Best Online Finance Sites

Intuit buys Mint.com and makes it better

The big news in personal finance sites this year is Intuit's acquisition of Mint.com, finalized in November 2009. Intuit, maker of Quicken desktop accounting software, QuickBooks and TurboTax, launched Quicken Online in 2008 to compete for the personal finance sites market, but will now phase that site out and incorporate some of its features into Mint. Quicken Online and Mint.com were our two top picks last year, so the combination makes Mint the frontrunner again this year. We didn't find any comparative reviews written since the acquisition. Still, most aspects of Mint are unchanged so far, so earlier reviews are still relevant.

The Quicken/Mint merger is mutually beneficial. Mint.com benefits from Quicken's name recognition and relationships with financial institutions -- people may be more comfortable providing user IDs and passwords given Quicken's reputation, for example. Meanwhile, Quicken can leverage Mint's popularity (Pre-merger, Mint.com had an average of 700,000 active users per month, compared to Quicken Online's 100,000). Aaron Patzer, who founded Mint in 2007, sold it for $170 million and has said the service will remain free. He stays on as vice president and general manager of Quicken's Personal Finance Group, with most of his leadership team remaining as well.

Patzer says the plan is to "take the best of both products and combine them into Mint." Quicken Online users will be migrated over to Mint.com automatically and seamlessly; Quicken Online will be discontinued by this summer. One new feature Mint.com promises is the ability to add transactions manually, so you can record a cash transaction or a check that hasn't cleared your bank yet. Also, Mint will no longer use Yodlee's account aggregation platform, since Quicken has its own service. Mint.com has also replaced its online forum with a more interactive help site, powered by GetSatisfaction.com, where users will be able to answer questions from other users -- though Mint staff will also answer user questions posted to the forum. The new forum, reachable by clicking "help" on any page, is meant to be an alternative to one-on-one support emails, and to add a community aspect to the site. (Their old forums are still online, but are read-only.) Another new feature called Money Tweets uses Twitter technology to provide a real-time information stream of financial news and tips.

Mint.com can track your bank and credit card accounts, along with brokerage, 401(k), IRA and 529 college-savings plans; it also can keep tabs on auto loans, student loans and mortgages. It sends out alerts, warnings and account summaries via email and text messages, and last year added an iPhone application, a version of which will soon be available for Android phones. It also creates charts and graphs that show spending trends and other information, and lets users create custom transaction categories. In the last year, Mint has added some budgeting features; you can set monthly spending limits by category and carry over balances (or deficits) month-to-month. Mint identifies 401(k) accounts from previous employers and helps the user roll them over into an IRA; it even has a tool that can be used to calculate how much money would be saved with the move.

According to reviewers, what chiefly sets Mint.com apart from other online finance software is its Ways to Save feature. Based on data in the user's accounts, Mint suggests vendors that offer the same services the user is already paying for, but at lower prices. Mint.com might suggest a credit card with a lower interest rate than one the user currently has, for example, or a savings account that earns higher interest. Some reviewers see these suggestions as thinly disguised ads, since Mint receives revenue from some, but not all of these companies in exchange for suggesting their products; the companies are listed as sponsors of Mint.com. Others point out that it's easy enough to ignore these offers since they're clearly labeled; you don't have to click on the links that take you to them, and if you do click a link, it opens a separate window so you don't leave the Mint.com site.

Mint has received a great number of accolades from industry experts. Mint.com has won two Webby awards, an Omma award from MediaPost Publications and a Webware award from CNET in the productivity category. Time magazine, CNNMoney.com, PC World, TechCrunch.com and Finovate have given Mint awards as well. It is also a PCMag.com Editors' Choice, with the endorsement: "For a free, comprehensive money-management tool, Mint.com is your best option." Editors at Kiplinger.com also say that Mint is their favorite site "for a fresh view of your big financial picture." In December 2009 they named Mint's iPhone app the best personal finance iPhone app.

Yodlee MoneyCenter and Wesabe.com are worthwhile alternatives

Yodlee, the provider of account aggregation services for many other companies, launched its own free finance software website, Yodlee MoneyCenter, in 2006. Yodlee MoneyCenter automatically aggregates and updates accounts, and can track virtually any type of account, including banking, investment, real estate, credit card, loan and PayPal accounts. It even tracks members' frequent flyer miles and reward program points. In addition, unlike most other sites, Yodlee MoneyCenter enables users to pay bills and transfer funds without leaving the website, and to split transactions for more accurate categorization. It allows users to enter transactions manually, and creates reports showing spending trends; it even calculates a user's ongoing net worth.

Reviewers praise Yodlee MoneyCenter's capabilities, but criticize it for not being user-friendly. Its user interface is described as boring and sometimes confusing. CNNMoney.com, for example, calls Yodlee MoneyCenter the most comprehensive of four finance software websites reviewed, but says it lacks "eye candy," and that "it's hard to find the information to help you better manage your finances" on the site. The blog BrokeGradStudent.com sums up the overall opinion when he writes that "the interface is pretty dull and navigation gets confusing at times, but overall, it gets the job done." ConsumerReports.org, in a brief review of four personal finance sites, says Yodlee MoneyCenter is "the most comprehensive online program we tested," with no caveats.

Social networking features are popping up in online finance software. One site with a strong social networking component is Wesabe.com, which has been around since 2005. Wesabe offers, but does not require automatic account aggregation, giving users the option to export account data from their bank website, then upload it to their Wesabe account. In either case, the only information stored on the Wesabe server is the description and amount of each transaction, with no personal information attached. Wesabe.com does not automatically categorize transactions; instead, users assign tags, which are used to budget and track expenditures. These tags are integrated into the social networking aspect; user tags generate money-saving tips, based on information from others in the social network. You can also provide your own tips to other users, and create a web page where you post your goals and tips for others to view. Users with similar goals can form groups where they share information and cheer one another on.

Reviewers like the community aspect of Wesabe.com, and Moneywatch.com points out that it's one of the few sites that lets you import transactions from desktop finance software like Quicken. Since it tracks only banking and credit card accounts, and offers relatively unsophisticated reports and tools for managing money, experts recommend it primarily for younger users and those who want the support they may get from other users to set goals and save money.

Geezeo.com, another personal finance site with a strong social network, has stopped taking new registrations, but current users can still log on to the site. According to the website, Geezeo will now offer its personal finance management tools directly through banks and credit unions.