Rocket Money vs Mint – Best Budgeting App

We all need a bit of help sometimes when it comes to budgeting and planning ahead for large expenses. Thankfully, there are more than a few options available to us thanks to our smartphones! Apps such as Truebill (now known as Rocket Money) and Mint are great for helping busy people keep a close eye on expenses, income, and everything in between.

But between Rocket Money vs Mint – which budgeting app is better? What are the main differences, and what might work best for you?

Below, I’ll guide you through what you need to know about each app and will help you make a download decision that can help you balance the books.

Quick summary

If you don’t have time to read my full report on Rocket Money vs Mint, here’s the skinny version with all the important bits you need to know.

• Mint and Rocket Money both offer free apps with paid options for extra features
• Mint offers credit scoring and is focused on savings goals
• Rocket Money focuses on cutting costs and provides bill negotiations
• Pound for pound, Mint offers more features in its free mode over Rocket Money
• However, the app you choose entirely depends on your individual goals

What is Rocket Money?

Rocket Money is an all-around money management system that helps you track spending and automate regular costs. It’s completely free, and many people use it to help cut down on regular fees and services that are causing their accounts to empty at lightning speed.

Rocket Money offers spending insights, for example, triggered by you connecting your bank accounts via the app. While it may seem easy to notice trends when browsing your accounts as-is, Rocket Money goes one step further and offers real-time insights into regular spending patterns.

You can also use Rocket Money to set up spending alerts and calculate how much money you’ll need to save toward goals you have in mind.

The big appeal of Rocket Money beyond this is its concierge feature. This side of the app allows you to break down and compare different services and subscriptions. The app will even help you find better rates on insurance and TV services! 

As an app, it’s free to use, but services such as the concierge feature and detailed credit scoring are part of Rocket Money’s premium subscription line.

Why is Truebill now called Rocket Money?

Truebill became part of the Rocket Money service in December 2021 as part of an acquisition. Truebill confirmed the acquisition was part of a decision to help improve ways to help their members save money. 

Haroon Mokhtarzada, CEO of Truebill, also confirmed the Rocket Money brand reflects their growth and current purpose more than the Truebill name. In any case, it all simply meant Truebill users moved over to the Rocket Money platform and started benefiting from their products!

What is Mint?

Mint, similar to Rocket Money, helps users track their bank accounts through smart insight correlations and by helping you sync up all of your financial incomings and outgoings. Mint’s main aim is to aggregate all your financial headaches into one simple, easy-to-digest system.

Mint is great for tracking when recurring bills are due to exit your accounts, for example. If you regularly lose sight of direct debit payments, Mint will map them all out for you so you can always plan ahead.

Another strong feature on offer from Mint is its credit score manager. Improving credit scores isn’t ever a fun process, which is why Mint helps to give you access to your public score and report with real-time changes. This can be useful if you want to make credit applications, for example, or take out a new mortgage!

Beyond these points, Mint also offers a tracker for investments. You can sync up your portfolios into one simple space and check how you’re getting on with meeting short and long-term goals.

What are the main differences between Mint and Rocket Money?

Crucially, both apps offer account syncing and help users to keep track of their spending and savings goals. However, they’re actually likely to be used by different people.

Rocket Money is aimed more towards people looking to lower costs than Mint – whereas Mint gears a little more toward building savings. Yes, arguably, you can’t really do one without much of the other – but it’s interesting to see the slight differences in marketing that really do matter.

Rocket Money is notable for its concierge system, which essentially lets you switch to cheaper services depending on what you’re already paying for. Mint offers more of a data provision service – instead of actively finding you solutions to specific issues, this app will present you with raw data on your accounts that you can then use to make decisions as you see fit.

Of course, this is only scratching the surface. Let’s dig a bit deeper into the battle between Rocket Money vs Mint with some specifics.

Cost

The great news here is, of course, that both Mint and Rocket Money are free to use as-is. Both services do offer a premium service, however, with extra features. For example, Rocket Money’s premium model offers credit scoring and priority customer care.

Mint’s premium system, for $4.99 per month, removes advertising and gives you a little more insight, as well as some bill negotiation tweaks. Comparably, Rocket Money’s premium services start at $3 and end at $12 per month, but you get to set the rate.

A word of warning here, too – Rocket Money will also charge a “success rate” fee if they successfully move you from one utility to another.

The winner here for me is Mint – as many of its features work brilliantly in the free model, and Rocket Money only really matches some of Mint’s best bits once you go to paid mode.

Credit scoring

For many people, credit scoring won’t be the main reason for using Mint or Rocket Money. However, both apps are pretty good at helping you keep track of your borrowing potential and whether or not you need to boost your score.

Credit scoring tends to be Mint’s biggest draw, and the fact it does so for free is a massive plus. Users simply need to open the app for the complete lowdown whenever they like.

Rocket Money, meanwhile, requests a premium upgrade for the privilege of more detailed data scoring. Both apps offer lots of insight, but for sheer value, Mint wins this match-up with ease.

If you’re completely new to the idea of monitoring credit scores to help improve your borrowing potential, take a look at our complete guide to checking your credit score before you download either Mint or Rocket Money.

You may also want to look at other services like Experian or Credit Karma if you are mainly interested in credit scoring.

Bill negotiation

There are more than a few apps offering bill negotiation and service comparisons, and this can be useful in helping to save you money in the long run. It’s also Rocket Money’s bread and butter.

Bill negotiation and concierge services tend to be where Rocket Money offers a lot of unique support. As the app’s main aim is to help you cut down on unnecessary spending, it makes sense that you should use the program to help negotiate and find better rates for household and subscription services elsewhere.

Mint, meanwhile, does offer a similar service – but it’s largely unlockable through its premium model. Besides, Rocket Money can do all of this from the get-go, and with a broader focus.

Bill negotiation can be a perk rather than a must-have for many people. If you’re savvy enough to shop around on your own, however, it’s probably not worth using either of these apps for this purpose. But, thankfully, there are other reasons you might want to download them.

Access

Both Rocket Money and Mint famously offer apps available for iOS and Android devices. Both services are always improving, and from the outset, there are no usability issues (and neither really has the upper hand).

That said, if you prefer to manage your money via desktop, Mint tends to go into a little more detail. Rocket Money’s desktop mode, while perfectly usable, pales in comparison to many of the features and depth you’ll get from the app.

Mint seems to balance its app and desktop mode fairly evenly – meaning there’s not much to choose between them. Both services work well on desktop, but the apps are where you’ll get much of the detail you demand.

Financial management

Here’s where a few things start to get a little hazy. Both Mint and Rocket Money are fantastic at helping to aggregate accounts and services so that users can easily manage their outgoings and incomings.

Both apps provide free budgeting tools to easily rank different expenses into categories and priorities as you go. What’s more, while Rocket Money isn’t so weighted towards this side of finance, the app does still provide access to savings goals.

Both apps are great at financial tracking in and out of accounts, and what’s more, Mint is particularly great at helping you manage your portfolios. Its aim really is to consolidate and simplify your finances, whereas Rocket Money wants to save you money. Both noble causes, I’m sure you agree!

Above all, both apps are super-easy to use and have fantastic reputations. It’s completely free to download either app and set up your own accounts. Beyond this, all you have to do is agree to connect your bank accounts and/or credit cards to get started.

Accessibility

Again, accessibility is an area where both Mint and Rocket Money tend to follow the same patterns. These personal finance apps are available across both iOS and Android, and you can also access your data via desktop if you wish.

In my experience, Mint seems to work better than Rocket Money on desktop, but I highly prefer using the app in either case. The apps tend to go much more in-depth on the points that matter, and of course, I can just take my phone out of my pocket and start budgeting away.

Are Mint and Rocket Money paid features worth it?

That all depends on what you’re going to use your apps for. As mentioned, the appeal of Mint’s premium service revolves around ad removal and a few enhancements exclusive to iOS users. Rocket Money adds a few interesting features, but if you really don’t need the credit scoring side of things, the free version will likely do enough for you.

I’d personally recommend you start using either Mint or Rocket Money for free and to see how you get on with either service. If you start to find the features are too limited for what you need, set your subscription for your preferred service for a month as a trial. 

After all, you’re likely using either of these apps to save money – why spend it when you really don’t need to? I’ve personally used both apps in premium mode, and I like everything they have to offer – but I don’t feel you have to pay to use these services. Free mode

What are both Rocket Money and Mint great at?

For all Rocket Money and Mint differ broadly in various ways, there are a few over-arching benefits likely to appeal to similar users. Let’s break these down.

Both can help you manage your categorical spending

If you worry that you spend too much money in one or two specific areas, both Mint and Rocket Money let you categorize budgets. Getting spending habits under control is crucial to maximizing your financial health.

For example, if you feel your leisure expenses are too high, you can toggle both apps to track specific spending in these areas. So, trips to the movies, eating out, vacation spend – all are easy to account for.

Both are highly accessible

Both Rocket Money and Mint are designed with everyday users in mind. You don’t have to be a math expert to work their budgeting and savings tools, and of course, you don’t have to pay to use either app.

That said, if you want to make the most out of either service, it’s probably worth taking the premium route(s). Regardless, it’s refreshing there are no fees expected of you from the get-go. You can access apps across iOS and Android, as well as via web browser.

If you’re looking for an outright winner in the desktop version battle, Mint seems to win the day. Desktop mode is very similar to the app interface, meaning there’s not that much to choose between them.

Rocket Money, meanwhile, seems to offer a more comprehensive service through its app compared to desktop mode. Both are very easy to use, but at the same time, desktop mode does miss a handful of details. I’d stick to the app in either case for sheer convenience.

Both consolidate your financial products

If you’re tired of having to jump from app to app to manage cards and accounts, both Mint and Rocket Money are great for keeping all your details in one place.

Nowadays, with so many different apps and ways to manage our money online, it’s nice to get a clear overview on one page. Provided you’re willing to give either app access to your financial products, you’ll have no difficulty balancing the books through a single source.

Rocket Money vs Mint – Pros and Cons

Now we know all about what makes these two apps tick, let’s break down some of the biggest positives and negatives about either option.

Rocket Money – Pros

• The concierge service is great for helping you find new ways of saving money while still getting access to what you want and need
• It’s superb for all kinds of spending insights when you feel like you’ve lost track
• You can easily negotiate bills and learn how to stop overspending on subscription creep
• It’s completely free to use, but if you want to upgrade, it’s $3 per month (and cheaper than Mint)

Rocket Money – Cons

• Many of Mint’s best features are only available on Rocket Money if you pay for it
• Rocket Money is only really good value if you want to cut costs

Mint – Pros

• Very easy to manage and plan out savings goals
• Lots of data available to show off your good and bad habits
• The free app is packed with data that Rocket Money would ask you pay for
• Credit checking is precise and always available

Mint – Cons

• The app isn’t particularly weighted towards bill negotiation
• Premium mode is a little more expensive at $4.99 per month

In summary

Mint and Rocket Money are both great finance management apps that serve slightly different purposes. Choose Mint if you want to put money into savings, and choose Rocket Money if you want to cut costs.

However, personally, I prefer Mint thanks to the fantastic value crammed into its free app. I love Rocket Money, too – but Mint is a great starting point if you’re new to these sorts of apps.

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