Our Quicken Simpifi review reveals the how and why regarding its top-spot claim in our overview of the best budgeting apps. Quicken products for the Apple II first hit the market in 1984. In 2020, the company launched Simplifi, a budgeting app that earns high praise from consumers and experts.
Pros
Low cost with frequent discounts available
Credit score and investment tracking
Mobile and web app versions
Account sharing
Cons
A true free trial isn’t available
No savings goals tracker
No option to import other Quicken tool data
Simplifi Overview
Simplifi is one of many financial tool products offered by Quicken. The app is, as the name suggests, a simplified version of its comprehensive Quicken Classic budgeting tool. However, that’s not to say that Simplifi is any less capable. In fact, the Simplifi app offers more and better features than most of its competitors and does so at a lower retail price.
While most budgeting apps do one or a few things that make them stand out, Simplifi stands out by doing multiple things well. The tool is truly worthwhile for dedicated budget die-hards and budgeting newcomers alike. Here’s what we learned about the Quicken Simplifi personal finance app.
Quicken Simplifi Review: Features and Benefits
Before getting into the details about how and why Simplifi is a favorite among users and experts, Here’s a sampling of Simplifi account features that make it great.
- Wallet-friendly pricing with frequent discounts
- Provides credit score
- Spending Plan provides overview of remaining expenses
- Budget rollover options
- More robust version also available
- Tracks investment accounts, including crypto
- Tracks investment markets
- Net worth tracking
- Customizable dashboard
- Mobile and web app functionality
- Split categories on transactions and line items
- Multiple reports available anytime
- Account sharing allowed
About Quicken Simplifi Budget App
The Simplifi budget app can do a lot of things for a lot of different budget types and users. Like any worthwhile budgeting app, you’ll need to connect your banking, credit cards, investment, and other accounts to the tool. This is generally considered a safe process, and Quicken uses 256-bit encryption and offers multi-factor authentication to keep your data safe.
Also, like other apps, you’ll need to spend a good deal of time organizing your uploaded transaction histories into categories. Simplifi allows several options for categorization, including category designations, split categories, tagging, and notes. Because the app will remember your input, the more information you provide and the more detailed you can be when labeling your transactions, the more helpful the app will be over time. Of course, you can also make changes at any time.
The three features that set Simplifi above the competition are its Spending Plan, Watchlist, and Reporting attributes. All based on your categories, tags, and other information you provide, these features allow you to view and analyze your budget and overall financial situation anytime and with just a few clicks.
The Spending Plan considers your expected income and expenses, compares them, and provides feedback about how well you’re sticking to your budget for the month or year to date.
The Watchlist feature works closely with the Spending Plan and keeps you up to date on where you stand for the month regarding how much you have left to spend in each category.
Finally, the Reporting feature ranks among the best for personal finance apps, regardless of price. Reports provided are numerous, customizable, and filterable by category, tags, source, payee, or just about any other designation that you’ve included when organizing your categories and transactions.
The Quicken Simplifi App Ratings
We were surprised to see Simplifi’s app ratings. We expected much higher numbers than 4.3 in the App Store and 3.9 in the Play Store. Further investigation reveals that several of the lower scores are at least a couple of years old. Some of the reports mention slow speed and glitches, which we didn’t encounter in testing and assume are past problems. More current complaints reflect minor change suggestions. For the most part, positive recent reviews cite simplicity and solid functionality as reasons for the high marks given.
How Much Does Quicken Simplifi Cost?
Simplifi costs $71.88 per year and doesn’t provide a monthly billing option. Quicken Simplifi doesn’t offer a free version, like Rocket Money does. However, that free version is quite limited anyway. Also unavailable is an actual free trial period.
Where comparable apps, like Monarch, offer seven days of free use before committing, Simplifi charges your subscription fee upfront and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, meaning you’ll need to wait for a refund if you cancel.
Quicken Simplifi Review: Editorial Rating
Trusted Company Reviews Rating Score for Quicken Simplifi: 9.5
Our rating system doesn’t play favorites. While we like YNAB for its unique user experience, and we like the potential we discovered in Copilot, Simplifi just plain beats out its competition in nearly every category. Our criteria reward the app with a 0.0 score out of 10, the highest in our reviews, for simply being the best product in the most categories for the most users.
| Cost | $71.88 yr |
| Monthly pay available | No |
| Free Trial period | No |
| Credit score tracking | Yes |
| App Rating (App Store/Play Store) | 4.3 / 3.9 |
What We Like
Quicken Simplifi impresses us in a number of ways. Besides being an effective and comprehensive budgeting tool, the app provides excellent reporting capability, investment tracking, market tracking, crypto holdings tracking, shared account capability, in-depth categorization options, account sharing, budget rollover options, and credit score tracking, which is unusual among comparable budgeting apps.
There’s an even more robust version of the app from Quicken called Classic. For a few dollars more, it provides even more functionality. But it’s designed for those who require complex budgeting and have plenty of time to devote to the cause.
What We Don’t Like
While we’re not big fans of the 30-day money-back guarantee, instead of simply providing a trial period, we can overlook that. However, after testing, I decided to keep a different app for myself despite Simplifi being my favorite. The app I chose to keep is Copilot. The reason is that Copilot’s platform can handle my variable income better than Simplifi can.
The fact isn’t surprising, given that Simplifi’s Spending Plan function relies heavily on having a good idea of what’s coming up in the way of income and expenses to provide worthwhile projections.
Quicken Simplifi Reviews
Quicken Simplifi reviews from a consumer standpoint are tricky to find. The best review sources we could find relate to the app itself. Reviews on Trustpilot and other sources relate to Quicken as a company and include all its financial tools and applications. That said, the company rates at 3.7 stars with consumers, with positive reviews from long-time Quicken users citing usefulness and reliability.
Who Quicken Simplifi is Best For
We recommend Quicken Simplifi for those looking for a robust budgeting tool. The app’s excellent reporting capability and customizable user interface make it excellent for seasoned budgeters and newcomers alike.
If you’re new to budgeting in general, you may struggle to get everything categorized in a meaningful way. However, the app allows you to grow into it while still providing useful feedback during the process.
For those with plenty of budgeting experience, especially with budgeting apps, you’ll notice a difference as soon as you start categorizing your transactions.
Simplifi Vs. YNAB
Simplifi and YNAB are both great for budgeting beginners but for different reasons. Where Simplifi focuses much attention on providing feedback based on your input, YNAB excels in teaching newcomers how to manage a budget from the start. While neither app offers any significant goal-setting tools, both can help you achieve results in that arena.
YNAB’s extensive trial period lasts over a month, allowing you to get a solid feel for it before spending any money on it. However, its cost is significantly higher than that of Simplifi. YNAB also represents an alternative to conventional budgeting tactics, whereas Simplifi takes a more traditional, projection-based approach. Simplifi also provides credit score tracking that the Monarch app doesn’t offer.
Overall, both apps are great for beginners and experts. Choosing one will depend on your budgeting style and preferences.
| Quicken Simplifi | YNAB | |
| Cost | $71.88 yr | $14.99 mo / $109 yr |
| Free Trial | None / 30-day money-back option | 34 days |
| Who it’s best for | Those looking for a wallet-friendly yet robust budgeting tool | Those seeking an alternative to traditional budgeting |
Is Quicken Simplifi Worth It?
Because Simplifi costs less than many of its competitors and provides more functionality than most of them, most users agree that the app is worth its price. Additionally, the detailed feedback that Simplifi can provide allows you to gain deep insights into where your money comes from and goes to, which can be of great help when looking for places to save cash.
Quicken Simplifi Alternatives
As I said earlier, Simplifi is my favorite budgeting app in our review series, but it’s not the one I chose to keep after testing numerous products. While I’m convinced that Simplifi will work well for just about anyone serious about maintaining a budget, it’s not perfect for everyone. Other apps provide different feedback, and their specifics vary. Here are some alternatives to check out.
- Copilot review
- YNAB review – Excellent for budgeting beginners
- Rocket Money review – Great for beginners and those seeking traditional budgeting style
- Monarch review – Great for couples
- Credit Karma review
Rating Breakdown
| Attribute | Rating Score 1-10 |
| Cost | 10 |
| Cost variables | 7 |
| Trial period | 9 |
| Features | 9 |
| Setup ease | 6 |
| Ease of use | 7 |
| Average time to effectiveness | 5 |
| Average app rating | 4.1 |
| Trustpilot review score | 3.7 |
| Other reviews score average | 4.2 |
| Editorial opinion score | 9 |
| Total Raw Score | 74 |
| Raw score averaged = TCR Rating Score | 9.5 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the price difference between Simplifi and regular Quicken?
What is the difference between Simpiifi and Classic?
Source
Logo image source: quicken.com
Deane Biermeier
