5 Quicken Alternatives Now that Quicken Online is Dead
Not all that long ago, Quicken was one of the leading giants in the personal finance sphere. Their software was robust and did everything you could want in a software. After creating Quicken Online, it became obsolete.
If you’ve been using that software and are looking for alternatives, you’re not alone. Let’s take a look at why Quicken Online was so great, and some alternatives you can use instead.
What Was Quicken Online?
Quicken software was created way back when people still used MS-DOS. (To the over-thirty crowd, you know what we’re talking about) It was built on a database structure. This made it a good option for managing complicated financial systems. But it also made cross-platform compatibility difficult. So Intuit, Quicken’s creating company, had to keep coming up with new models.
And, in fact, they still do. Quicken software is still a great option if you want a robust way to manage your personal or business finances. But it wasn’t best for beginners who were starting out.
This is why back in 2007, Intuit launched Quicken Online. One of the tool’s major differences was the fact that it did not track investments, which Quicken software users had come to expect. But it also made tracking everyday spending much easier.
Back then, financial software that actually synced with your bank accounts was a new concept. So Quicken Online jumped on that bandwagon early. You could connect your checking account directly to Quicken Online, and it would automatically import your transactions.
Quicken Online also helped people become more aware of their overall financial situation. For instance, new users would get a list of recurring bills suggested from their previous 90 days’ worth of transactions in each connected account. Then, users could set up bill reminders.
Quicken Online’s interface was sleek and user-friendly for the time, though today it would feel clunky and out of date. But it still gave users a quick way to get insight into their spending, saving, and other financial patterns.
Quicken Online also acted in an app-like way for iPhone users, specifically. These users could log into their account to view their updated balances and five latest transactions in each account. With transactions downloaded nightly, the feature is a far cry from the to-the-minute financial insight today’s apps offer.
The program eventually rolled out an online bill paying option. This was meant to help users manage short-term cash flow and to make their online bill paying easier. And Intuit, of course, tied Quicken Online into its TurboTaxOnline products, as well.
So What Happened to Quicken Online?
In short, it seems that other platforms were quicker to innovate than Intuit. They offered consumers better options than Quicken Online, and for cheaper. So in 2009, Intuit announced its $170 million acquisition of the still-popular financial management platform Mint.com.
Quicken then moved its Quicken Online users over to Mint.com, which was already a well-functioning platform for the most part. It did not go well. Quicken customers weren’t happy to lose their data, and the change was a frustrating one.
With that said, Mint.com still consistently ranks in the top ten lists for personal financial management software options. It’s in my personal top three!
In more recent history, however, Intuit ended up failing to preserve Quicken, which was overshadowed by its more popular products, QuickBooks and TurboTax. In April of 2016, Inuit sold Quicken to the private equity investment firm, H.I.G. Capital.
Upon acquisition, the CEO of Quicken, Eric Dunn, remarked that it was “…the start of a new era for Quicken..” , and that “The increased investment in Quicken…will accelerate those efforts and strengthen the value we bring to consumers.”
At the same time as the acquisition by H.I.G., Quicken announcing their new free budgeting feature Mac users which allowed customers to set, track, and analyze their budget.
What Other Options Are There?
If you’re looking for an alternative for Quicken Online, you’re in luck. The following money management apps are great options to consider.
Empower
Want a tool that accounts for everyday spending but has a heavier focus on long-term financial planning? Empower may be exactly what you’re looking for. Like Mint, it features a user-friendly, image-driven interface. And like Mint, it syncs with your existing accounts to bring in data automatically.
Unlike Mint, though, Empower has always had a heavy focus on investments. It helps you keep track of your net worth, and it also offers a variety of advising tools. For instance, you can use the investment checkup tool to find out your current asset allocation compared with Empower’s suggested allocation. In other words, it’s the most comprehensive financial tool on the market — and it’s free. You can read our full review of this tool here.
(Personal Capital is now Empower)
Money Patrol
What’s great about Money Patrol is it’s a budgeting tool aiming at helping people improve their financial situation. Plus, it’s affordable. Once you link your accounts, the app starts to analyze your spending habits. It’ll even send you reminders such as ones for upcoming bulls.
You can even dive into the detailed budget reports and look at the last six months worth of transactions. Plus there’s one for large and recurring transactions. If you’re not someone who is naturally organized, Money Patrol is an affordable option to make sense of where your money is coming and going.
MoneyPatrol is a money management service with the goal of helping people improve their financial health. For people who are a bit more disorganized with their finances, they will likely benefit the most from MoneyPatrol. The service helps improve financial health through analysis of your spending and sending reminders of upcoming payments. You can read our full review of this tool here.
Pocketsmith
Pocketsmith connects to over 12,000 financial institutions in order to import your transactions. That means you can add your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and even investment accounts so you know what’s going on across all your finances. You can also zoom in on each account to see more details.
While it’s great that you can see all your finances in one place, what makes Pocketsmith shine is its financial project feature. Basically, you can forecast as far as 30 years into the future with all your accounts. That way, you can get a pretty good idea if you’re on the right track with your finances. Plus you can play around with “what if” scenarios to figure out what to do to improve your situation — whether that’s saving more in your investment accounts to aggressively paying off even more debt. You can read our full review of this tool here.
Empower
Empower is an intuitive budgeting tool that offers the ability to customize categories for your budget and see monthly reports of your financial behaviors. You can also sign up for the Empower Card which gets you Cash Advance of up to $250^ and up to 2 days early paycheck deposit*. Empower also offers AutoSave which helps you set aside funds each week — it also sets aside more or less depending on whether the app detects if you have more money coming in.You can read our full review of this tool here.
Empower is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by nbkc bank, Member FDIC.
^ Eligibility requirements apply.
* Timing may vary by employer.
CountAbout
The great thing about CountAbout is that you can easily import your financial data from Quicken and Mint. That way you don’t have to worry about losing your data that you’ve been using on another budgeting app. Afterward, it’ll automatically sync your old and new financial data. If you’re after a basic budgeting tool that allows you to look at your transactions, spending, and see where you’re at, then CountAbout is a great choice. Plus, it’s ad-free, unlike Mint. You can read our full review of this tool here.
Not sure which of these options will work best for you? Get our breakdown of the best budget tools here.
Article comments
You say: In more recent history, Intuit has been trying hard to preserve Quicken, but Quicken was sold by Intuit in 2016 to a HIG capital…
Hi! I was VERY interested in signing up for “Quicken Home & Business” because it would allow me to have my personal and business transactions all in one place… But then I found out that their software is not available on MacOS. Is there anything else out there like it?
Quicken’s stability has increased tremendously. Bugs have also decreased since 2018. Accounts that would never sync correctly now work without failing.
I don’t like the subscription model, but the newer features and frequent updates mitigate it.
I wish it was closer to $50/yr
when Quicken switched to a subscription model I also looked for alternatives.
I found YNAB to be a good alternative. But still doesn’t have the reconcile and bill tracking features that quicken has. I also looked at Personal Capital and Albert. They are both good at tracking but PC seemed to always want to sell me on their investment services and it was more focused on investment. While Albert bill and transaction tracking is too automated. They do a pretty good job at a monthly review.
Why is Quicken Online dead? Please elaborate. I have a client using Quicken online for Business and we’re going to convert them over to QuickBooks. My issue is that I am trying to learn more about this Quicken Online which I have never heard of. There’s no information on their website and little info on the internet. Are they going to discontinue it? Do tell??
I understand your confusion. It appears this BLOG POST — “Article,” was initially published in 2007 — scroll through comments to the last one on screen, or earlier. Nd the “Last Updated” appearing just below the Blog post title appears to be tied to the “Comments” last made — not an update to the original blog post.
Quicken on-line is not dead yet. The company is still in business. Offering their software — not as a product but as a service. It requires subscription, euphemistically “membership,” that renews automatically on an annual basis. If the subscriber turns-off the automatic renewal, then at the end of their subscription period they loose functionality — including but not limited to the financial institution transaction download capabilities. And, from what I have read in the “Comments” to this BLOG POST, when the Quicken subscription expires the user is annoyed by banners prompting them to renew their subscription.
Being a Quicken user since 1985, when it was a DOS based product — not a subscription service, I am very dissatisfied with Quickens move to software as a service — requiring an annual subscription. I understand the need to change and charge for upgrades to software over time, however, the current mode of operations (since 2018) forces the consumer to subscribe — pay an annual fee where we might have paid that same fee every 3 years to upgrade, or loose basic functionality. Hence, if Quicken is not dead yet, it may died a slow death.
I am currently looking for an alternative to Quicken.
I’m confused. I have been using Quicken and Quickbooks for ages. All on desktop. I know both were Intuit products. Quickbooks and Mint still are and Quicken was bought by an investment company. The online Quicken was an option, and so are the desktop options. I’m still using it. The bill pay manager in Quicken ended sometime this year and a new product was introduced. I have never used the bill pay as Bank of America does just fine and it costs nothing. Quicken has an application you can put on your phone or ipad. You will need to sync to the Quicken cloud and it will show up on the phone. I have it installed but haven’t spent much time working with it. One of my friends has the new bill pay with Quicken and loves it.
Hi. Does anyone have a recommendation for me? I use Quicken only on my laptop. I want to get something I can use on my iPad and access when I am not home. The issue is it seems ALL the program import transactions from banks. I very specifically don’t want that. I enter all my transactions manually. I do this because it helps me spot fraud and keeps me accountable because I review every transaction. Is there an online program or app that has ledgers that I can enter and categorize myself?
Lisa, when you download transactions you have the option to review them all before accepting them into your registers. I highly recommend that. You also should still reconcile them on a monthly basis. I’m an accountant who’s been downloading for years and have indeed caught something once, immediately (I actually download and reconcile several times a week, even during tax season) and I’ve never missed anything this way. Nothing’s hidden.
I am in a financial mess. I primarily used Quicken Bill Pay to pay my credit cards or any bill for that matter. The website recommended upgrading to Quicken Premier and it stated on the website the ability to pay bills through the software but not online. I upgraded simply so I could continue paying my bills. I don’t see that option at all within the software. The only option it gives me is to see the bill and it provides a link to send me to the biller’s website for payment. Unfortunately, one billing service (First Progress) does not have a bill pay service. The website directs you to go through your personal bank for payment, but my bank also does not have a bill pay feature, so now I am utterly confounded. Are there any other alternatives to Quicken Bill Pay? The closest website that I have come across to pay bills online is Prism, but it does not allow me to add that particular bill. I appreciate any help that anyone may be able to provide. Thank you.
Paytrust. Been using it for over 20 years. They convert a physical mail box into a virtual office by scanning documents and posting them as bills. Payments are by ACH or they will cut a check and mail it. They also support 1000s of electronic bills via login accounts. Was part of Intuit but cut loose early on as Intuit does eventually for all products.
I’ve used Quicken ever since they bought and gutted Parson’s Technologies ages ago. Now that Quicken Bill Pay is replaced with Bill Manager, I spend lots more time managing bills. The feature I used and lost is the ability to set up repeating bills indefinitely (like mortgages for 30 years) and never have to touch it. I had my credit accounts set up to pay minimums every month so, even if I was not able to input total payments (like the month I broke my leg) I never was late. Now I have to keep track of due dates and bills that don’t download. More time & worry. Is there a product that has repeating payments like Quicken Bill Pay did?
All I need is a basic accounting package that allows me to enter transactions into a ledger, and balance the account at the end of the month (You know, like Quicken used to do before they went online subscription)
I don’t need financial software, and I don’t like when the site automatically downloads transactions from the bank (I find that they get entered twice… once when I enter them, and once when they get automatically downloaded)
Why can’t I find a software package that doesn’t require a subscription?
Have you tried GnuCash?
Use YNAB.com and their online product. Simple and great. I was a Microsoft Money user and then a devoted Quicken user after that. YNAB forced me to rethink some things, but in the end, I’m really happy with the move.
BoB, have you found an alternative yet?
Excel has a cool template called money in excel. It is free, tracks everything beautifully and can download transactions from your bank.
This article reviews three top online programs. However I have a problem with online. I do not want my confidential data residing on somebody else’s computer. As prolific as hacking has become, that is not safe. If you can even trust the online company. I am looking for a PC based alternative to PC based Quicken. I have not found one.
Moneydance, Moneyspire, or KMyMoney. All will fill your need.
Do any of the free Quicken options offer a way for me to be able to reconcile my check book each month like Quicken does?
Best regards’ Bill Wolfe
I haven’t found one. If you find one, Bill, please let us know. After my Quicken 2017 expired (I didn’t want to pay the hefty renewal), I found Quicken 2013, which I downloaded and use for only reconciling my check book and planning future expenses.
I have been in Quicken Hell for a week. Had to cancel an account at Bank of America and create a new one due to potential fraud. It has not gone well. Quicken and BOA don’t sync very well and there have been multiple password problems. Right now it seems that I have changed my vault password without knowing it and I can’t update account transactions. I also have no idea how to change the vault password. Quicken is rather insular and there is no help desk. The only quicken help is a third party from the far east that of course charges you. If any one out there knows what to do, please let me know
My Intuit-Quicken 2 year subscription just ended 01/21/2020. I did not choose to renew because I do not download my banking transactions, I do them myself, nor do I track investments with their software. I intended to continue using their software simply to track my income & bill payments. However, as of 01/29/20, my Quicken stopped functioning, I have a “permanent” warning bar across the top of my Quicken Home Screen advising my subscription is no longer active and must be renewed and another full page block down the entire right side on the same screen, blocking out one third of the screens across the system, again attempting to blackmail me into paying them $50.00 to “RENEW” my subscription for another year. I will never give this thieving company another penny.
My sentiments exactly. My subscription has not run out yet, but i am actively looking for an alternate.
You find a good alternative, one for only reconciling your check book and planning future expenses? I, too, didn’t want to pay the high renewal, which is valid for only a year.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7564
You can download Microsoft Money Home and Business from Microsoft.
They ceased developing Money way back in 2010, but then made a sunset version available, free. There’s no live help, but if you don’t care, then it’s perfect.
It STILL imports bank downloads just fine.
I used money way back in the day, then moved to quicken when MS money was discontinued. Like others, I’ve also hated the quicken method of having to pay every year.
I just found out money was still available and have been using it for 6 months.
It’s perfect.
I just tried this link and apparently the software is no longer available.
Why are they a “thieving company?” $50 a year for this software service is pretty reasonable. They constantly have to stay on top of security and update the software. Did you think they should offer it for free as a charity? I understand if someone chooses not to pay for this type of software. It is a personal decision where one chooses to spend their hard earned money. But why call them names because they charge for their product? Is Netflix bad because they charge a monthly subscription? Is Sony bad because they charge for the televisions sets? Is Apple bad because their iphones cost money?
I been using Quicken since 1998 and last upgraded was 2013. I enter all tractions manually including investment accounts, a small business and 3 personnel checking accounts. Never use online services. If someone only use it basically for accounting they should have a choice to opt out of any online services or updates for a set cost and not forced to pay a annual fee and when they actually add something to make it better it’s my choice to pay for the upgrade.
@Photoking, I could not agree more. The same people who want this product for free in perpetuity wouldn’t go to work at their jobs for free, or give unlimited service for a product they sold. If you want a simpler, desktop-only version buy one. If you don’t like the Quicken package, don’t get it.
Great! This blog content is really amazing and helpful,
Thank you so much to share this blog with us.
Moneyspire is a great Quicken alternative and a great app to manage your personal finances.
Hi Everyone, I’m just putting some feelers out there to see if there’s anyone interested in making a pretty substantial amount of cash in a short amount of time. Only thing this requires is that you have an active bank account or credit card. No cash is required up front to start this. Which means your account can be on a zero balance and that’s completely fine. Text +1(314) 856 1730, lets talk about the next deal
I use Quicken for my small business to record income, expenses, create Net Income statements, etc. Are Mint, Personal Capital or any other on-line site good for this type of small business activity?
Quickbooks Online is what I use.
“I enter all my bills into quicken as automatic payments. Even variable bills go in with a standing estimate ( slightly higher ). My deposits are done in same way. Now my checkbook give me my balance for next 30 days. So much easier than any budgeting ap I’ve ever seen. But most online programs like mint etc. dont allow for this. What I want is the same quicken program but cloud based.”
I do the same…It is a spending plan rather than a budget. So easy…
I too, do the exact same as you discribed and have been for 20 years.I also would like a cloud based program. Any suggestions?
You’re looking for QuickBooks Online.
I enter all my bills into quicken as automatic payments. Even variable bills go in with a standing estimate ( slightly higher ). My deposits are done in same way. Now my checkbook give me my balance for next 30 days. So much easier than any budgeting ap I’ve ever seen. But most online programs like mint etc. dont allow for this. What I want is the same quicken program but cloud based.
Hey, nice blog. Our company is due to implement a cms system in the next couple of months. I hope the transition is as painless as you suggest! From what I’ve read, it seems that the pros far outweigh the cons, so I’m actually quite looking forward to seeing the effect it might have.
I am having trouble finding the web site where I can go to sign up for Quicken on-line
complete JUNK ????? Do not even think to buy
I have used quicken for several years.
But I have had problems downloading from some banks while others present no problems.
Also the symbles are changed . What is there perpose. Like QDF file? Or QIF. Are these causing the downloading problems?
The new quicken home and business 2010 will replace quicken home and business 2009. That I’ve had trouble downloading my bank statements to.
I now have a new Dell desktop computer using Windows 7. My old computer was on Windows 2000 Professional and my old Quicken was 2000. I made backup disks from my old computer, however I can’t find anybody that knows how to install info from this CD to my new computer.
Can you point me in the right direction?
Bob
I guess I am an old fogy, but I just want to keep my own register. Will you please tell me how I can set up a register in the quicken progem
I guess I am an old fogy, but I just want to keep my own register. Will you please tell me how I can set up a register in the quicken progem
Everbank provides an aggregation of all your accounts, and lists your resulting net worth. Plus you can pay any bill online…all the while earning great interest rates on your checking account.
Everbank provides an aggregation of all your accounts, and lists your resulting net worth. Plus you can pay any bill online…all the while earning great interest rates on your checking account.
It is an interesting concept, but not one for me. If the business model fails, what you have come to rely on could disappear overnight.
Best Wishes,
D4L
Hey guys,
Shameless Geezeo plug here…a couple of features sometimes unknown about Geezeo.
-Aggregation for all account types including Investments (checking, saving, brokerage, loans, etc.)
-Simple spending targets and automated budget tracking
Lots more but I’ll leave it at that. Would welcome your feedback.
Thanks,
Pete Glyman
Co-Founder, Geezeo
http://geezeo.com/profile/pglyman
I’m not sure I would use this in its current state. I am in the same boat as you and am more concerned with tracking my investments and planning for the future. I’m sure they have that in development, and I might consider it then.
I love Mint. But if Quicken can offer wider authentication (Mint has trouble with some financial institutions) they could quickly become the front-runner.
Ron: I was more concerned with the exact URL being hidden. The domain itself not a big deal.
The best combination I’ve found is Yodlee for tracking (I access it through Fidelity) and Morningstar’s Instant X-Ray tool for asset allocation information. You have to enter the stock/mutual fund symbols and current balance into the X-Ray tool, but with Yodlee, everything should be right there and it shouldn’t take too long. If it does, maybe it’s a signal to simplify your holdings.
Flexo: Thanks for the follow-up.
Is there any service that can pull together a complete financial picture (including investment information, asset allocation)? I thought that regular Quicken could do it but when I tried to use it just for that Quicken would get all out of whack. Regular Quicken wants me to use all of its features, but I just want the financial picture!
not sure if it matters much to you or not, but the URL of the beta site is visible in the status bar at the bottom of your browser window in your screenshots. since you took the time to x out the URL up top, i didn’t know if it’s a big deal or not.
not that you can sign into the program anyways since they check against a list of testers.
jb: Quicken Online won’t pull in your investment account information. They’re looking at cash flow only, at least for the time being.
Sounds like a pretty interesting service, and closer to what I am looking for.
Maybe I should have stuck with it longer, but every time I tried to set up Quicken, the quirks would get so annoying and my financial picture would get screwed up that I just quit. With traditional Quicken it seems that you MUST use it daily to keep an up to date financial picture.
What I am looking for is an up to date financial picture of my net worth and investment performance (including asset allocation data). All this data is available online from my various banks/institutions, and if Quicken Online can pull it all together that is fantastic.