Managing money sounds simple until your bills keep rising and random charges drain your bank account every month. That’s exactly why apps like Rocket Money became so popular. It helps you track spending, cancel subscriptions, and even negotiate bills.
Still, Rocket Money is not the perfect fit for everyone. If you want different features, better pricing, or more privacy, there are solid apps like Rocket Money worth checking out.
I tested the top Rocket Money alternatives to see which ones actually help you budget smarter, kill useless subscriptions, and lower your monthly bills. Some are free. Some are paid. Some don’t even need your bank login.
Let’s get into the top choices.
Quick note: Prices for all apps below were current at the time of writing. Pricing is subject to change. Please refer to each app’s official pricing page for the latest.
1. Monarch: Best Rocket Money Alternative for Serious Budgeting and Goal Tracking
Best for: Couples, families, and anyone who wants budgeting + net worth in one dashboard.
Monarch feels like what Rocket Money wants to be when it grows up. You get automatic transaction categorization and spending insights, plus powerful tools for planning.
Think of it as one of the top budgeting apps for couples and joint finances, because you can collaborate on budgets without sharing bank logins.
What you’ll like:
- Tracks everything: Budgeting, subscriptions, investments, real estate, crypto, and your full net worth.
- Custom categories + rules: Teach it once and your spending insights get smarter.
- Goal tracking: Plan for a house, vacation, or retirement and see your progress.
- No ads. Ever.
While Rocket Money has built-in bill negotiation, Monarch focuses on planning, not negotiating. You’ll still need to call your cable company yourself. However, Monarch wins if you care about investments and long-term planning.
Monarch Pricing
Monarch has a 7-day free trial. After that, you can choose from their two pricing plans:
- Core: This plan offers you basic tools to budget, plan, and stay on track. After the 7-day trial period, it costs $8.33 per month if billed annually and $14.99/month if billed monthly.
- Plus: Choose this plan if you need advanced tools for long-term planning and multiple income streams. It will cost you $16.67/month and is billed $199.99 annually.
Monarch runs on all your devices. Download the Monarch app and use it on web, iPhone, Android, iPad, or grab the Chrome extension.
2. YNAB (You Need A Budget): Best for Hands-On Control
Best for: People who want to tell every dollar where to go.
If Rocket Money feels too “set and forget,” YNAB is the opposite. It’s one of the best budgeting apps like Rocket Money, but built around zero-based budgeting. You assign every dollar a job the moment you get paid.
Key advantages:
- Stops overspending: Because you budget only money you have right now.
- Amazing education: YNAB teaches you why your budget works.
- Great for debt payoff: Their method is famous for helping people get out of debt.
- Syncs across devices: Your partner sees changes instantly.
Unlike Rocket Money, YNAB won’t auto-cancel subscriptions or negotiate bills. It’s pure budgeting. You also have to import or link accounts yourself. So if you want apps that track subscriptions and recurring charges automatically with less effort, Rocket Money is easier.
YNAB Pricing
YNAB comes with a 34-day free trial. You can then choose from their two pricing plans:
- Annual plan: This plan costs $9.08 per month and is billed annually ($109).
- Monthly plan: The monthly plan is priced at $14.99 per month.
College students get a free 365-day trial. The app is available for web, iOS, and Android.
YNAB or Rocket Money for zero-based budgeting and hands-on control? YNAB by a mile. Rocket Money gives you a budget. YNAB changes how you think about money.
3. Empower Personal Dashboard: Best for Net Worth and Investment Tracking
Best for: Investors who also want basic budgeting.
Empower, formerly Personal Capital, is one of the top apps that track net worth and investments along with budgeting.
If you care more about your 401k fees than your Netflix subscription, look here. It’s free, which makes it one of the best free apps like Rocket Money for basic budgeting and expense tracking.
What you’ll like:
- Investment checkup: Flags high fees and bad asset allocation.
- Retirement planner: Run scenarios to see if you can retire early.
- Net worth dashboard: See all accounts in one place.
- Cash flow tracker: Simple budgeting with automatic transaction categorization and spending insights.
Empower won’t cancel subscriptions for you or negotiate bills the way Rocket Money does. It also pushes you toward their wealth management service if you have over $100k invested.
While Empower dominates for investing, Rocket Money is the better choice for subscription canceling and bill negotiation.
Empower Personal Dashboard is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
4. BillShark: AI-Powered Money App for Bill Negotiation
Best for: People who hate calling customer service.
Rocket Money’s bill negotiation is good. BillShark only does negotiation. That’s all they focus on. Notable features include:
- 90% success rate negotiating cable, internet, phone, and wireless bills.
- No savings, no fee: You pay 40% of what they save you in the first year.
- Humans do the work: Real negotiators call on your behalf.
Rocket Money is more of an all-in-one app. If you only care about bill negotiation apps to lower cable, internet, and phone bills, BillShark often saves more.
BillShark Pricing
Billshark charges a 40% success fee based on the total savings they negotiate for you over a specific period (usually 12 or 24 months). If they cannot find any savings, the service is completely free.
The BillShark app is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
5. Bobby: Privacy-First Subscription Tracker That Doesn’t Need Your Bank Login
Best for: People who to track subscriptions but refuse to connect their bank accounts.
Bobby skips bank linking entirely. You add your subscriptions manually, so your financial data stays private. You trade auto-detection for full control.
Other features you’ll like:
- 100% private: No bank login and no transaction scanning. Your data lives on your device.
- Renewal reminders: Bobby pings you before a subscription charges so you can cancel in time.
- Track anything: Add streaming services, gym memberships, even cash bills or yearly dues.
- Pay once: The free plan covers 5 subscriptions. Bobby Pro unlocks unlimited tracking for a $1.99 one-time purchase. No recurring fee.
Rocket Money scans your bank transactions and finds subscriptions you forgot about. Bobby can’t do that because you enter everything yourself. If you forget to add something, Bobby won’t catch it.
Choose Bobby if privacy is your #1 priority and you don’t mind adding subscriptions yourself.
Bobby Pricing
Bobby is freemium. You can download it for free and track up to 5 subscriptions. That’s perfect if you already keep a lean list.
Need more? You’ve got two one-time upgrades:
- Unlock unlimited subscriptions for about $0.99
- Unlock everything for about $2.99 — this adds unlimited subscriptions plus iCloud sync, theme customizations, and Face ID/passcode lock
You can download Bobby on the Apple App Store.
Which Rocket Money Alternative Is Best for Couples and Shared Finances?
Monarch Money takes this one. You both get separate logins but see the same budget, goals, and net worth. You can tag transactions as “yours,” “mine,” or “ours.”
YNAB also works well for couples, but it takes more daily effort.
If you want the best personal finance apps for tracking subscriptions, bills, and spending in one place for two people, Monarch is the smoothest.
Free Apps Like Rocket Money for Basic Budgeting and Subscription Tracking
If you can’t pay for an app yet, start here:
- Empower: Free net worth + spending tracker. No bill negotiation.
- Rocket Money Free Plan: Still cancels subscriptions and shows spending.
- Bobby: Track up to 5 subscriptions free without bank access.
These cover the basics until you’re ready to upgrade.
AI-Powered Rocket Money Alternatives That Negotiate Bills and Handle Subscriptions for You
AI-powered money assistants are everywhere this year. You don’t need to waste hours on hold with customer service anymore. These apps use AI to track subscriptions, negotiate bills, and even handle support chats for you.
If you want AI-powered money apps for subscription canceling and bill negotiation beyond Rocket Money, check out Pine AI and BillShark.
Pine AI works as a dedicated AI bill negotiator. It contacts your providers, pushes for lower rates, and cancels subscriptions automatically. No phone calls needed.
BillShark uses real human negotiators backed by data to lower your cable, internet, phone, and wireless bills. You only pay if they save you money.
If you want lower bills without the headache, these AI-powered Rocket Money alternatives save you time and money.
So, Which App Should You Pick Instead of Rocket Money?
Monarch Money is the best overall pick among these apps like Rocket Money.
You still get the automatic tracking that makes apps like Rocket Money useful. But Monarch adds what Rocket Money misses: true budgeting with custom categories, goal planning, and a full net worth dashboard with investments. It handles budgeting, subscriptions, and investing in one place.
Other Rocket Money alternatives do certain things well, but Monarch Money delivers the most complete experience in one app. Start the free trial and see your full financial picture.
