Rocket Money vs. Empower Budgeting App

(November 2024)

Rocket-Money-vs.-Empower-Budgeting-App

In This Article

Our Verdict

Rocket Money vs Empower Budgeting App

Are you looking to save money or build better financial habits? Rocket Money and Empower are both budgeting apps that can help you achieve that goal. But Rocket Money wins with its key differences from the Empower Budgeting App. First, Rocket Money is a more comprehensive budgeting app that tracks your spending and helps you find ways to save money.

It also offers features like bill tracking, goal setting, and cash back offers. On the other hand, Empower is more focused on helping you build good financial habits. It offers features like automated savings and personalized financial advice.

Why Choose Rocket Money

Who Rocket Money Is Best For?

Rocket Money is a good option for anyone who wants to take control of their finances and find ways to save money. Here’s a breakdown of who can benefit most from Rocket Money:

  • People with multiple subscriptions: If you struggle to manage and keep track of numerous subscriptions, Rocket Money can assist you in identifying and cancelling unwanted services, potentially saving you money.
  • People who want to save on bills: For those looking to cut costs on their bills, Rocket Money will negotiate on your behalf to attempt to get your phone, internet, and cable prices down. If it has been a while since you renegotiated your rates, this can be especially helpful.
  • People looking to improve their financial literacy: For those who wish to become more financially literate, the Rocket Money app offers a wealth of instructional materials as well as insights regarding your spending patterns that may help you make wiser financial decisions.
  • People with debts: The app is particularly helpful for those attempting to reduce their debt because it provides a budgeting tool and a debt payback plan that allow you to monitor your progress.
  • Individuals seeking a budgeting tool: Rocket Money’s free edition provides standard budgeting tools, including account linking and balance tracking. This might serve as a good foundation for organizing your personal finances.

Who Rocket Money Isn’t Best For?

Rocket Money might not be the best option for:

  • People who already track subscriptions: If you keep close tabs on your subscriptions and have a strategy in place to manage them already, Rocket Money may become unnecessary.
  • People who prefer to negotiate bills on their own: Rocket Money negotiates on your behalf, but success rates can vary.  You may be able to get better bargains on your own if you’re an effective negotiator and feel comfortable approaching service providers directly.
  • People with a low number of subscriptions: You may not need Rocket Money’s automated capabilities if you only have a few subscriptions and manage them well. It could be easier to manually track a few subscriptions.
  • People not looking to budget: Rocket Money’s free edition isn’t an advanced budgeting programme, but it does provide some basic budgeting functions. Other budgeting tools might be more appropriate if thorough budgeting is your main objective.
  • People who want unlimited credit monitoring: Credit score monitoring is limited in the free edition. Dedicated credit score monitoring services might be a better choice if raising your credit score is your primary priority.
  • Individuals who are concerned about data sharing and privacy: For Rocket Money to work, your financial accounts must be linked. Even if they take data security precautions, some customers might feel uneasy disclosing their credit card information to a third-party app.

Why Choose Empower Budgeting App

Who Empower Budgeting App Is Best For?

A wide range of users can benefit from the Empower Budgeting App, particularly those who wish to:

  • See all of their financial accounts in one place: Empower provides you with a comprehensive picture of your finances by allowing you to link your credit card, retirement, checking, savings, and other accounts.
  • Budget and expenditure tracking: Empower classifies your transactions automatically and allows you to establish spending caps for several categories.
  • Handle their household budget: Empower makes it easier to know where your money is going by letting you compare your income and expenses.

Who Empower Budgeting App Isn’t Best For?

It might not be the best fit for a few groups of people:

  • People who need very granular budgeting: Empower’s budgeting features may be a little too simple if you enjoy carefully tracking every penny of your spending and organizing it in great detail.
  • People who don’t care about investing: If you’re just looking for a budgeting tool and don’t care about it, there are other free alternatives that might be a better fit.
  • Individuals who want complete anonymity with their data: If you possess a significant amount of investable assets, Empower might suggest using their own investment services. Although it is optional, some users may find it a little intrusive.

Main Differences

Rocket Money Empower Budgeting App

Focus

Rocket Money focuses more on managing bills and terminating subscriptions in order to minimize costs. While it does provide some basic budgeting tools, its strongest suit is identifying and removing pointless subscriptions, as well as possibly negotiating reduced costs.

Empower provides a more comprehensive personal finance app with early access to your income and wealth tracking, in addition to budgeting as a primary feature.

Budgeting style

Rocket Money doesn’t adhere to a zero-based budgeting system or other fixed budgeting techniques. Its main goal is to help you free up money that you are currently spending.

Using a conventional budgeting method, Empower tracks income and expenses, organizes them, and establishes goals.

Cost

Rocket Money is a free app that focuses on helping users save money and make smart financial decisions.

Empower is a paid app that offers more features, including budget tracking, goal setting, and investment advice.

User platform

Rocket Money is available on the web and mobile.

Empower is only available on a mobile device.

Standout Features

Rocket Money

Rocket-Money-standout-features

Subscription Management

Rocket Money is the best because of its automated tracking and cancellation of subscriptions. It may help you save a substantial sum of money every month by assisting you in finding and removing neglected subscriptions.

Bill Negotiation (Premium)

With the help of this premium service, Rocket Money can get your bills negotiated down to a lower cost. It may be a terrific method to save money without the hassle, but it’s not a guarantee.

Budget Dashboard

Rocket Money also has a great budgeting dashboard that provides a clear overview of a user’s spending and savings.

Cashback Programme

Rocket Money’s cashback programme is a real standout. The platform allows users to earn cash back when they shop at partner merchants and then automatically deposits the cash back into the user’s account. This can be a great way to save money without even thinking about it.

Empower Budgeting App

Empower-Budgeting-App-standout-features

Holistic financial view

Empowerment extends beyond budgeting. It provides a comprehensive view of your financial situation by connecting to all of your financial accounts, including retirement, investments, and banking. This lets you monitor your goals’ progress, check your net worth, and make wise judgements.

Early access to paycheck

If you require access to your funds prior to your paycheck, the premium function known as “Early Access to Paycheck” may come in rather handy. You can receive a portion of your direct deposit early through Empower (with conditions).

Optional investment management

Empower can manage your assets in accordance with your objectives and risk tolerance. For people who need assistance with their financial strategy, this can be a fantastic choice.

Pros and Cons of Rocket Money

Pros-and-Cons-of-Rocket-Money
  • The platform is free to use, so there’s no cost to try it out.
  • The cashback programme is a unique and valuable feature that can help users save money.
  • The bill analysis tool is extremely helpful for finding savings opportunities.
  • The budgeting dashboard is very easy to use and provides a clear overview of a user’s finances.
  • The platform connects to your bank accounts with Plaid, a reliable source of financial data aggregation. This guarantees the security of your financial information.
  • The platform has the ability to reduce expenses and allow you to cancel your subscription, saving you money.
  • Unknown success rates for bill negotiations: Rocket Money represents you in negotiations, but the win is not guaranteed. You will still be required to pay the premium even if they are unable to reduce your bills.
  • Bill negotiating fees: Rocket Money charges a percentage of any savings obtained through bill negotiating in addition to the monthly membership fee. This may account for a sizeable portion of the savings.
  • Premium membership cost: Over time, the premium membership charge may mount up. Examine whether negotiating a law could result in more savings than it would cost.
  • Cancellation of Rocket Money premium: A few customers say it’s hard to end their Rocket Money premium subscription. Before registering, confirm that you are aware of the cancellation procedure.
  • No syncing of accounts in real time for free members: It may take a while for free users to see the newest transactions reflected in the app.
  • Limited free features: Rocket Money’s free edition has very few features, including some budgeting tools and basic account tracking. A premium membership is required for features like bill negotiation and automated subscription cancellation; this membership has a monthly cost.

Pros and Cons of Empower Budgeting App

Pros-and-Cons-of-Empower-Budgeting-App
  • Empower offers a wide range of budgeting and savings tools, including a “Spend Tracker” that shows users where their money is going.
  • Empower’s app is easy to use and has a clean, modern design. Even for individuals who are unfamiliar with personal finance tools, the programme is simple to use and comprehend.
  • Empower offers a free tier that includes basic budgeting tools like income and expense tracking, categorization, and goal setting.
  • Empower, not only budget. All of your financial accounts—checking, savings, credit cards, retirement accounts, and investments—can be connected to one platform.
  • Empower provides you with information about your spending habits and helps you find places where you can save. For someone looking to increase their savings, this might be a really helpful tool.
  • To protect your financial information, Empower uses strong security measures.
  • Minimum investment for wealth management: In order to use Empower’s paid wealth management services, you need at least $100,000. This leaves out a significant percentage of users who could profit from the budgeting tools but lack the funds to do so.
  • Higher investment management fees: Empower charges somewhat more for investment management than other robo-advisors. If you intend to invest a substantial sum, there are solutions with cheaper expenses.
  • No credit monitoring: Empower does not provide credit monitoring, in contrast to several other budgeting programmes. This function can be helpful for monitoring your credit score and spotting any possible problems.
  • Early access fee: Using the early access to paycheck feature carries a cost. Consider if the cost is outweighed by the convenience, particularly if you don’t use it often.
  • Limited free features: Although the free version provides some basic budgeting features, it may not be as advanced as certain special budgeting applications. Empower might not be the ideal solution if you require extensive budgeting with lots of customization possibilities.

Customer Reviews

Rocket Money has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot, based on 4,060 reviews. Most users say that the app is easy to use, the customer service is great, and the cash back feature is a valuable tool. Some users have complained about technical issues.

Empower Budgeting App has a rating of 2.2 out of 5 on Trustpilot, based on 21 reviews. Users like the app’s clean design, user-friendly interface, and helpful features. There have been some complaints about occasional technical issues and slow customer service.

Competitors

Personal Capital

Personal Capital is another popular budgeting app that is similar to Rocket Money and Empower. Like those apps, Personal Capital has both a free and a paid version. One of the biggest advantages of Personal Capital is its “Investment Checkup” feature, which analyzes users’ investment portfolios and provides personalized advice on how to improve them. Additionally, Personal Capital has a “Net Worth” feature that allows users to track their total financial picture, including investments, savings, and debts.

Truebill

Truebill is another popular budgeting app that is similar to Rocket Money and Empower. Like Rocket Money and Empower, Truebill offers a free version and a paid version. However, Truebill has a few unique features that set it apart from its competitors. For example, Truebill has a “Bill Negotiation” feature that enables users to negotiate lower rates on bills like cable and internet. Additionally, Truebill has a “Spending Insights” feature that provides users with personalized insights into their spending habits.

Trim

Trim is another popular budgeting app. One of the biggest advantages of Trim is its “Bill Negotiation” feature, which helps users save money on bills like cable, internet, and phone plans. Trim also has a “Spending Analysis” feature that provides users with insights into their spending habits. One thing to note about Trim is that it does not have a desktop version, so users must access the app through their mobile devices.

Pro Tips

Rocket-Money-vs-Empower-Budgeting-App-Pro-tips

Here are a few pro tips to keep in mind:

  • Consider your specific needs and budget before choosing a budgeting app.
  • Think about which features are most important to you, such as bill negotiation, cash back, or investment tracking.
  • Look for apps that are easy to use and have a user-friendly interface.
  • Pay attention to user reviews to get a better sense of how others have experienced the app.
  • Test out a few different apps to find the one that works best for you.

Recap

Rocket Money and Empower are both budgeting apps that can help build better financial habits. Rocket Money is a good choice if you’re looking for a free app with a focus on cash back and spending insights. It’s a more comprehensive budgeting app that tracks your spending and helps you find ways to save money. If you’re looking for a paid app with a focus on bill negotiation and investment tracking, Empower might be a good choice.

Ultimately, the best app for you is the one that helps you meet your budgeting goals and make progress on your financial journey.

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