Rocket Money vs Monarch: Which Budget App Is Best for You in 2025?

Choosing the right budgeting app can feel like a major financial decision, and in many ways, it is. With the shutdown of Mint, many people are searching for a new financial hub. This has led to a major showdown: a detailed comparison of Rocket Money vs Monarch is essential for anyone looking to take control of their finances. Both platforms offer powerful tools to track spending, manage budgets, and build wealth, but they cater to very different types of users.

Rocket Money, formerly known as Truebill, excels at automating your financial life by identifying and canceling unwanted subscriptions and negotiating bills on your behalf. It's designed for users who want quick, tangible savings with minimal effort. On the other hand, Monarch Money is built for the detailed planner—the person who wants a comprehensive, customizable dashboard to track everything from daily spending to long-term investments, often in collaboration with a partner.

This guide breaks down every aspect of the Monarch vs Rocket Money debate. We'll compare features, pricing, user experience, and ideal use cases to give you a clear picture of which app will best serve your financial goals.

Quick Summary

• Rocket Money's Strength: Its standout feature is automated subscription cancellation and bill negotiation. It's ideal for users who want to find and eliminate wasteful spending without manual effort.
• Monarch's Strength: Monarch offers a highly customizable, all-in-one financial dashboard perfect for detailed budgeting, net worth tracking, and investment monitoring. Its collaboration features are excellent for couples and families.
• Key Difference in Approach: Rocket Money focuses on automated savings and simplicity, making it great for beginners. Monarch provides deep customization and comprehensive data analysis for users who want granular control over their financial picture.
• Pricing Models: Rocket Money operates on a freemium model with a "pay-what-you-want" subscription (minimums apply) and takes a percentage of savings from bill negotiations. Monarch is a premium-only product with a flat subscription fee and a free trial, ensuring an ad-free experience without data selling.

An Overview of Rocket Money

Rocket Money began its life as Truebill, an app laser-focused on a common modern problem: subscription creep. Its core mission was to help users identify and cancel recurring charges they no longer needed. After being acquired by Rocket Companies in 2021, it was rebranded as Rocket Money and expanded its feature set to become a more complete personal finance tool, but its roots in automated savings remain its biggest draw.

The platform's primary value proposition is action-oriented. It doesn't just show you where your money is going; it actively helps you save it. The app scans your linked accounts for recurring payments, lists them clearly, and allows you to cancel them with a single tap from within the app. This concierge service is a massive convenience for anyone who has ever struggled to navigate a company's cancellation process.

Beyond subscriptions, Rocket Money offers a bill negotiation service. You can submit bills like cable, internet, or cell phone, and their team of experts will attempt to negotiate a lower rate with the provider. If they succeed, they take a percentage of the annual savings as their fee. This aligns their success with yours, creating a powerful incentive to save you money.

While it now includes budgeting, spending tracking, and net worth monitoring, its identity is firmly planted in being an automated financial assistant.

An Overview of Monarch Money

Monarch Money was co-founded by a former product manager from Mint, and it shows. The platform was built from the ground up to be the spiritual successor to Mint that many users wished for—a powerful, all-in-one financial command center. Its philosophy is centered on providing clarity and control through a comprehensive and highly customizable dashboard. Monarch aims to give you a complete 360-degree view of your financial life.

Unlike apps that focus on one specific task, Monarch aggregates data from a vast array of sources. You can connect checking and savings accounts, credit cards, loans, investment portfolios, and even real estate assets via Zillow to get a real-time picture of your net worth. This makes it an excellent tool for users who are not just managing monthly cash flow but are also focused on long-term wealth building and investment performance.

One of Monarch's defining features is its emphasis on collaboration. It's designed for individuals, couples, or families to manage finances together. You can invite a partner to your household, and you both get your own logins while sharing a unified view of your finances. You can customize permissions and track shared goals, making it one of the best apps on the market for joint financial management.

Because it's a premium, subscription-based service, Monarch commits to never selling user data or showing ads, ensuring the user's interests are always the top priority.

Feature Comparison: Rocket Money vs Monarch

When you place these two apps side-by-side, their different philosophies become clear. Rocket Money is about automated action and simplicity, while Monarch is about comprehensive data and manual control. This rocket money comparison highlights where each app shines.

Budgeting and Goal Setting

Rocket Money offers straightforward budgeting tools. You can set up a monthly budget based on categories, and the app will track your spending against those limits. It's effective for basic cash flow management and helps you see if you're overspending in areas like "Food & Drink" or "Shopping." Goal setting is similarly simple, allowing you to create savings goals and track your progress.

Monarch takes budgeting to another level. It uses a more flexible system where you can create custom categories and subcategories, set rollover budgets (where unused funds from one month carry over to the next), and view your spending plan in different ways. Its goal-setting feature is more robust, allowing you to link specific accounts to goals and track your progress toward major life events like buying a house or retiring.

Subscription Management and Bill Negotiation

This is where Rocket Money has no competition. Its automated subscription finder is its killer feature. The app flags all recurring payments, and its concierge service can cancel them for you, saving you the time and hassle of contacting each company individually. The bill negotiation service is equally powerful, potentially saving users hundreds of dollars a year on common household bills.

Monarch Money does not offer these services. While it can help you identify recurring charges by categorizing your transactions, it does not provide any automated tools to cancel them or negotiate better rates. Users who want these features would need to handle the cancellations and negotiations themselves.

Investment and Net Worth Tracking

Both apps offer net worth tracking by linking your various financial accounts. However, Monarch's capabilities are far more advanced. It provides detailed investment tracking, showing you your portfolio's asset allocation, performance over time, and comparisons against market benchmarks. You can see all your holdings in one place, making it a powerful tool for investors.

Rocket Money's investment tracking is more of a high-level overview. It will show you the balance of your investment accounts to calculate your net worth, but it lacks the detailed performance charts and analytical tools found in Monarch. For serious investors, Monarch is the clear winner in this category.

A Look at Pricing: Rocket Money and Monarch

Pricing is a significant differentiator in the monarch vs rocket money debate, reflecting their different business models.

Rocket Money's Pricing Structure

Rocket Money operates on a freemium model. The free version offers basic features like budget creation and spending tracking. To unlock the most valuable features, including automated subscription cancellation, you need a Premium membership.

Premium has a unique "pay-what-you-want" model, but with a catch. You can slide a scale to choose your annual fee, typically ranging from $48 to $120 per year (e.g., $4 to $10 per month, billed annually). There is a minimum amount required to access the service. The bill negotiation service is separate; if Rocket Money successfully saves you money, they charge a fee calculated as a percentage (typically 30% to 60%) of your first year's savings.

Monarch Money's Pricing Structure

Monarch Money has a simpler, more transparent pricing model. It is a premium-only service with no free tier, though it offers a 7-day free trial for users to test the platform. This single-tier approach means all users get access to all features.

Users can pay monthly or annually, with the annual plan offering a significant discount. You can visit the Monarch Money website for the latest pricing information. The key benefit of this model is that Monarch's revenue comes directly from its users, not from selling data or advertising. This ensures the platform remains focused on user needs and privacy.

User Experience and Interface: A Tale of Two Designs

How an app feels to use day-to-day is just as important as its features. The user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) of Rocket Money and Monarch are designed with their target users in mind.

The Rocket Money Experience

Rocket Money's interface is clean, modern, and highly intuitive. It's designed for quick interactions and clear actions. The dashboard immediately presents you with key information, such as upcoming bills, recent transactions, and potential savings opportunities. The focus is on simplicity and guiding the user toward taking money-saving actions.

Finding and canceling subscriptions is incredibly easy, with a dedicated tab that lists all recurring charges. The process feels empowering and delivers an immediate sense of accomplishment. This task-oriented design makes it perfect for users who feel overwhelmed by their finances and want an app that provides clear, simple steps to improve their situation.

The Monarch Money Experience

Monarch's interface is a data-lover's dream. It's built around a central, customizable dashboard that can display a wide range of financial metrics at a glance. You can add, remove, and rearrange widgets for your budget, recent transactions, net worth trend, investment performance, and financial goals. This makes it feel like a personal finance command center.

While powerful, this level of customization can present a slight learning curve for new users. However, for those who want to dive deep into their financial data, the ability to tailor the dashboard to their specific priorities is a huge advantage. The interface is clean and well-organized, but its density of information is geared toward a user who is comfortable with and actively wants to engage with their financial data on a regular basis.

Integrations and Account Compatibility

A budgeting app is only as good as its ability to connect to your financial accounts. Both Rocket Money and Monarch use leading data aggregation services like Plaid, MX, and Finicity to ensure secure and reliable connections.

Rocket Money's Connectivity

Rocket Money supports connections to thousands of financial institutions across the United States, including major banks, credit unions, and credit card issuers. For most users, linking their primary checking, savings, and credit accounts is a smooth process. The platform is available on iOS, Android, and the web, ensuring access across all your devices.

Monarch's Connectivity

Monarch generally has a reputation for slightly broader and more reliable connectivity, especially when it comes to investment and loan accounts. They use multiple data providers and have built-in tools to help troubleshoot connection issues. In addition to standard bank and credit accounts, Monarch can connect to brokerage accounts, 401(k)s, crypto exchanges (via Coinbase), and loan servicers. This wider net of integrations is crucial for its all-in-one financial dashboard approach and is a key reason why many former Mint users have migrated to it.

Customer Support and Available Resources

When you're dealing with sensitive financial data, knowing you can get help when needed is crucial. The support structures for Rocket Money and Monarch differ slightly.

Support at Rocket Money

Rocket Money primarily offers support through in-app chat and email. Premium subscribers typically receive priority support. Their help center contains articles and guides covering common questions and features. Because of their large user base, response times can sometimes vary, but the resources available are generally sufficient for most common issues.

Support at Monarch Money

As a premium-focused service, Monarch places a strong emphasis on customer support. They offer email support with a goal of providing timely and helpful responses. They also have an extensive, well-organized help center with detailed tutorials and troubleshooting guides. Additionally, Monarch fosters a user community forum where users can ask questions and share tips with each other, which can be a valuable resource for learning how to use the platform's more advanced features.

Pro Tip: When testing a new budgeting app, try connecting your most problematic or least common financial account first. This will give you a good sense of the platform's data aggregation strength and how well it will work for your specific financial situation.

Pros and Cons of Rocket Money

No app is perfect for everyone. This rocket money vs monarch review wouldn't be complete without a balanced look at the strengths and weaknesses of each platform.

Pros of Rocket Money

• Automated Subscription Cancellation: This is the platform's biggest selling point and a feature few competitors can match. It saves both time and money.
• Bill Negotiation Service: The potential to lower monthly bills without having to spend time on the phone with providers is a huge benefit.
• User-Friendly Interface: The app is extremely easy to navigate, making it accessible for budgeting beginners.
• Freemium Model: Users can try out the basic features for free before committing to a premium plan.

Cons of Rocket Money

• Bill Negotiation Fee: The fee is a percentage of savings, which can feel high to some users, even though you only pay if they succeed.
• Basic Investment Tracking: It lacks the in-depth tools and analytics that serious investors need.
• Limited Customization: The budgeting and reporting features are less flexible than those offered by Monarch.

Pros and Cons of Monarch Money

Monarch is a powerful tool, but its approach isn't the right fit for every user.

Pros of Monarch Money

• Comprehensive Financial Overview: It truly is an all-in-one dashboard for tracking spending, budgets, net worth, and investments.
• Excellent for Collaboration: The features for couples and partners are best-in-class, making it ideal for joint financial management.
• Highly Customizable: Users can tailor categories, dashboards, and reports to fit their specific needs.
• No Ads or Data Selling: The subscription model ensures a private, user-focused experience.

Cons of Monarch Money

• Subscription Cost: There is no free version, which can be a barrier for some users.
• No Automated Savings Features: It doesn't offer subscription cancellation or bill negotiation services.
• Potential Learning Curve: The sheer number of features and customization options can be overwhelming for those new to budgeting.

Case Studies: Who Is Rocket Money Best For?

To make the choice clearer, let's look at a few user profiles that would benefit most from using Rocket Money.

1. The Subscription Overwhelmed: This person signs up for free trials and forgets to cancel. They have a handful of monthly subscriptions they don't use but can't find the time or energy to cancel. For them, Rocket Money's automated cancellation service could save them hundreds of dollars a year with just a few taps.

The immediate financial feedback is highly motivating.

2. The Hands-Off Saver: This user wants to save money but doesn't want to spend hours analyzing spreadsheets or customizing dashboards. They want an app to do the heavy lifting. Rocket Money's bill negotiation and subscription management services are perfect for this set-it-and-forget-it approach.

It works in the background to find savings for them.

3. The Budgeting Beginner: Someone just starting their financial journey can feel intimidated by complex apps. Rocket Money's simple, guided interface makes it easy to set up a basic budget, track spending, and see clear progress. It provides quick wins that build confidence and good financial habits.

Case Studies: Who Is Monarch Money Best For?

Now, let's explore the types of users who would thrive with Monarch Money's comprehensive toolset.

1. The Data-Driven Planner: This individual loves data, charts, and spreadsheets. They want to see exactly where every dollar is going, track their net worth over time, and analyze their investment allocation. Monarch's customizable dashboard and in-depth reporting provide the granular control they crave.

2. The Financial Couple: A couple looking to merge their finances or simply manage them together needs a tool built for collaboration. Monarch's shared household feature, individual logins, and joint goal tracking make it the ideal platform for partners to get on the same page financially without sacrificing individual autonomy.

3. The Long-Term Investor: For someone focused on building wealth through investing, Monarch is a superior choice. Its ability to aggregate all investment accounts (401k, IRA, brokerage) and provide detailed performance analysis gives them the holistic view needed to make informed decisions and track progress toward long-term goals like retirement.

FAQ: Rocket Money vs Monarch

Here are answers to some of the most common questions when comparing these two financial apps.

What is better, Monarch Money or Rocket Money?

Neither app is objectively "better"; they are better for different people. Rocket Money is better for users who want automated help with canceling subscriptions and negotiating bills to find quick savings. Monarch Money is better for users who want a comprehensive, all-in-one dashboard to manually manage their budget, track investments, and collaborate with a partner.

What's the downside to Rocket Money?

The primary downsides to Rocket Money are its relatively basic investment tracking features and the fee structure for its bill negotiation service. While you only pay if they save you money, the fee (a percentage of the first year's savings) can be substantial. Additionally, its budgeting tools are less customizable than competitors like Monarch.

What are the cons of Monarch Money?

The main cons of Monarch Money are its lack of a free version, which makes it inaccessible for those unwilling to pay a subscription fee. It also has a steeper learning curve due to its extensive features and customization options. Finally, it does not offer automated services like subscription cancellation or bill negotiation.

Does Monarch cancel unwanted subscriptions?

No, Monarch Money does not cancel unwanted subscriptions. It can help you identify recurring charges through its transaction tracking and categorization, but you are responsible for canceling the services yourself. Automated subscription cancellation is the signature feature of Rocket Money.

Conclusion: Making the Right Choice for Your Wallet

In the Rocket Money vs Monarch debate, the winner is entirely dependent on your financial personality and goals. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but there is a clear choice for specific types of users.

Choose Rocket Money if your primary goal is to quickly plug spending leaks and automate savings. If you're overwhelmed by subscriptions, feel your bills are too high, and want an app that takes direct action on your behalf, Rocket Money is an unparalleled tool. Its simplicity and focus on immediate results make it perfect for beginners or anyone who prefers a hands-off approach.

Choose Monarch Money if you seek total clarity and control over your entire financial world. If you're a detailed planner, an avid investor, or managing finances with a partner, Monarch's comprehensive dashboard, powerful customization, and collaborative features provide the robust toolkit you need. It's the right choice for those who want to actively manage their journey to long-term wealth.

Ultimately, the best way to decide is to consider what you need most right now. If it's immediate help with overspending, give Rocket Money a try. If it's a powerful command center for long-term planning, Monarch's free trial is your next step.