Detailed Monarch Money review: Are you sampling budgeting apps? Monarch Money is one of the top personal finance apps today, and you may want to consider it.
It can take time to track your finances if you have several banks and online financial accounts. With so many accounts and transactions, it can get overwhelming to keep an eye on your goals, investments, real estate, savings and net worth.
This is where Monarch budget app comes in; it will incorporate into charts and spreadsheets and have them for you under one platform.
But is it worth your time and money? Do the features make the experience worth it?
Read this comprehensive and honest Monarch budget review.
What is Monarch Money?
Monarch Money is one of the most common budgeting apps today.
The app was co-founded by Val Agostino, Jonathan Sutherland and Osman (Ozzie) Osman. Today, the company is headquartered in Covina, California, United States.
The company was founded in 2018, and since then, it has gained much popularity in helping people track the flow of their finances.
Monarch Money has many transformative features that help you track your spending, investments, net worth, budget, etc.
We look at its outstanding features in detail below.
Note: While Monarch Money is an excellent place to view and consolidate your bank accounts, assets, liabilities and brokerage assets, it cannot be used to move money or pay for anything. It is just a platform to help you view your finances under one platform.
Related: Mint vs Monarch Money Budgeting App: Which is the best?
Monarch App Review: Features
Monarch Money quickly became people’s favorite budgeting app because of its outstanding and well-thought-out features. Looking at the Monarch Money reviews online; you will quickly realize that people love it because it is not your average budget app; it has so many features.
You will also love that some of their features are unique; you will not find them in other budgeting apps in the market.
Read on for some of the top Monarch Money features.
Are budgeting apps safe? Find out here.
Money Flow Under One Platform
Monarch Money lets you see all your money and assets flow in one place.
It syncs with over 11,200 financial institutions, including bank accounts, PayPal, etc.
It transmits transaction data from all your accounts and creates a spreadsheet.
From there, you can see categories and track your expenses, savings, cash flow, etc.
Goal Setting
If you are saving money with no goal, the saved money will soon find use. You should always have a goal for putting money aside.
Are you saving for a house? Are you saving to create an emergency fund? Or is it for early retirement?
Monarch Money has a feature that lets you set and follow your goals. For instance, if you are saving for early retirement, you may have to cut your spending and redirect more money to the retirement kitty.
However, you will be better off seeing your progress toward the set goal, which is what Monarch Money does best.
Nothing is more motivating than seeing how far or near you are to your goal; it gives you the needed push to keep going.
Also Read: Why Everyone should consider having a digital budget planner.
Investment Tracker
You must have heard the typical saying that you cannot acquire financial independence from savings only.
You need to invest and do it correctly to achieve the liberty you dream of.
The thing with investments is you need to keep a keen eye on them to know what direction you are headed. This is another service Monarch Money offers.
You can sync in your investment apps and even online brokerage accounts. Monarch Money will then transform the data and create a chart to help you quickly visualize the performance of your investments.
Recurring Bills Tracker
Monarch Money helps you keep an eye on your subscriptions.
The app automatically detects recurring bills and organizes them in a calendar where you can easily visualize them.
It will also send you a notification three days before the subscription renewal. This lets you decide if you want to cancel it on time or if you want to keep repaying for it.
This is a helpful feature because many people forget to cancel their subscriptions in time and therefore end up paying for services they don’t need.
Net Worth Tracker
Monarch Money is one of the most superior net worth calculators out there. If you are looking to put value on your assets and liabilities, you have got to give Monarch Money a try.
It will get you a figure based on your:
- Credit and debit cards,
- Investments,
- Loans,
- Bank accounts, online accounts such as Apple Card statement, PayPal and Venmo,
- Real estate, in collaboration with Zillow,
- Vehicles and other liabilities,
- Artwork,
- Collectibles.
Some of these assets and liabilities can be added manually, while some are picked up automatically from your account.
Account Collaboration
Looking at Monarch app reviews, one user said this is the app’s feature they loved the most as it allowed them to jointly budget with their partner.
Monarch Money is a family-friendly app if you are looking for a budgeting app to let you share a space with your family members.
You can invite your partner and other family members to your account free of charge.
Don’t worry; you don’t have to share every aspect with the invited members. You choose what to share and what not to.
Personalized Advice
Monarch Money has a tool that lets you answer to ask questions and get some financial advice.
To get started, you will answer a short, simple questionnaire that will then provide answers to help you reach your goal.
You can also get personalized advice concerning issues like saving money monthly, saving up for a home, and making money choices.
Ad- Free
If you hate ads popping up while you use apps (don’t we all do?), you certainly will love the experience Monarch Money will give you.
With Monarch Money, there will be no distracting pop-ups, videos and sidebars. This is an excellent feature because ads can be annoying and distracting, especially if you mistakenly click them.
One Monarch money review noted that this was their best thing about the app.
Customization
Another great feature is Monarch Money lets you customize your dashboard.
When your account is created, the app will let you choose what features to display on the dashboard, in what order, and what features you want hidden.
You can drag and drop the features you frequently use and conceal those rarely used.
This way, you can build your best viewing and user experience.
No Up-sells
One top way fintech companies make profits is by recommending and selling products to you.
A lot of their clients sometimes end up having to dodge sales.
Luckily, Monarch Money does not do up-sells. Therefore, you do not need to worry about receiving and dodging offers you may not need.
Monarch Money Pricing
Monarch Money has free and premium versions.
The free version has limited features and allows only two bank accounts, while the premium version allows unlimited connection.
The premium version costs $14.99 per month. You can pay $99.99 annually if you want to save some money.
For frugal people, the Monarch Money cost may seem high and unnecessary. But with all the features and value the app offers, it is worth the price.
Besides, if you look at Monarch vs Mint features, Monarch offers much more, is well-developed and offers a better experience; it’s worth the price.
From the Monarch Money reviews, a few people thought that the pricing was a bit too high and opted for other cheaper competitors.
Note: They offer a 7-day free trial so you can cancel before the deduction if the features do not appeal to you.
Monarch Money Review: Pros
- Has so so many budgeting, saving and investment features,
- Allows for collaboration with family members,
- Displays no ads,
- Syncs with over 11,000 financial institutions,
- Has no up-sells,
- Allows you to customize your dashboard,
- You can add notes and up to three receipts or images besides each transaction,
- Has a recurring bill tracker that reminds you to cancel before renewal.
Money Money Review: Cons
- Limited features are available for crypto owners; they only sync with Coinbase.
- No credit score monitoring
Monarch Money Review FAQS
Is Monarch Money Safe?
Monarch Money does not move any money; it only uses read-only data from your accounts. You don’t have to worry about the safety of your money. Your data is also safe with Monarch Money.
Besides, you can enable multi-factor authentication to keep your account safe.
Additionally, Monarch uses Plaid as its basis. Plaid has strict safety and security standards.
Is Monarch Money Legit?
Monarch Money is one of the safest and most legit budget apps in the market. It organizes your data well, helps you visualize your goals, and track your investments and money flow. It has incredibly developed features that will give you your money’s worth.
Can I use Monarch Money if I don’t live in the United States?
Monarch Money is yet to open it’s doors to non-US market. At the moment it only hosts users in the US and syncs with financial institutions operating in the United States.
Is Monarch App Free?
No, Monarch Money is not free. It is a subscription-based application, and thanks to this, it does not display ads and do up-sells.
You can choose the free version, but this needs some crucial features. For instance, with the paid version, you can connect unlimited bank accounts and financial institutions, while the free version allows only two accounts. Besides, the free version has no investment tracking, real estate tracking, crypto tracking and other features.
Additionally, premium accounts are given priority when it comes to customer service.
What Currency Does Monarch Money Use?
Monarch Money is US-based, and uses the US-dollar. Yes, you can sync accounts with other currencies such as the euro, but the conversion may end up not being as accurate.
Does Monarch have an app?
Yes, Monarch Money has an app that can be used on iOS and Android. From the Monarch money reviews, one user stated that you can have customize the app to look and serve you differently from the experience on the website.
How do I delete my Monarch account?
Deleting your Monarch Money account is pretty straightforward. Go to “manage subscription” then select “cancel subscription.” You will then see a button to delete your account. Be sure before you proceed because the step is irreversible.