Personal finance apps have become increasingly popular, but it can feel overwhelming to navigate the growing number of options available. Following the shutdown of Mint, a wave of competitors has emerged, each offering a different approach to budgeting, saving and managing money.
One app you’ve likely seen advertised on TV or across social media is Rocket Money. Part of the Rocket Companies family that includes Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Money has carved out a niche as an automated auditor of your financial life. Unlike traditional budgeting apps that focus primarily on tracking spending, Rocket Money is designed to identify recurring expenses, negotiate bills and help users find opportunities to save money.
After testing Rocket Money for several months, we found its subscription tracking and bill negotiation tools delivered the most value, while its budgeting features were better suited to users seeking a high-level view of their finances rather than detailed budget management.
In this review, we’ll take a closer look at Rocket Money’s features, pricing, strengths and drawbacks to help you decide whether its automated approach justifies the cost.
What Is Rocket Money?
Rocket Money is a comprehensive personal finance app that aims to provide a 360-degree view of your financial health. Originally launched as Truebill, the app was rebranded after being acquired by Rocket Companies.
At its core, the app focuses on three pillars:
- Tracking spending: It aggregates your bank accounts and credit cards to show a unified feed of transactions, so you can use it as a budgeting app.
- Managing subscriptions: It scans your transaction history to identify recurring charges — including “vampire” subscriptions you forgot you had.
- Identifying savings: It looks for opportunities to lower your bills or automate your savings.
By connecting to your financial institutions using multi-factor login via secure services like Plaid, it provides real-time tracking that theoretically removes the manual labor from budgeting.
Key Features of Rocket Money
Subscription Tracking and Cancellation
The feature Rocket Money touts the most in its TV and social media ads is the app’s ability to find recurring charges. It lists every subscription it identifies, from Netflix to that obscure gym membership — even for free users.
In our testing, Rocket Money uncovered several forgotten subscriptions, including one that was still shipping products to an old apartment. While the app can’t cancel every service on your behalf, simply identifying recurring charges that might otherwise go unnoticed can help users quickly reduce unnecessary spending.
Premium users can use the Concierge service, where Rocket Money’s team handles the cancellation process for you. That can be especially useful in combating “dark patterns,” which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warns can deceive people into signing up for unwanted subscriptions without realizing it.
Bill Negotiation
Another standout perk is that Rocket Money can attempt to lower your monthly bills by negotiating with cell phone, internet and cable providers on your behalf. They don’t charge an upfront fee for this service; instead, they take a percentage of the annual savings they secure for you.
The bill negotiation feature was one of the most valuable tools we tested. After submitting an internet bill for review, Rocket Money successfully negotiated a lower monthly rate, reducing the cost from $90 to $50 per month. While results will vary depending on your provider and location, this type of savings can easily offset the cost of a Premium subscription.
Budgeting and Expense Tracking
Rocket Money’s detailed expense tracking allows you to set spending limits for specific categories and it can send alerts when you’re nearing those limits. With those capabilities, you can effectively use it as an automated budgeting app, even if the primary focus is finding areas you can cut back.
In our testing, the spending summaries made it easy to spot patterns that weren’t obvious when reviewing bank statements alone. For example, the app highlighted just how much was being spent at certain retailers each month and made it easier to compare spending habits over time. Rather than manually categorizing transactions, Rocket Money provides a high-level view that can help 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 automate your savings strategy. When you set goals using the Financial Goals feature, Rocket Money’s Smart Savings autopilot analyzes your checking account balance and spending to automatically transfer small amounts into a savings account when it determines you can afford it. It even knows to skip the automatic deposits when your balances are low.
You can toggle this off or use the Custom Savings feature if you’d prefer to manage your savings goals more manually.
Alerts and Financial Insights
Rocket Money offers additional financial insights, like credit score monitoring and net worth tracking, that can help you bolster your financial health. The credit score and report feature gives you insights to help improve your credit so you can qualify for better loan and credit card terms.
The net worth tracker combines assets and liabilities in one dashboard, making it easier to see how debt repayment, savings contributions and investment growth affect your finances. During our testing, this feature made progress on student loan repayment feel more tangible by showing how each payment affected overall net worth rather than simply reducing an account balance.
Rocket Money also sends alerts for upcoming bills, unusual transactions and other account activity. In our experience, the bill reminders provided additional visibility into recurring expenses and helped prevent missed payments and overdrafts by making upcoming charges easier to anticipate.
Rocket Money Pricing
Rocket Money’s pricing is unusual in that it uses a “pay what you think is fair” model for its Premium tier. The price tiers are:
- Free: Includes basic account linking, spending tracking and a list of subscriptions. However, you must cancel subscriptions yourself.
- Premium: Costs between $7 and $14 per month, depending on “what you think is fair.” At this tier, Rocket Money will work on your behalf to cancel subscriptions and negotiate discounts from phone, internet and cable providers.
- Additional costs: If the app’s representatives successfully negotiate a lower bill for you, they charge a fee of 35% to 60% of the first year’s savings.
Rocket Money Pros and Cons
Pros
- Subscription audit: It’s arguably the best app on the market for finding hidden recurring costs.
- Automated insights: The net worth tracker and spending alerts provide a high-level view without manual data entry.
- Bill negotiation: For those who hate talking to customer service, having a third party fight for a discount is a major perk.
Cons
- Budgeting depth: It lacks the every-dollar-has-a-job philosophy found in competitor zero-based budgeting apps like YNAB.
- Additional fees: The cut they take from bill negotiations can feel steep if the savings are significant.
- Privacy concerns: Like all aggregators, you are sharing significant financial data with a third party.
Who Rocket Money Is Best For
Rocket Money is a great fit for hands-off spenders who want more visibility into their finances without maintaining a spreadsheet or tracking every dollar manually. If you frequently sign up for free trials and forget to cancel them, haven’t reviewed your monthly bills in years or simply want a clearer picture of where your money is going, the app could pay for itself quickly.
We found Rocket Money particularly useful for surfacing spending habits that might otherwise go unnoticed, identifying forgotten subscriptions and providing a simple way to monitor net worth and upcoming bills. Users who struggle with overdrafts or surprise charges may also benefit from the app’s alerts and recurring bill reminders.
The app is best suited for people who want actionable insights and automation rather than a highly detailed budgeting system. If your goal is to spend less, eliminate unnecessary expenses and stay on top of recurring bills with minimal effort, Rocket Money is worth considering.
Who Should Skip It
If you’re a dedicated budgeter who prefers zero-based budgeting, detailed spending plans or extensive customization, Rocket Money may feel too high-level. Apps like YNAB or Monarch Money offer more robust budgeting and planning tools for users who want greater control over every aspect of their finances.
Bottom Line: Is Rocket Money Worth It?
Like any budgeting app, Rocket Money is worth what you make of it. That said, this particular app can quantify its value better than others. If you use the Premium version for a few months to identify and cancel $50 worth of monthly subscriptions, it’s an outstanding investment. It can also serve as a watchdog for your accounts against dark patterns and other manipulative subscription practices.
While it lacks the precision of more expensive wealth management software or the zero-based budgeting methodology of strict budgeting apps, Rocket Money can be a valuable resource for those looking to rein in their spending.
FAQs
Is Rocket Money Free?
There is a free version, but the app’s defining features — concierge cancellations and real-time syncing — require a Premium subscription.
How Does Rocket Money Make Money?
Rocket Money makes money through subscription fees, success fees from bill negotiations and by recommending other financial products (such as credit cards or loans) within the app.
Can Rocket Money Cancel Subscriptions for You?
Yes, Premium members may use the 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. It uses Plaid to connect to your accounts, meaning it never stores your actual bank login credentials. That said, there is always at least some risk when you share your data with third parties.
Is It Hard 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 does not automatically cancel any subscriptions that Rocket Money has identified in your account. If you want to stop paying for third-party services, you’ll need to cancel those subscriptions separately or use Rocket Money’s Concierge cancellation service before ending your membership.
Has Rocket Money Faced Any Controversies?
Rocket Money has faced some criticism over its privacy practices and subscription model. Consumer advocates have questioned whether some of the company’s marketing claims about data privacy align with disclosures in its privacy policy, while some users have complained about bill-negotiation fees and Premium subscription charges. However, Rocket Money has not been the subject of a major security breach or widely publicized fraud scandal, and it remains a popular personal finance app used by millions of consumers.
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