Are you looking for the right personal finance app and debating between Mint and Personal Capital? Here's what you need to know. Mint review:
Personal Capital review:
These days, there’s no shortage of personal finance apps that can make it easier to keep on top of your money. While several of these options include some similar features, there are notable differences that might make one choice better for an individual than another. Personally two of my favorite services are Mint and Personal Capital, which of course have their own pros and cons. With that in mind, let’s take look at what Mint and Personal Capital offer and how to tell which one might be right for you.
First up, one of the ways that Mint and Personal Capital are similar is that you can link multiple accounts to them in order to view balances and transactions all in one place.
In order to get the most out of Mint or Personal Capital, you’ll want to connect your external accounts, includng savings, checking, credit cards, brokerage accounts, etc. The process of doing this is fairly similar for each, although I do appreciate how Personal Capital moves pending accounts to the side so that you can get started adding new ones in the meantime. Something else to note is that, due to different bank’s policies, chances are you’ll need to repair account connects with varying frequency.
Regardless of which app you’re using, once your account are connected, you’ll be able to view balances and transactions all in one place. Additionally both services make it easy to track your net worth, which is your toal amount of assets minus any liabilities or debts. This may be a small feature but it’s honestly one of my favorites for both applications.
When it comes to budgeting, while both do have some features, I’d definitely say that Mint has far more
On your Personal Capital dashboard, you’ll see a budgeting option where you can view your spending across various categories. Unfortunately, while the basics it offers can be helpful, the feature is fairly limited as far as setting up a specific budget.
In contrast, Mint not only allows you to create custom spending categories but also truly personalize your budget. Moreover you can also opt into alerts that will notify you when you overspend in a certain category. Because of this, those looking for an app to help them manage their budget effectively will likely prefer Mint in this match-up.
Meanwhile in terms of monitoring your investment portfolio, this is where Personal Capital really shines in my opinion.
Within Mint, you’ll be able to link your brokerage accounts and view your investments. Additionally you can get updates on how your portfolio is performing. Once again, these features are useful but Personal Capital has more to offer.
One difference is that Personal Capital allows you to view specific stocks in your account instead of just the overall balance. Two other unique features are the investment check up tool that will display your current and target asset allocation as well as their retirement fee analyzer that will assess the fees you’re paying and how much those could cost you in the long run. Plus I personally prefer the aesthetics of Personal Capitals investment charts when compared to Mint’s.
Overall I do think that both Mint and Personal Capital are great tools, so the choice between them really comes down to where you are in your financial journey.
In my view, Mint is a great tool aimed at those who want to create and stick to a custom budget and stay on top of their bills. Meanwhile those who are more focused on investing and building their net worth will likely get more from Personal Capital. As a result, I’ve definitely found myself spending more time with Personal Capital these days. Ultimately while neither app is perfect, I’d still recommend giving each or both of these options a try.
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