Rocket Money says it's the financial app that actually helps you, while the world is full of personal finance apps all trying to attract your attention. It wants to help you get your money faster and cancel subscriptions you don't need anymore. Furthermore, they'll even lower prices to get you better deals. There are many big promises, so it's important to know the difference between truly useful financial management tools and those that just look good. In this Rocket Money review article, we take a close look at Rocket Money.

We will focus on its features, user experience, how much it costs and compare it to leading competitors available in the market. We'll also share some real user experiences and expert opinions so you can decide if it is right for you.

At first Rocket Money looks good for people who want the all-in-one financial app to handle all their finances. But it focuses a lot on automating things and managing subscriptions, so it might not be the best fit for everyone. So, in this Rocket Money review article, let's look at its characteristics and how it works before making a decision that it's right for you and meets your needs.

What is Rocket Money?

Rocket Money offers you a collection of features that help you manage your finances much better. It provides you basic budgeting, keeping track of your expenses, subscription cancellations, and negotiating your bills, which makes it the perfect financial tool you need for managing your money. You can use it on iPhones, Android phones, and even on the browser, which proves to be easy to access no matter what device you have.

Rocket Money helps its users to take charge of their money and reach their financial goals with no effort. However, now we have to ask ourselves whether rocket money has the capacity to fulfill its commitment or is just another application that gets lost in the crowded personal finance space.

Key Features of Rocket Money: A Closer Look

Budgeting & Expense Tracking: 

With Rocket Money, you can create budgets and manage them with the help of Rocket Money, track expenses by looking at different spending categories, and analyze your spending patterns with charts and graphs. These functionalities seem too simple when compared with other personal finance applications.

• In-depth Comparison to Competitors:

  For example, Mint provides more detailed budgeting categories, YNAB focuses on planning ahead for budgeting, and Rocket Money has limited financial tools, thus giving users less control.

Subscription Management:

No doubt, the strongest offering from Rocket Money is its subscription management. It helps you find and cancel those subscriptions you don't want, it can also even try to get you a better price for the things you choose. But there are also some bad things about it being so easy.

• In-depth Comparison to Competitors:

  Truebill might be a better choice for getting bills lowered, but Rocket Money charges you to cancel subscriptions. It makes you wonder if it is really worth paying someone else to do this when you can easily do it by yourself.

Bill Negotiation:

In addition, Rocket Money has a bill negotiation feature with a promise to help users reduce their internet and cable bills. This sounds good, but they take 30-60% from your savings, which is too much.

Are you really saving any cash when you are giving out so much? Moreover, this service has a lot of limitations, and they can't promise it will always work.

Savings & Investing:

Sadly, Rocket Money's saving and investment features are very basic and straightforward. You need a better platform or a financial tool if you really want to get rich. It has basic tools for goal setting and only a few options are available for investing your money. Rocket Money doesn't offer as many tools for investing compared to other tools that offer dedicated investing and financial tools. 

Credit Score Monitoring: Just the Basics

Rocket Money gives you a simple credit score monitoring feature so you can see your score and find out any mistakes that are hurting it.

• In-depth comparison to competitors:

  However, Credit Karma gives you a very detailed credit report for free if you want one. Hence, Rocket Money's credit features seem more like an extra service, not their primary focus.

Pros and Cons of Rocket Money:

Pros: A Few Bright Spots

• The app is easy to use and looks great.

• You can easily manage your subscriptions.

• You might save a lot of money on your bills.

• You get a comprehensive overview of your money.

Cons: Where Rocket Money Falls Short

• You'll pay a lot for help with negotiating bills or canceling subscriptions.

• The budgeting and investment tools aren't as good as they could be.

• There are free tools that are better at keeping track of your credit.

• It uses outside services, so there's less control, and things might not be clear.

Pricing: Is it Worth It?

Rocket Money offers two plans, a free version with a trimmed-down feature set, and a premium version. The premium version has a unique costing model. Here is a screenshot from their website and a link for reference:

Rocket Money vs. Competitors: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Subscription management, I believe, is where Rocket Money excels, but it might need improvement in other areas. A good example would be Mint, which offers much more financial tools for free. Secondly, Personal Capital is a better choice for people who are serious about investing. Finally, for someone who wants more control over their spending, YNAB’s proactive budgeting can come in handy.

User Testimonials and Case Studies: 

People have different opinions about Rocket Money. Some people like how easy it is to use, its navigation, and its subscription cancellation feature. Some people say there are problems with the app:

• There are extra costs you don't see at first.

• It's really hard to cancel your subscription.

• The bill negotiation feature doesn't really help.

User Experience and Interface: 

Rocket Money is really easy to navigate and use, which makes the app visually attractive and enjoyable. Its bright color combinations and neat designs further enhance its visual appearance. Therefore, it shows you your financial details in simple, easy-to-understand visuals and graphs that are easy to understand for everyone. This helps you see your spending patterns or possible areas where you can save some of your money.

Security and Privacy: 

Rocket Money keeps your personal information safe and private by using its security methods and industrial standards. However, whenever anyone can share any sensitive financial details with any third-party application, it can be risky. Users should think carefully about the possible benefits and possible problems with privacy they face before making a decision. 

Customer Support: 

Rocket Money has a few ways, such as through emails and live chats, where customers can get the answers to their queries and solutions to their problems. However, feedback from users on websites such as Better Business Bureau is mixed, as some like it, and some don't prefer it. Some customers like their quick and supportive responses, while others are unsatisfied with the slow replies and the inability to solve problems, especially on bill negotiations or canceling subscriptions altogether.

Expert Opinions & Analysis: Proceed with Caution

Financial experts say that using automated tools like Rocket Money will only make you lazy about managing your money yourself. And to be really financially free, you need to:

1. Understand your spending: Know where your money goes.

2. Make a realistic budget: you have to create a spending plan that you can achieve.

3. Make choices that align with your goals: Spend your money on the things that are important to you.

Although some people say that it is easy for Rocket Money to negotiate bills or cancel services at once by email but, it is important to learn how to negotiate techniques so you can take charge of your finances yourself.

Current Trends & Future Outlook: 

If Rocket Money does not start delivering more personalized financial recommendations and providing what its users want, it may left behind. To keep up with competitors, the company needs to offer more than just subscriptions and billing services. It has to provide a wider variety of services to compete effectively.

Rocket Money Free vs Premium:

Feature Comparison:

Competitor Analysis: How Does Rocket Money Stack Up?

In order to understand the true value of any financial tool, it's crucial to analyze it in the context of its competition. Let's take a look at some key competitors and see how Rocket Money fares against them.

Monarch Money

Monarch Money is a financial tool that focuses on budgeting and expense tracking. The platform also includes features for investment tracking and net worth monitoring.

• Pros:

  • Detailed budgeting and expense tracking.

  • Investment monitoring and net worth tracking.

  • Collaborative budgeting for couples.

• Cons:

  • Lacks advanced features like bill splitting.

  • Learning curve for beginners can be steep.

Rocket Money provides similar budgeting and expense tracking capabilities, but it excels by offering additional features such as bill splitting and joint bank account management. Although both platforms offer investment tracking, Rocket Money's comprehensive suite of financial tools makes it a more holistic choice.

PocketSmith

PocketSmith is a comprehensive personal finance tool that offers budgeting, expense tracking, and financial forecasting.

• Pros:

  • Detailed financial forecasting capabilities.

  • Interactive budget calendar.

  • Multi-currency support.

• Cons:

  • Limited customer support.

  • Some features locked behind premium version.

While PocketSmith offers unique features like financial forecasting and multi-currency support, Rocket Money edges out with a superior customer support system and a suite of features available without a premium subscription.

Simplifi by Quicken

Simplifi is a user-friendly financial management tool with strong budgeting and expense tracking features.

• Pros:

  • User-friendly interface.

  • Customizable spending watchlists.

  • Robust budgeting and tracking features.

• Cons:

  • Limited investment tracking capabilities.

  • No bill splitting feature.

Rocket Money and Simplifi both boast user-friendly interfaces and robust budgeting tools. However, Rocket Money stands out by offering investment tracking and bill splitting features, making it a more comprehensive financial tool.

You Need a Budget (YNAB)

YNAB is a budget-focused tool with the goal of helping users get out of debt.

• Pros:

  • Strong focus on debt payoff.

  • Interactive reports and graphs for tracking.

  • Free educational resources.

• Cons:

  • Does not offer investment tracking.

  • Interface may be overwhelming for beginners.

Rocket Money shares YNAB's strong budgeting capabilities but expands its offerings to include investment tracking and bill splitting. This makes Rocket Money a more versatile tool, especially for users looking for a comprehensive financial management system.

Goodbudget

Goodbudget is a budgeting tool based on the envelope system, which aims to help users control their spending.

• Pros:

  • Envelope-based budgeting system.

  • Sync across multiple devices.

  • Offers a free version.

• Cons:

  • Limited features in the free version.

  • No investment or wealth tracking.

Compared to Goodbudget, Rocket Money offers a wider array of features including investment tracking and bill splitting. While Goodbudget's envelope system is unique, Rocket Money's comprehensive suite of tools provides a more holistic approach to personal finance management.

Oportun

Oportun provides affordable financial services to people with little or no credit history.

• Pros:

  • Focuses on users with limited credit history.

  • Provides affordable loans and credit cards.

  • Offers financial coaching.

• Cons:

  • Limited to loans and credit cards.

  • Not a comprehensive personal finance tool.

Oportun and Rocket Money cater to different aspects of the financial market. While Oportun focuses on providing loans and credit cards, Rocket Money offers a comprehensive suite of financial management tools, making it more versatile.

PocketGuard

PocketGuard is a personal finance app designed to prevent overspending.

• Pros:

  • Automatic expense categorization.

  • 'In My Pocket' feature for spendable income calculation.

  • Can link to almost all US banks.

• Cons:

  • Limited budgeting capabilities.

  • No investment tracking.

When compared to PocketGuard, Rocket Money offers more comprehensive budgeting capabilities along with other features like investment tracking and bill splitting. While PocketGuard focuses on preventing overspending, Rocket Money offers a more well-rounded approach to managing finances.

When all's said and done, while each of these competitors has their unique strengths, Rocket Money, with its comprehensive suite of financial management tools, accessible interface, and excellent customer support, makes it a strong contender in the personal finance app market.

How to Sign Up for Rocket Money

Step 1: Basic Personal Details

Make sure you have an email address because that is the first thing they ask. As you can see from the screen shot above, Rocket Money is heavily focused on helping you manage and eliminate any unwanted subscriptions. While not the only feature they offer, it is a critical one that they hang their hat on.

Step 2: Determine Your Password

Determine your password, which is a pretty simple step. If you are wondering, what makes a good password, check out this article.

Step 3: Answer a Marketing Question

While I'm not a huge fan of this step, I understand it from their perspective. They want to understand where their leads are coming from and answering this question honestly will help them do that.

Step 4: Your Goals

This is where you really begin to determine how Rocket Money will work for you. Defining your goals can be tricky and I'd suggest focusing on the most pressing financial needs you have. Meaning, if you believe you need to lower your bills, then select that option. If things change in the future (and they typically do change over time), you can always update this part of your profile.

Step 5: Linking Your Accounts

Now you are almost done. After you link your accounts Rocket Money will get to work evaluating your spending habits and helping you obtain your goals. Linking your accounts is very easy and done via Plaid using standard banking-level encryption. Make sure you have your bank user name and password handy during this part of the process.

Step 6: Become a Member

In this step, you get to decide what feature set you want to start with and what you believe is a fair price. I provide more details on how to select pricing earlier in this article.

Setp 7: Get the App

You are almost done, enter your phone number and download the app (we are all pretty familiar with this process).

Rocket Money Premium: Is it Worth it?

Rocket Money Premium is worth the money for most people. The features you get with premium are great and if you pay the $6-$12/month price it really makes it a no brainer. Below is a quick summary of the features you get with Rocket Money Premium.

Concierge Services Premium membership of Rocket Money offers automatic identification of your subscriptions, bills, and recurring payments with the added concierge service to cancel these for you. Additionally, the service aims to secure automatic fee refunds. This is the main selling point for Rocket Money and they take it to another level with Premium by having someone else take all the effort on your behalf.

Premium Chat Priority support and live chat facilities are provided to Premium members, giving access to seasoned customer advocates. Who doesn't want to skip the line?!?

Unlimited Budgets The Premium membership enables users to formulate an unlimited number of budgets. This feature is useful for managing various budgets such as personal, family, or business, separately. As you grow your family and career, having additional budgets becomes critical.

Custom Categories The app comes with default budgeting categories, but Premium users have the liberty to modify these by adding or deleting categories, providing them with the flexibility to create simple or detailed budgets. Budget anything! Budget everything!

Smart Savings Accounts Smart Savings, an exclusive feature, enables Premium users to transfer money from checking accounts to an FDIC-insured bank account for achieving savings goals. Options to set up automatic transfers, thresholds to prevent overdrafts, and easy withdrawals are available.

Realtime Balance Syncing Premium members benefit from live balance updates in the app, eliminating the need to wait for daily or weekly syncing.

Credit Reports Credit score and comprehensive credit report access is available for Premium members.

This is a great feature set and many of these you won't find with other budgeting and personal finance apps. I like this offering and the cost is pretty low for such a robust feature set.

Rocket Money review Summary: Take Control of Your Financial Future:

Rocket Money is special because it puts users' demands first and focuses on helping them save more. In this Rocket Money review, we explore that it makes managing finances easy by having efficient features that track subscriptions and even help you get better deals on your bills. Users can access basic budget tools by using their free version and if you upgrade to a premium subscription you will be able to use its automated save-and-spend features.

This Rocket Money review also highlights that users must think carefully about whether the premium subscription is worth it compared to what they might actually save in the end. The success of bill negotiation doesn’t always work, and sometimes, there are manual data inputs that are not always accurate. However, these few drawbacks do not reduce the fact that Rocket Money can still be considered an all-in-one application for people looking for a way of managing their money well, especially on subscriptions and bills.