Credit Karma vs Empower vs YNAB - Best Budgeting Apps
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Whether you’re a Millennial just getting started or a retiree seasoned in money management, budgeting software can make setting up and following a budget much easier. The only problem? There are hundreds of budgeting apps out there to choose from.
Basic budgeting apps allow users to link their bank accounts and track their spending. In contrast, others offer additional features such as investment tracking, free credit score monitoring, data export options, and flexible budget categories. To help you find the right budgeting app, here are three mini-reviews for Credit Karma, Empower, and YNAB.
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About each brand
Credit Karma
Having acquired the online budget tracker and financial planner, Mint, Credit Karma now helps make budgeting easier. Credit Karma and its corresponding mobile app, backed by Intuit (i.e., the company that created TurboTax and QuickBooks), allow users to see their financial position across multiple accounts, including credit cards, loans, and investment accounts. It also sends users an alert whenever there’s a bill increase or an upcoming due date.
Read a full review on Credit Karma.
Empower
Empower, formerly Personal Capital, is a digital platform that allows users to see the bigger picture of their finances and set goals for a better financial future. Empower offers a free and paid version that is browser and app-compatible. The free version provides users with various financial tools, including a savings planner, retirement planner, cash flow charts, and a free hidden fee analyzer tool.
Like Credit Karma, Empower displays users’ financial information on one convenient dashboard. It then creates a personalized summary of the user’s spending habits, net worth, and investment portfolio. For users who’d like to work with a human advisor, Empower offers three tiers of management services: Investment Services for $100,000 to $250,000 in assets, Wealth Management for $250,000 to $1 million in assets, and Private Client Services for users with more than $1 million in assets.
YNAB
YNAB (which stands for "You Need a Budget") is a paid, personal budgeting software. Potential users or new customers can choose to start a free trial with YNAB for 34 days, according to the YNAB website. The paid plan is $14.99 per month or $99 per year. Unlike most “leave it and forget it” personal finance apps, YNAB is a hands-on budgeting software that teaches users how to spend and save. Users can use YNAB’s features, budgeting tools, videos, and more online or via a mobile app.
In addition to working with you, the YNAB website has more than 100 free, live online workshops, all of which teach users how to master the art of budgeting in 20-minute intervals.
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Key features
Credit Karma’s features
Credit Karma offers various features, including auto-syncing, a free credit score page, a portfolio snapshot, and more. Here are a few of Credit Karma’s key features:
- Credit Karma dashboard. The Credit Karma dashboard allows users to manage everything from one convenient dashboard, including their current cash flow, credit cards, investments, loans, and more. Members can also view their home and land value via Credit Karma’s dashboard.
- Automatic syncing. Credit Karma allows users to add multiple financial accounts to their dashboard via a secured and encrypted sign-in service. Once added, Credit Karma gives users a quick overview of their account balances, transactions, and due dates.
- Free credit score. To help members better understand where their credit stands, Credit Karma displays a free credit score (powered by Equifax) at login. Unlike typical credit reports, Credit Karma provides each user’s info, including the user’s age of credit, number of inquiries, and total accounts, in an easy-to-read format.
Empower’s features
Empower offers users a free, paid version of its site and accompanying app. Here are a few key features of Empower’s free app:
- 401(k) analyzer. Empower’s 401(k) Analyzer is designed to unearth hidden fees. The analyzer displays exactly what each user’s fund costs to simplify things. It also suggests alternative allocations into lower-cost funds so members can save even more.
- Net worth calculator. Net worth isn’t exclusively for celebrities. Empower’s Net Worth Calculator provides its users with their net worth based on their assets and liabilities, or what they have minus what they owe.
- Budgeting tools. Empower’s free financial dashboard also allows users to track spending, analyze their spending categories and individual transactions, and monitor their current cash flow.
YNAB’s features
YNAB is free for new customers for 34 days. After that, YNAB charges $14.99 per month or $99 per year. Here are some key features of YNAB’s hands-on money management software:
- Goal tracking. YNAB is about helping users reach their savings goals (whether weekly, monthly, or by date). With YNAB’s goal-tracking tools, members can set and achieve their goals.
- Joint budgeting. YNAB makes it easy to budget with a partner via its sharing settings. YNAB also gives users 24/7 access to real-time information, making it easier to figure out how financial planning works when there’s a joint account involved.
- Support. If there’s one thing evident from YNAB’s website, they’re there to help. With over 100 free, live, web-based financial advice workshops, users can rest assured knowing their money is in good hands.
Summary of Credit Karma, Empower, and YNAB
Money Management Service | Best For | Monthly Fee | Budgeting |
Credit Karma | Tracking income and expenses | $0/month | Yes |
Empower | Big-picture savings and investment insights | $0/month* | Yes |
YNAB | Hands-on budgeters | $14.99/month or $99/year | Yes |
Empower offers three tiers for paid money management services: Investment Services for $100,000 to $250,000 in assets, Wealth Management for $250,000 to $1 million, and Private Client Services for users with more than $1 million in assets.
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Costs and fees
Credit Karma
No hidden fees here! Credit Karma is completely free to use. If you’re wondering how that’s possible, its site and parts of its app include targeted advertisements. Users may find the ads relevant to their interests and search history. Through advertising, Credit Karma can generate revenue.
Empower
Empower offers several free tools, but its premium financial planning services require an annual fee based on the user’s investment portfolio size. Empower provides three tiers for management: Investment Services for $100,000 to $250,000 in assets, Wealth Management for $250,000 to $1 million in assets, and Private Client Services for users with more than $1 million in assets.
According to the company website, Empower charges an all-inclusive annual management fee “at a fraction of the cost of traditional financial institutions” for Investment Services and Wealth Management Clients. For the first million dollars, fees are 0.89%.
For Private Clients who invest $1 million or more:
- 0.79% on the first $3 million
- 0.69% on the next $2 million
- 0.59% on the next $5 million
- 0.49% over $10 million
YNAB
New users can try YNAB’s services for free for 34 days. Once the free trial is up, YNAB is $14.99 per month or $99 per year. The good news? For users who decide that YNAB’s money management software isn’t their cup of tea, YNAB offers a No-Risk,100% Money-Back Guarantee in which they’ll provide a full refund, no questions asked.
According to the YNAB website, new budgeters save up to $600 in the first two months of using their service and more than $6,000 after one year.
Net Worth Calculator
Pros and cons
Credit Karma pros and cons
Pros
- Provides members with weekly summaries via email.
- Users can opt-in to receive alerts via email or text message whenever they have an upcoming or pending bill.
- Auto-syncs your financial data into one, easy-to-read dashboard.
- Allows users to view and monitor their credit scores for free.
Cons
- Credit Karma has limited investing features.
- Some users may experience issues when trying to sync their bank accounts. It seems the syncing option breaks often.
- Does not allow users to import data from Quicken.
- No bill pay feature.
Empower pros and cons
Pros
- Provides users with free, comprehensive investment management and financial planning tools.
- Offers auto-syncing so that users can easily see all of their financial accounts in one place.
- The mobile app and Personal Capital website are user-friendly.
- The paid version of Personal Capital includes a personal (human) advisor.
Cons
- The paid version requires a $100,000 minimum deposit.
- Personal Capital’s annual fees are higher than most of its competitors.
YNAB pros and cons
Pros
- YNAB is free for 34 days.
- For those who decide that they don’t like the service, YNAB will send a full refund.
- Available on multiple devices, including smartphones and tablets.
- Syncs with more than 12,000 banks.
Cons
- Once the trial period has ended, users are required to pay $14.99 per month or $99 per year.
- Does not offer bill tracking or bill pay features.
- No investment tracking feature.
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FAQs
Is Credit Karma safe to use?
Yes, Credit Karma is safe to use. Credit Karma uses a number of security measures, such as 128-bit SSL encryption, in addition to monitoring through third-party sites like TRUSTe and VeriSign, to ensure its users’ info is kept under lock and key.
How much does Credit Karma cost monthly?
Credit Karma doesn’t cost anything to use.
Can I pay bills with Credit Karma?
No.
Is Personal Capital really free?
The Personal Capital app is free to use. For users who’d like to take advantage of the site’s investment management services, there’s an annual fee that starts at 0.89% and a minimum account balance of $100,000.
Does Personal Capital sell your data?
Although Personal Capital does collect data, it does not sell or allow users’ information to be used for any purpose other than to market their products and services to said users.
Is there a free version of YNAB?
While YNAB isn’t free, new customers can sign up for a 34-day free trial. After the trial period has ended, YNAB is $14.99 per month or $99 per year.
What does ‘Age of Money’ mean in YNAB?
YNAB is built on a four-rule system: give every dollar a job, embrace your true expenses, roll with the punches, and age your money. According to the YNAB site, the age of money literally equates to the amount of time it's been sitting in your bank account. For example, if you have $50 in your bank account and it sits there for 30 days (because you’ve yet to spend it), your money is 30 days old. Which, according to YNAB, is an “excellent age of money.”
Is YNAB worth paying for?
The answer to this question is subjective, of course. But according to customer reviews and the YNAB website, this service really works. On average, new budgeters save $600 in their first two months and more than $6,000 in their first year of using the app.
The bottom line
Implementing budgeting software into your money management system couldn’t hurt, regardless of your financial situation. While browsing, remember the following features: account linking, spending categories, and reporting. Remember, learning to budget effectively will keep you from living paycheck to paycheck and allow you to save for an emergency fund, too.
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Writer
Tabitha Britt is a New York-based freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared on INSIDER, the Huffington Post, and Taste of Home. When she's not glued to her computer screen, she can be found walking her beloved pooch, Biscuit.
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