Of all the money apps I’ve used over my financial life, Mint was probably the most important. Most of you reading this probably know what Mint is, but for those who don’t, Mint was a financial tracking app that let you see all of your financial accounts in one place. I first signed up for Mint on February 1, 2013 – over 10 years ago (I can confirm this because I searched my emails and found the welcome email from Mint on that date).
It’s crazy how different my life was back then. I was still in my third year of law school. My wife and I had only been dating for about a year at that point. And, probably the craziest thing of all – I didn’t even own a smartphone (my phone was one of those sliding phones with a keyboard and it didn’t have internet).
Back then, I would log into the Mint website to see what my account balances looked like. There wasn’t much to look at – all I had was one bank account and whatever student loan money I had for the semester.
Mint became a lot more important to me once I started my first real job. It was then that I started tracking my income and expenses religiously, mainly because I had a bunch of student loans and wanted to pay them off quickly. Over the years, I got into the habit of logging into Mint each morning to make sure all of my accounts looked normal. I got a lot of satisfaction from seeing my net worth climb as I paid down my student loans and put money into my retirement accounts.
Unfortunately, as often happens, the fintech world changed. Mint was bought by Intuit a few years ago and then Intuit decided to shut down Mint. As of March 23, 2024, Mint is gone. And now I’m stuck looking for a new financial tracking app to replace Mint.
The Free Mint Alternatives
What made Mint a good app was that it worked fairly well and most importantly, it was free. Ideally, I’d find a free replacement for Mint. Unfortunately, the current free financial tracking apps aren’t very good. In my search for alternatives, I found two free apps similar to Mint.
Credit Karma is the first potential option for a free financial tracking app and is where Mint has been pushing its users towards (Intuit owns Credit Karma as well). Credit Karma, however, is not a good app. The interface isn’t great and the short of it is that this is not a real replacement for Mint. If you’re looking for a free alternative to Mint, I don’t think Credit Karma is the answer.
The other free option is Empower (previously known as Personal Capital). Historically, this app has been promoted a lot by bloggers and other content creators because it offers good affiliate commissions (I actually still promote it on this blog). As a basic financial tracking app, it’s actually not that bad and I think if you wanted to go with a free app, Empower is probably your best bet.
My main issues with Empower are two-fold: (1) it sometimes has issues with linking to my different accounts and the connections will often break, and (2) once you hit a $100,000 net worth, they will call you and try to get you to sign up for their financial advisor services. I’d be aware of these two things if you decide to go with Empower as a free Mint alternative, but if you want to stick with free options, Empower is probably the way to go.
The Paid Mint Alternatives
So, those are the two free options. I think Credit Karma is basically unusable and Empower is passable if you’re willing to deal with the negatives that come with it. If you don’t go with the free options, then your options are paid apps.
There are several subscription-based Mint alternatives, but the three main ones I looked at were Monarch Money, Simplifi, and Copilot. The pricing for all three apps is fairly similar at around $95 to $100 per year or about $8 per month. Simplifi comes in the cheapest at $4 per month or about $50 per year.
All three apps have sizeable Reddit communities, so you can get some help from people and learn about other people’s experiences by checking out these different subreddits (here are the different subreddits: Monarch Money, Simplifi, Copilot).
Paying money for an app that was once free is a bummer, but it’s the situation we’re in now, so we have to roll with the punches. And I get it too – these apps need to make money to be viable businesses. From a price standpoint, a cost of $8 per month isn’t that big a deal if you get value from these types of apps. I’d still prefer it to be free, but I think I can get $8 per month of value from any of these apps.
I Decided To Try Out Monarch Money
Ultimately, I ended up going with Monarch Money over the other financial tracking apps. The main reason Monarch Money appealed to me was that it looked the most like Mint. My understanding is that a lot of the people at Monarch Money used to work at Mint, so that probably explains why the apps look similar. I like how Mint looked, so having a financial tracking app that looks similar to Mint is appealing to me.
Monarch Money also claims to sync with more accounts than the other financial tracking apps. I have no idea if this is true, but if it is, that’s another plus, especially since I do have some weird accounts that never could link with Mint (my 5% interest savings account, Raisin, is a good example of an account that could not link with Mint but does appear to be able to link with Monarch Money).
So far, Monarch Money has been working out well for me. The app works similarly to Mint and syncing seems to work well with all of my accounts other than issues with my state 457 plan, which I’ve always had issues linking properly.
I will note that I did not personally try out Simplifi or Copilot, but both of those apps looked pretty good. My issue with Simplifi is that it’s owned by Quicken and I’d rather use an app that is the sole focus of the company. Copilot looked interesting too, but the app seemed almost too cool for me and had a different look to it than what I was used to with Mint. There are also many other financial tracking apps out there (YNAB, Rocket Money, Tiller, etc). If I were more motivated and willing to deal with the hassle, I’d try all of these different apps, see how they performed, and write about it here, but I don’t have the time or motivation to try every app.
So for me, Monarch Money is what I’m going with, mainly because it seems to be the closest in appearance to Mint and will make for the easiest transition.
Final Thoughts
In the end, I think it’s a good idea to have an app to track your financial accounts. You don’t need to check your financial accounts every day like I do – that’s probably a bit too obsessive – but at least tracking your accounts once per month is a good idea. You mainly want to make sure that everything looks normal. Ideally, you want to see your net worth slowly climb over time as well.
For many people, a free option like Empower will be good enough. You’ll be able to check your accounts and won’t have to pay for it. Just remember that it’s not a perfect app. Also remember that when a product is free, that means you’re the product (so you’ll be getting ads and they’ll try to sell you stuff).
If you’re willing to put some money into a financial tracking app, then pick one that resonates with you. All of these financial tracking apps do offer free trials, so you can always see what they’re like before committing to them. Monarch Money had a 50% off code when I signed up, so that’ll make the app cost $50 for the first year. That’s totally fine for me.
I also have a Monarch Money referral that gives you an extra month free, but the 50% off promotion should be better right now, so I’d use that instead.
This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I’ve reviewed:
Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that’s perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull’s current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) – Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
Upgrade ($300) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $300 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $300 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Chime ($100) – Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) – GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) – Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin’s favorite fintech apps include:SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You’ll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.5% Savings Accounts. I’m currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it’s free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I’m now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
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