, thus indirectly helping you cope up with your deadlines.
2. Financial goals-
Personal finance software helps you achieve your monetary goals. When you set a goal in your software and you work upon it, it will surely help you to achieve your financial goals. You may want to buy luxury shoes after a couple of weeks and you start saving money using this application, when you achieve that you will realize that personal finance software is beneficial.
3. Mistakes-
When you spend against the set goal then you will be reminded of the mistakes that you commit in terms of spending. You will be realizing the truth about your spending habits and you will have learned from that. If you want to be in a better financial condition then you will have to make these mistakes right.
Conclusion
Managing personal finance is the need of the hour. 90% of the world’s earning population is into the corporate sector- either employed or owners. When it comes to the corporate world it is very crucial to manage time and expenses. Time management, we learn with our degrees, jobs etc. But, we can’t run away from the fact that we all aren’t financially literate.
Some people get a PhD but aren’t able to manage their money. It shouldn’t astonish you to know that there is a whole portion of the population that is completely unaware of investment and its basics. They don’t know how to invest, what to invest in and when to take out your money. We cannot blame anyone but our educational system for this discrepancy. They have taught us the most advanced physics but haven’t been able to teach us the basics of money.
We must learn personal finance management. We cannot work with stability by just surviving on the salary and corporate salaries. You should ask yourself a question, how long will you be paid the 8 figure salary? How long will you get your PF and corporate benefits? After one point in time, you will have to learn to make money work for yourself. You just cannot keep working your whole life right, and even if you do will your salary be enough to manage your emergencies?
Personal finance management software won’t take you among the 1% of the world, but at least it will teach you the basics of finance. It will teach you how to transact, how to save, what kind of spending habits are right for you and what kind of spending habits are wrong for you. Personal finance software is the need of the people who are working 9-5 for their business needs or professional needs. You must learn about the basics of finance. Financial stability is the first step towards a secured future.
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