Rocket Money Review: Pros, Cons, And Alternatives

Rocket Money is a personal finance platform that helps you budget, set financial goals, track your net worth and credit score, and cancel subscriptions, all in one app. 

Managing your money can sometimes feel like a game of financial gymnastics.

If you are tired of jumping across multiple accounts to see where you stand financially, then a consolidated financial app, like Rocket Money, could be the right solution. Keep reading to determine if it’s the right fit for you.

What Is Rocket Money?

Rocket Money was initially founded in 2015 as Truebill by three brothers – Yahya Mokhtarzada, Haroon Mokhtarzada, and Idris Mokhtarzada. It was acquired by the Rocket Companies in 2022 and rebranded from Truebill to Rocket Money.

Their goal was to create a comprehensive financial empowerment tool, and they originally started by focusing on subscription cancellation and bill management. Today, it’s a full-fledged budgeting app. Rocket Money was named the best subscription-cancelling app in our annual list of Best Budgeting Apps.

What Does It Offer?

Let’s take a closer look at some of Rocket Money features:

Budgeting 

Rocket Money’s budgeting tools aren’t flashy, but they cover the basics well. You can access the features on your iOS or Android mobile device, or via Rocket Money’s web platform. Either way, you’ll get a similar experience. 

To get started with budgeting, you’ll be asked to link your accounts. This includes any bank accounts and/or credit cards you want to track. Rocket Money uses Plaid, a secure, third-party platform to link your accounts. 

Once you’ve linked your desired accounts, you can select “Set Up Budgeting” on the main dashboard and then “Start My Budget”. Rocket Money will guide you through the process of setting up your budget. It essentially asks you to confirm your monthly income and any bill payments, including recurring payments and subscriptions. If you’ve already linked your accounts, Rocket Money can detect most of your income and expense transactions and automate most of the process. 

From here, you’ll be prompted to set up your desired budget categories. Rocket Money has several preset categories you can choose from, such as “Auto & Transport”, “Dining & Drinks”, and “Family Care”. Rocket Money will be able to determine your historical spending for each category, but you can allocate any amount you wish to each budget category. 

Note: Unlimited budgets, unlimited categories, and advanced transaction editing are only available to Premium members. 

Spending Tracker

When you connect your bank accounts to Rocket Money, it instantly identifies the categories where you spend the most. After reviewing the data, Rocket Money will provide insights on where you tend to overspend, helping you manage your spending in certain areas.

For example, Rocket Money might point out that you are spending too much on takeout. While you might already know that, the reminder might help you commit to making a change. It can also notify you if your account balance is low, to help you avoid overdrafts and late fees. 

Financial Goals (Premium Only)

Rocket Money’s Financial Goals tool makes saving money easy. It analyzes your accounts and helps you determine the best time to save, enabling you to reach your goals more quickly. Start by picking a savings goal and preferred savings frequency. From there, Rocket Money will determine the optimal times to save and automatically transfer the funds into an FDIC-insured savings account. Of course, you can pause the process or withdraw your newfound savings at any time.

Monitor Your Net Worth (Premium Only) 

Your net worth is a key metric of your financial health. But taking the time to add up all of your assets and liabilities manually can be somewhat tedious. Rocket Money handles the math for you automatically.
When you log into Rocket Money, you can see a quick snapshot of your finances. To take advantage of this feature, you’ll need to link up your checking, investment, loan, and credit accounts. You’ll also have the option to add more unique assets, like artwork or anything else you’ve invested in.

Rocket Money subtracts what you owe from what you own, and provides you with your total net worth. This amount is updated automatically. 

Credit Score Tracking (Premium Only)

Rocket Money gives you a chance to track your credit score within the platform. Not only will you have access to your credit score, but you can also see a breakdown of your credit history to understand why your credit score is what it is.
As your credit score changes, Rocket Money will send you updates. Before you apply to any new credit accounts, you can use this tool to make sure your credit is where you need it to be. 

Subscription Cancellation (Premium Only)

In this day and age, it’s easy to lose track of all of the subscriptions we sign up for. With Rocket Money Premium, you can manage your subscriptions in one place and easily cancel the ones you don’t want anymore.

Rocket Money might even get you a refund on some of your money. 

Click on a recurring subscription, choose “Cancel Service,” and Rocket Money will cancel the service for you. Note that cancellation requests are not instantaneous and are subject to a processing period of 2-7 days. 

Note: With the free plan, Rocket Money will allow you to view and track your subscriptions, but if you want to cancel them, you will have to do so manually. 

Rocket Money will also automatically request refunds for overdraft fees or late fees. Although you might not get the refunds, people who infrequently overdraft or pay late may find that they can get a fee waived with a simple request.

Bill Negotiator

Beyond canceling subscriptions, you can use Rocket Money to negotiate your bills. For Rocket Money to lower your bill, you’ll upload a copy of your most recent bill with one of the service providers or connect directly to your online account. Then, you’ll provide information about the service you’re already receiving.
After that, Rocket Money will negotiate a lower rate for you. Often, they’ll help you get onto a promotional plan, cut back on bogus fees, or simply lower the rate. On average, Rocket Money saves its customers around 20% on their existing telecom plans through its negotiation techniques.
When Rocket Money negotiates for you, it will charge 40% of the annual savings. That means, if you save $100 per year, Rocket Money will charge you $40 for negotiating for you. That payment will be required right away (so you’ll actually lose money that first month). But in the long term, you’ll be saving money. 

Are There Any Fees?

Rocket Money offers a free version and a paid version (Premium). The premium/paid version costs between $6 and $12 per month, after a 7-day free trial. You can only access the following features with a Premium Membership: 

• Subscription‑cancellation concierge  
• Unlimited budgets and custom categories  
• Advanced transaction editing  
• Net worth tracking  
• Financial Goals (formerly Smart Savings)  
• Full credit reports and weekly FICO® Score 2 updates 

The free membership is more limited. Free users will only be able to create two budgets and view their credit scores. If you opt for free, you won’t be able to share your account with someone else, take advantage of smart savings tools, track your net worth, or access bill cancellation support.

How Does Rocket Money Compare? 

Rocket Money isn’t the only app designed to help you manage your finances. Here’s how it stacks up.
YNAB, or You Need A Budget, is a popular budgeting app. The platform is hyper-focused on building a budget and giving every dollar you earn a job. When using YNAB, the goal becomes breaking the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and never being caught off guard by a hidden expense again. But you won’t be able to track your investments. YNAB costs $99 annually or $14.99 per month. 

Like YNAB, Lunch Money is a popular budgeting app. It lacks some features of Rocket Money, like subscription management, credit score tracking, and bill negotiation, but its budgeting platform is much more powerful. A couple of standout features include the ability to set custom budget periods and its multi-currency support. Lunch Money seamlessly tracks over 160 currencies, converting them into your primary currency. This makes it ideal for digital nomads and travelers who frequently spend in multiple currencies. 

How Do I Open An Account?

If you want to open an account with Rocket Money, start by downloading the app or heading to the desktop version of the tool. You’ll be asked to provide your name and email address.

You’ll also be asked to share a bit about your financial situation, like what you want help with and the timeline you have in mind for your top financial goal. The setup process includes answering a few other questions, such as your homeownership status, marital status, whether you have kids, and how you are currently managing your money.
From there, you can link your checking account and credit cards. Overall, the process only took me a few minutes to complete. 

How Do I Contact Rocket Money? 

You can get in touch with Rocket Money by emailing support@rocketmoney.com or chatting with the support team. The team is available on weekdays from 9 AM to 8 PM EST. Importantly, there is no phone support option. After hours, you’ll be directed to Penny, Rocket Money’s AI Assistant.
The app has earned a 3.7 out of 5-star rating from Trustpilot, based on over 4,000 reviews. Also, it has earned 4.6 out of 5 stars on the Google Play Store and 4.5 stars on the Apple App Store, with thousands of satisfied users. With the positive feedback, you should expect a good experience with Rocket Money.

Is It Safe And Secure?

Rocket Money uses bank-level 256-bit encryption to safeguard your financial information. Also, you’ll be asked to enter your password or provide a biometric verification of your identity when logging into the mobile app.

Is It Worth It?

Rocket Money is a robust tool for anyone looking for a streamlined way to monitor their financial data. The bird’s-eye view of your money can help you see the bigger picture of your financial situation. And you have a chance to use that information to push your finances in a positive direction.
I think Rocket Money is best-suited for those who are looking for a one-stop shop when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances. It’s nice to be able to get budgeting, spending insights, credit score, and net worth tracking, and more, without having to bounce between 3 or 4 different apps. 
On the other hand, if you want a powerful budgeting tool, you might find Rocket Money lacking and be better off with a dedicated budgeting app, such as YNAB, Lunch Money, or Monarch Money.

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