Personal finance apps are becoming increasingly popular, but the ever-increasing number of options available can sometimes feel difficult to navigate. After Mint’s closure, a wave of competitors emerged, each offering a different approach to budgeting, savings, and money management.
One app you may have seen promoted on TV and social media is Rocket Money. Rocket Money, part of the Rocket Companies family that includes Rocket Mortgage, has carved out a niche as an automated auditor of your financial life. Unlike traditional budgeting apps that primarily focus on tracking expenses, Rocket Money is designed to help users identify recurring expenses, negotiate bills, and find opportunities to save money.
After testing Rocket Money for several months, we found that its subscription tracking and bill negotiation tools provide the most value, while its budgeting features are better suited for users who want a financial overview rather than detailed budgeting.
In this review, we’ll take a closer look at Rocket Money’s features, pricing, pros and cons to determine if the automated approach is worth the cost.
If you’re still considering your options, check out our guide to the best budgeting apps to compare today’s leading platforms.
Rocket Money Overview
What is Rocket Money?
Rocket Money is a comprehensive personal finance app designed to give you a 360-degree view of your finances. The app was originally released as Truebill, but was rebranded after being acquired by Rocket Companies.
At its core, the app focuses on three pillars:
- Track your spending: It can be used as a budgeting app as it aggregates bank accounts and credit cards to show a unified feed of transactions.
- Manage your subscription: Scan your transaction history to identify recurring charges, such as a forgotten Vampire subscription.
- Identifying savings: Look for opportunities to reduce your bills or automate savings.
Connecting to your financial institution using a multi-factor login through a secure service like Plaid provides real-time tracking that theoretically takes manual work out of budgeting.
Main features of Rocket Money
Rocket Money has some great features.
Track and cancel subscriptions
The feature that Rocket Money touts most in its TV and social media ads is the app’s ability to find recurring charges. It lists all the subscriptions you’ve identified, from Netflix to that obscure gym membership, even if you’re a free user.
In our testing, Rocket Money found several forgotten subscriptions, including one that was still shipping products to my old apartment. While the app can’t cancel all services on your behalf, simply identifying recurring charges that may go unnoticed can help users quickly cut down on unnecessary spending.
Premium users have access to a concierge service where Rocket Money’s team handles the cancellation process. This is especially helpful in combating “dark patterns” that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warns can trick people into signing up for unnecessary subscriptions without their knowledge.
bill negotiation
Another great perk is that Rocket Money can negotiate with your cell phone, internet, and cable provider on your behalf to lower your monthly bill. There are no upfront fees for this service. In return, they receive a portion of the annual savings they set aside for you.
The bill negotiation feature was one of the most valuable tools we tested. After submitting the Internet bill for review, Rocket Money successfully negotiated a lower monthly fee, reducing costs from $90 to $50 per month. Results will vary by provider and location, but this type of savings can easily offset the cost of a premium subscription.
Budgeting and expense tracking
Rocket Money’s detailed spending tracking lets you set spending limits for specific categories and sends you alerts when you’re nearing your limits. These features allow you to effectively use it as an automatic budgeting app, even if your main focus is finding areas where you can cut back.
In our testing, spending summaries made it easier to spot patterns that weren’t obvious when looking at bank statements alone. For example, the app highlighted how much was spent each month at specific retailers, making it easier to compare spending habits over time. Rather than manually categorizing transactions, Rocket Money provides a summary view that helps users identify areas where they may be overspending.
smart savings
Whether you’re planning a summer trip or trying to maximize your retirement savings, Rocket Money can help you automate your savings strategy. When you set a goal using the Financial Goals feature, Rocket Money’s Smart Savings Autopilot analyzes your checking account balance and spending and automatically transfers a small amount to your savings account if it determines you can afford it. We also know to skip automatic deposits if your balance is low.
If you want more manual control over your savings goals, you can toggle this off or use the custom savings feature.
Alerts and financial insights
Rocket Money provides additional financial insights to help strengthen your financial health, including monitoring your credit score and tracking your net worth. Credit score and reporting features provide insights to improve your credit score so you can get better loan and credit card terms.
Net Worth Tracker consolidates your assets and debts into one dashboard, making it easy to see how paying off debt, contributing to savings, and increasing investments is impacting your finances. During our testing, this feature made your student loan repayment progress feel more tangible by showing you how each payment affected your overall net worth, rather than just reducing your account balance.
Rocket Money also sends you alerts about upcoming bills, unusual transactions, and other account activity. In our experience, bill reminders have helped prevent missed payments and overdrafts by providing more visibility into recurring expenses and making future bills more predictable.
Rocket Money Pricing
Rocket Money’s pricing is unique in that it uses a “pay what you think is fair” model for its premium tier. The price ranges are:
- free: Includes basic account linking, spending tracking, and a list of subscriptions. However, you must cancel your subscription yourself.
- Premium: It costs between $7 and $14 per month, depending on “what you think is fair.” At this stage, Rocket Money will cancel your subscription on your behalf and negotiate discounts from your phone, internet, and cable providers.
- Additional costs: If the app representative is successful in negotiating a lower bill, you will be charged a fee of 35% to 60% of the first year’s savings.
Pros and cons of Rocket Money
Strong Points
- Subscription audit: This is probably the best app on the market for finding hidden recurring costs.
- Automated insights: Net worth tracker and spending alerts give you an overview without manual data entry.
- Bill negotiation: For people who hate talking to customer service, having a third party fight for your discount is a huge perk.
Cons
- Budget depth: It lacks the “$1 is a job” philosophy found in competing zero-based budgeting apps like YNAB.
- Additional charges: If the savings are large, the savings you receive from negotiating your bill can seem expensive.
- Privacy concerns: Like all aggregators, you share sensitive financial data with third parties.
Comparison of Rocket Money and other household accounting apps
Recommendation: Who is Rocket Money best suited for?
Rocket Money is perfect for spenders who want more visibility into their finances without managing spreadsheets or manually tracking every dollar amount. If you frequently sign up for free trials and forget to cancel, haven’t reviewed your monthly bills in years, or simply want a clearer picture of where your money is going, the app could quickly pay for itself.
We found Rocket Money to be particularly useful for uncovering often overlooked spending habits, identifying forgotten subscriptions, and providing an easy way to monitor your net worth and upcoming bills. Users struggling with overdrafts or surprise bills can also benefit from the app’s alerts and regular bill reminders.
This app is perfect for those looking for actionable insights and automation rather than a very detailed budgeting system. If your goal is to reduce your spending, eliminate unnecessary expenses, and manage your recurring bills with minimal effort, Rocket Money is worth considering.
Who should skip?
Avid budgeters who prefer zero-based budgeting, detailed spending plans, or extensive customization may find Rocket Money too advanced. Apps like YNAB and Monarch Money offer more robust budgeting and planning tools for users who want more control over all aspects of their finances.
Conclusion: Is Rocket Money worth it?
Like other budgeting apps, Rocket Money has its value. That being said, this particular app allows you to quantify its value more accurately than others. If you use the premium version for a few months and then identify and cancel $50 worth of subscriptions per month, it’s a good investment. It also acts as a watchdog on your account for dark patterns and other manipulative subscription behavior.
While Rocket Money lacks the precision of more expensive wealth management software or the zero-based budgeting methodology of strict budgeting apps, it’s a valuable resource for those looking to take control of their spending.
FAQ
Is Rocket Money free?
A free version is available, but a premium subscription is required to take advantage of the app’s signature features, such as concierge cancellation and real-time sync.
How does Rocket Money make money?
Rocket Money makes money through subscription fees, success fees for bill negotiations, and recommendations for other financial products (such as credit cards and loans) within the app.
Can Rocket Money cancel my subscription?
Yes, Premium members can utilize our concierge service to handle the cancellation process for most major services.
Is Rocket Money safe?
Like other apps, Rocket Money uses bank-level security and 256-bit encryption. Connect your account using Plaid. This means that your actual bank login credentials are not saved. That said, there is always at least some risk when sharing data with third parties.
Is it difficult to cancel Rocket Money?
No, Rocket Money allows users to cancel their premium subscription through the app or website. However, canceling your Rocket Money membership will not automatically cancel any subscriptions that Rocket Money has identified in your account. If you wish to stop paying for third-party services, you must cancel those subscriptions individually or use Rocket Money’s Concierge Cancellation Service before terminating your membership.
Has Rocket Money faced any controversy?
Rocket Money has faced some criticism regarding its privacy practices and subscription model. Consumer advocates have questioned whether some of the company’s marketing claims about data privacy are consistent with its privacy policy disclosures, and some users have complained about bill negotiation fees and premium subscription fees. However, Rocket Money has not been the subject of any major security breaches or widely publicized fraud scandals, and remains a popular personal finance app used by millions of consumers.
