Rocket Money Review: Easy-to-Use Budgeting App | The Motley Fool (2024)

Rocket Money is a money management and budgeting app. You can link bank and credit card accounts to import transactions automatically for an overview of your money.

With everything linked, you can then use a host of budgeting tools to organize and manage your income, debts, savings, and expenses. Plus, you can use the mobile app to stay on top of your finances from anywhere.

How does Rocket Money work?

You start by creating a Rocket Money account and adding at least one checking account. You can then add additional:

• Checking accounts
• Savings accounts
• Credit card accounts
• Investment accounts

Your accounts are linked through Plaid, a well-known financial networking company used by many major institutions. Once you link your accounts, Rocket Money can automatically pull your transaction and balance data so you get a full picture of your financial situation.

The app can find recurring transactions, like bills and utilities, or you can add expenses manually. You can set monthly budgets and savings goals, with the option to turn on AI for automatic savings based on your spending habits. And you'll always know what's left over with the constantly updating "Left for spending" total.

Broad account support and real-time syncing shows you every dollar

You can link a variety of account types from hundreds of banks and credit card issuers. This makes it pretty easy to include all of your accounts, large and small, so you can get the broadest possible view of where your money lives.

Organize your expenses and automate your savings

Rocket Money has a lot of different tools for organizing your money down to the last dollar. You can create budgeting categories for everything, including setting savings goals of all sorts.

Then, set up savings automations based on Smart Savings data that figures out the best time to save. Smart Savings are moved to an FDIC-insured account and can only be withdrawn into the linked checking account that provided the funds in the first place. (It's highly recommended that you regularly move the savings out of the Smart Savings account and into a high-yield savings account for a better return.)

Save time and hassle by cancelling subscriptions with a click

Once your accounts are linked, Rocket Money can find and identify all of your recurring subscriptions -- yes, even the ones you forgot you had. And when you're ready, you can click the "Cancel" button right from your Rocket Money account -- no muss, no fuss.

Rocket Money does say that it can't guarantee the cancellation feature works, but many user reports indicate it works for most popular subscriptions, including streaming services.

Keep an eye on your credit reports and spot changes right away

Your credit report is a vital tool in your personal finances, so ensuring you're aware of any changes is important. Rocket Money not only shows you your credit reports, but it updates and tracks your credit score right in the app.

You have to link at least one bank account to use the platform

You must link at least one checking account to your Rocket Money account to use the service, even the free version. There is no way to bypass this and simply work from manually created accounts.

Generally speaking, these types of fintech platforms are reasonably secure. However, if you prefer not to provide your banking information to anyone other than your bank, this app isn't for you.

The best features are paywalled behind the Premium Membership

While it's nice that a free version exists at all, it's pretty bare-bones. If all you want to do is link your accounts so you can see all of your balances in one place, you're covered. You can even do some very basic budgeting.

But all of the most noteworthy features are reserved for folks who spring for the Premium membership. And yes, this includes the subscription service cancellation feature that intrigues so many potential users.

Bill negotiation is expensive and charged in lump sum

Another highly hyped feature of the Rocket Money app is the Bill Negotiation service. Rocket Money claims its negotiators can get better rates on cellphone, cable, and other bills.

The catch? The cost. If the negotiation is successful, you'll need to pay 35% to 60% of the estimated first year's savings.

Worse, you'll be charged the entire fee at time of service. You'll have just 48 hours to request a payment plan if you can't afford the lump sum payment right away or you'll be on the hook for the whole thing.

Rocket Money offers a free membership tier, but the features are very limited. You'll need to pay a fee to access most of the advertised features and services.

Rocket Money has a somewhat unorthodox pricing structure in that you're presented with a price range and you can "choose" your cost. To be clear, there is no difference to the features you get at any point in the price range, so it makes little sense to choose to pay more than the base fee.

Premium Membership

A monthly Premium Membership costs $6 to $12 a month, your choice. However, Rocket Money does specify that fees "can vary at time and across platforms," so you may see a different range depending on how you sign up.

Paying for a Premium Membership unlocks all of the available features (minus Bill Negotiation, below), including:

• Unlimited budgets
• Full credit reports
• Subscription cancellation services
• Net worth tracking
• Smart savings accounts
• Real-time syncing
• Transaction management
• Account sharing
• Data export

Rocket Money offers a 7-day free trial for the Premium Membership so you can explore the extra features before you pay. A credit card is required for the trial.

Bill Negotiation

Like the membership fee, the Bill Negotiation fee is presented as a range from which you can choose. The fee is equal to 35% to 60% of what you'll save in the first year.

For example, say Rocket Money negotiates a savings on your cellphone bill of $20 a month. The first-year savings would be $20 x 12 = $240. This means you would owe $84 to $144 to Rocket Money.

Rocket Money sends out the bill as soon as negotiations are done. You have 48 hours to request a payment plan or you'll be hit with the entire fee at once.

Overall, user reviews are positive about Rocket Money's budgeting and money management features. Folks say the platform is easy to use and is broadly considered to be worth the cost for a Premium Membership.

However, the vast majority agree that the Bill Negotiation isn't worth the cost. Additionally, many folks even said Rocket Money messed up their accounts or overcharged based on inflated savings rates that didn't manifest. This seems like a use-at-your-own-risk service.

• iOS app rating: 4.3/5.0 stars
• Android app rating: 4.3/5.0 stars

Rocket Money is generally considered to be safe in terms of your financial information. The company says it never stores bank login information.

Instead, it uses Plaid, a third-party service that connects financial institutions (among other things). Both Plaid and Rocket Money say they make use of state-of-the-art security and encryption.

Rocket Money might be worth exploring if you:

• Want to see all of your balances and transactions in one app
• Want to track spending and set goals
• Want to automate your savings
• Don't mind paying a fee for most features