Straight to the point, Personal Capital is usually the preference for the best financial planning software for advisors, Quicken for individuals and QuickBooks Online for businesses.
The best financial planning software will help you become efficient at managing your money, discover ways to meet your long-term goals, and even help you control your portfolio. The days of pen and paper record keeping are over with the modernization of technology.
Financial planning software was created to make DIY financial planning easier, fitting seamlessly into your life as you manage your household income and investments.
The Best Financial Planning Software For Advisors & Individuals
- Personal Capital — Best overall for advisors & investors
- Quicken — Track personal finances and investments (40% Off)
- QuickBooks Online — Best for new to mid-sized businesses (Get 30 Days Free)
- Mint
- YNAB
- Future Advisor
- Mvelopes
- Honeydue
- Tiller Money
- Moneydance
Finding the right financial planning software will take a little research and time to familiarize yourself with all the tools at your disposal. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. If you understand your needs and the tools each software provides, it can help you master your financial outlook.
Table of Contents
- Best Financial Planning Software for Individuals
- Best Financial Planning Software Honorable Mentions
- Important Financial Planning Software Features
Best Financial Planning Software
Each individual and family will have different needs for their financial planning software. The best first step is to determine all the features you are looking for in the software, then find the solution that fits your needs.
Taking a strategic approach to your budget and investments can help maximize your money. Here is a list of the top financial planning software that can help you on your way.
1. Personal Capital
Personal Capital will help you manage all your financial accounts in their platform. This includes your bank accounts, credit accounts, mortgage, and investment accounts. It provides users with a complete financial picture.
The software will also help track your retirement and investment goals, and let you know if you’re on track to reach them.
Fees
- The Personal Capital app is free, but their fees are on the higher end
Benefits
- $100,000 account minimum to use Personal Capital
- This software has a great advanced tax optimization strategy
- Free comprehensive investment management tools
- Dedicated financial advisors
Disadvantages
- High fees
Click here to open an account with Personal Capital
2. Quicken
Quicken is one of the most recognized names in financial planning software. It has been around for decades and is one of the most established and reliable software on the market.
With Quicken you can manage your budget, track your debt, reach savings goals, and even explore investment options. It even has more advanced features like bill paying and asset tracking to calculate your net worth.
Fees
- The Quicken software starts at $34.99 a month and is available on all computer and phone applications
Benefits
- Robust budgeting and financial tools
- Inexpensive, and flexible for reporting options
- Great customer service
Disadvantages
- There is a learning curve to get up and running
- Set up can be extensive (If you are looking for an easy way to manage your finances, Quicken may need more time in the beginning than other options)
Click here to open an account with Quicken
3. QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online software is a highly regarded web platform and app that can manage accounting, payroll, budgeting and more for businesses of all sizes. The software has multiple levels and adds ons making it easy to customize which features your business needs.
Fees
- QuickBooks Online ranges from $12.50 per month to over $100 per month depending on the features you need.
Benefits
- Plans are highly customizeable and you can add and remove features easily
- Web platform and app sync constantly
Disadvanatges
- The array of options and add ons can seem overwhelming to a beginner
- QuickBooks Online has a learning curve, but supoort is relaitevly easy to reach
Click here to open a QuickBooks Online account
4. Mint
Mint is an easier to use budgeting and expense tracking tool. From the creators of Quicken, Intuit Mint allows users to import their bank and credit card information, analyze their spending, and address areas where they can cut expenses to improve their financial future.
Mint has both a desktop and a mobile application.
Fees
- This is free to use, Mint has no hidden fees.
Benefits
- For a free financial planning software, Mint has quite a few features that make it appealing
- Its user-friendly budgeting, mobile accessibility, and security makes it a great choice
Disadvantages
- Mint does fall flat when it comes to long-term planning (It does not have retirement planning options and is more focused on helping the masses instead of individual investing)
- It is quite simple to use, which can be a pro or con based on your personal financial needs
5. YNAB (You Need A Budget)
YNAB is a great software that helps you understand and manage your monthly budget and provides you with tutorials to improve your financial literacy. Its tutorials cover a range of financial topics, even those that are harder to comprehend.
It breaks it down into ways that help you address bad financial habits and breakthrough with trusted financial management tips.
Fees
- YNAB offers a free trial that allows you to test out their software
- After 34-days, you can select a monthly payment of $11.99 or pay the year in advance for $84
Benefits
- YNAB syncs with over 12,000 banks on multiple devices
- It is a fantastic way to track spending
Disadvantages
- YNAB does not have customer service readily available, only via email
- It also does not have an investment tracking feature
6. FutureAdvisor
FutureAdvisor is the best financial planning software for investing. If you are a DIY investor that has been searching for a low-cost access to financial advisor, this is the software for you.
It will provide you with personalized recommendations to diversify your portfolio and help you manage your assets.
Fees
- It is free to use, and has a 0.50% management fee
Benefits
- It provides robust support for its clients with human advisors
- Offers free tools and advice
- Utilizes popular online brokers
Disadvantages
- The management fee is on the higher end
- Requires a $5,000 account minimum
7. Mvelopes
Mvelopes brings back the traditional envelope budgeting system in app form. It helps you stick to your budget by using envelopes of “cash” for each expense. This allows the user to create financial goals that are most important to them, then helps create a budget to set your digital envelopes.
It even tracks your spending so you can see if you are on track.
Mvelopes Fees
After your free 30-day trial membership, Mvelopes starts at $5.97 per month or $69 per year.
Benefits
- If money management is a stressor for you, Mvelopes will give you peace of mind. It can help create emergency funds and even help save money for vacations, holidays, and birthdays
Disadvantages
- Mvelopes is not as comprehensive as other financial planning software because it does not have bill payment or investment monitoring
- If you are looking to improve your retirement accounts, it is not the best suited option
8. Honeydue
One of the biggest stressors in a relationship is financial concerns. With Honeydue, this personal finance system is built for two! While it has the same features as other personal finance software, this system comes with the ability to mark which accounts are joint or the responsibility of just one person.
The couple-centric software is great for couples who split the bills.
Fees
- The Honeydue app is free – yes free! You do have the option to tip the creators for their hard work, but that does not unlock any hidden features.
Benefits
- This software is great for couples looking to navigate those tricky financial questions within a relationship
- It helps you combine your finances while still being able to keep your accounts separate
Disadvantages
- The budgeting software is not as robust as other personal financial planning software
Honorable Mentions
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include the up and coming financial planning software systems that have taken off in 2021. This software might not be a household name, but we’re willing to bet in the very near future they will be!
9. Tiller Money
If you are looking for a way to easily import your spending transactions into Google Sheets look no further! Tiller Money does the hard work for you. Every day it updates your spreadsheet to help you stay on track with your finances and budgeting.
Fees
- After your 30-day free trial, Tiller Money charges $79 per year ($6.58/month)
Benefits
- Tiller money is a great way to budget and can even help you track and pay off your debt
Disadvantages
- If you do not have a Google (Gmail) account you will need to set one up
- This financial planning software also only works on the web, there are no apps available
10. Moneydance
Moneydance can hold your entire financial platform in one place. This incredible software can help with online bill pay, categorizing transactions, budgeting, tracking your bank and credit card transactions, and it can even monitor your investment account performance.
Fees
- Your first 100 transactions are free (Once you reach the limit of free transactions, you will pay a one-time $49.99 fee)
- The app is open-source API, meaning developers can keep creating customized extensions and new tools without the user needing to upgrade to a new software every year
Benefits
- The investment monitoring at Moneydance is impeccable (It can track your stocks, bonds, mutual funds, savings, and other investments in your portfolio)
Drawbacks
- Figuring out this software may be frustrating at first (after set up and familiarization, it is an excellent option)
Important Financial Planning Software Features
You will want to choose your financial planning software based on your goals. Some software will help create a rock-solid budget, while others are better for focusing on investments.
There are even options that help with debt tracking and your long-term savings goals. Before you pick the personal finance software that is right for you, ask yourself which features are most important to help you reach your goals.
Budgeting
To be successful managing your money, you will want to keep a close eye on your expenses. The easiest way to do that is to create and manage a budget, then track your spending.
Health Care Planning
Given the ever-rising cost of prescriptions, deductibles, long-term care, and other healthcare expenses, planning for your health care in retirement is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.
A good financial planning software will not just help you manage your investments but will also help you with all aspects of your financial life, including health care planning. The average retiree begins their retirement around 65-years of age and will spend a shocking $285,000 on health care for the remainder of their life.
Mobile Functionality
As the digital age continues to progress, having your information readily available at your fingertips might be an important feature. At work, at home, at the bank – there are many instances when you might want to check in on your budget or investments. With mobile functionality, you will be able to do that wherever, whenever – as long as you have your phone in hand.
Debt Tracking
When you’re in debt, there is nothing more frustrating than figuring out how to get out of it. While some debt, like your mortgage, is considered good, most debt is less than ideal. Debt reduction software can help you create a plan that tracks different payoff methods depending upon your budget, savings goals, and monthly needs.
Learn More: How To Consolidate Debt
Learn More: How To Pay Off Credit Card Debt
Learn More: How To Pay Off Student Loan Debt
Spending Analysis
Tracking your spending can provide you with insight into your habits. Financial planning software can track and analyze your spending to help you better understand how to cut unnecessary spending and plan for the future.
Investment Portfolio
Are searching for an easy way to examine your portfolio, see your returns, fees, assets, and retirement plans all in one? If so, certain financial planning software has options that can help you stay on top of your portfolio after you sync your accounts.
Secure Storage
Apps and websites that help consumers aren’t new. They have been readily available for the masses for years now. But if you are going to turn to a digital financial planning tool, be sure to check the security risks from the app or website. The financial planning software should take security concerns seriously and have procedures in place to mitigate risks.
Final Thought: DIY Personal Finance
We provided our top 7 results for DIY personal finance after detailed research and even included a couple of highly regarded honorable mentions. There are plenty of others available online, but the most important thing to remember is that they are all different with varying features. Figure out your budget and investment goals, then select the personal financial planning software that fits all your criteria.
Personal finance software can help you manage and track your finances and become more efficient with your systems. If you use the software as designed, it will more than pay for the cost associated with it.
Personal Capital Advisors Corporation (“PCAC”) compensates Investmentfirms (“Company”) for new leads. Investmentfirms (“Company”) is not an investment client of PCAC.
