This is my in-depth review of Rocket Money, based on hands-on use of both the free and premium versions of the app. I tested its core features, including subscription tracking, budgeting tools, and bill negotiation, to see how well they work in real life.
As part of that process, I used Rocket Money to negotiate my own cable and internet bill.
Rocket Money is a useful freemium budgeting app at a time when many competitors now require an upfront subscription. The free version offers one of the better basic budgeting and subscription-tracking experiences we've tested, making it a solid option for tracking spending and identifying recurring charges without paying monthly fees.
Its standout feature is bill negotiation, which can work, but the cost matters. In my case, Rocket Money negotiated a $20 monthly discount on my cable and internet bill by switching me to a different plan. That's $240 in annual savings, but with a minimum 35% success fee, the upfront cost would be $84.
If you've been meaning to negotiate multiple bills and haven't gotten around to it, Rocket Money can surface real savings. Just be sure the upfront fee—35% to 60% of the first year's savings, charged only if a negotiation is successful—makes sense before moving forward.
Pros:
- Strong free budgeting and spending tracking for basics
- Pay-what-you-choose pricing offers flexibility
- Useful bill negotiation option if savings justify fees
Cons:
- Premium features require ongoing monthly payment
- Success fee of 35%–60% can add up quickly
- Customer complaints stemming from surprise negotiation charges
4 Things to Know Before Signing up for Rocket Money
- The free version's tracking and budgeting features are among the best we've tested. Key information, such as monthly cash flow and spending by category, is presented upfront, and transactions update once per day on the free plan. While it's not a comprehensive money-management app like Monarch (our top-rated paid budgeting app), it's more than capable for tracking spending and getting a clear, high-level view of your finances
- Pricing can be confusing. Rocket Money is free to use, with optional premium features priced on a sliding scale that can vary by user and over time. When I tested it, the suggested premium price ranged from about $3 to $12 per month, and you could move the slider to $0 to stay on the free plan, with the option to start a seven-day premium trial later. In addition, Rocket Money charges a 35% to 60% success fee on the first year of savings for bill negotiation services, which is only charged if a negotiation is successful.
- Rocket Money's success fee is paid upfront. If Rocket Money saves you money through bill negotiation or secures a credit on your bill, the fee is charged as a lump sum to the credit card you have on file. For example, if they save you $20 per month on your cable and internet bill, that's $240 in annual savings. At a 35% success fee, you would pay $84 upfront.
- This success fee is the source of many complaints. Based on user reviews on sites like Trustpilot, Reddit, and the Better Business Bureau, some users are surprised by the size of the upfront charge after Rocket Money negotiates a bill or secures a credit.
Rocket Money Free Account Overview
A free Rocket Money account covers the basics for tracking spending and recurring charges.
Free features include:
- Financial tracking with daily updated balances and transactions
- Monthly spending breakdowns, upcoming bills, and subscriptions
- Basic budgeting tools with limited customization
- Balance alerts for linked accounts
- Access to a basic credit score sourced from Experian
My experience and analysis: In day-to-day use, the free budgeting tools are simple but practical. Rocket Money pulls in past transactions to suggest spending targets, but it is worth reviewing those categories early. In my case, the app initially recommended an unusually high dining budget because it miscategorized health insurance as dining and drinks. This type of cleanup is common with automated budgeting tools, but it is something to watch for.
One free feature I found especially useful is the ability to mark large, non-recurring expenses as outlier purchases. This prevents one-time costs, such as replacing an appliance, from distorting your monthly or quarterly budget.
Overall, Rocket Money's free tools are not as robust as full-featured budgeting apps like Monarch or YNAB, but they are more than sufficient for tracking spending and maintaining a realistic budget.
Rocket Money Premium Account Overview
Upgrading to a premium account adds tools focused on automation, convenience, and shared access.
Premium features include:
- Cancellation Concierge to handle subscription cancellations
- Full credit reports and ongoing credit monitoring
- More frequent account syncing than the free version
- Shared account access for partners or spouses
- Chat support during business hours
- Data export tools for expense and tax tracking
- Smart Savings for automated goal-based transfers held with an FDIC-insured partner bank
My experience and analysis: Rocket Money uses a sliding scale pricing model rather than a fixed monthly fee.
When I tested the app, the suggested premium price ranged from $3 to $12 per month, while other reviewers commonly report a $6 to $12 range. Pricing can vary by user and over time, but all premium users receive the same features.
A seven day free trial is available, after which you are charged unless you cancel.
Some premium features may overlap with services you already have elsewhere. Many banks provide free credit scores, annual credit reports are available at AnnualCreditReport.com, and most paid budgeting apps offer frequent syncing and export tools.
Where Rocket Money's premium tier stands out most is in its Cancellation Concierge, bill negotiation services, and automated savings tools, provided you understand the associated costs and tradeoffs.
Rocket Money Bill Negotiation Review
One of the primary ways Rocket Money saves people money (and makes money for itself) is through bill negotiation.
This feature is available to all users — both free and paid.
We've classified it as a “premium” feature for the purpose of this review because it has associated fees, but you can still take advantage of it without upgrading your subscription.
Common bills Rocket Money negotiates include cable, internet, cell phone and home security.
Here's how it works:
- Either connect your account or provide Rocket Money a PDF of the bill.
- They contact the service provider and negotiate on your behalf.
- If Rocket Money saves you money (such as by negotiating your rate down), they take between 35% and 60% of the first-year savings as a single, upfront lump-sum charge to your credit or debit card. As we've noted elsewhere in this review, how much you pay within that range is up to you (the default suggestion is 40%).
To find out more about the bill negotiation service, I signed up for the premium version of the Rocket Money app to test it out.
In my case, Rocket Money was able to negotiate up to a $20 monthly discount on my Comcast cable bill. But in order to get that discount, I had to switch plans (and would have lost HBO).
Interestingly enough, I wasn't aware of that other package. It may have been an unadvertised plan used for customer retention, or a legacy plan that's just no longer promoted on the company's website.
Here's the email I received from Rocket Money:
Overall, I was impressed with the level of detail. This was far more than just a bot asking for a lower rate.
If I made the switch, and it saved me $20 per month, I would pay a percentage of the annual savings ($240) upfront.
So, if I choose to pay Rocket Money the minimum 35% of these savings, my debit or credit card would be charged $84 upfront, which is 35% of the $240 in first-year savings.
Cancellation Concierge
Rocket Money's free version allows you to see and monitor the different subscriptions you're paying for. If you want to cancel, it provides instructions as to the most efficient way to do so.
But the premium version offers a service that will cancel some of these subscriptions for you. Note that not all subscriptions are compatible with this service.
There is no success fee charged if Rocket Money cancels a subscription on your behalf.
Smart Savings
Smart Savings is an FDIC-insured bank account provided by Rocket Money.
The idea behind Smart Savings is to make it easier for you to save for small financial goals.
For example, if you have an upcoming vacation and you're looking to save $100 per month for that purpose, you can use your Smart Savings account to automatically withdraw regular amounts from your checking account.
We're big fans of having sub-savings accounts for financial goals, where you're setting aside money that is specifically earmarked. Most banks don't have this feature, which makes Rocket Money that much more valuable.
Rocket Money FAQ
Rocket Money doesn't charge to download and use the app, but it does charge a monthly fee for its premium services and takes a cut (at least 35% of the annual savings) of the amount it saves you when successfully negotiating better rates on your monthly bills.
Rocket Money's access to your financial information is read-only. If a hacker were to access your Rocket Money account, they could see how much money you have (and where), but they couldn't transfer it out of your linked accounts.
That said, Rocket Money uses bank-level security (256-bit encryption), which is the gold standard in the financial world. It accesses your financial accounts via a third-party provider called Plaid, which is widely used and trusted in the industry.
Note that Plaid does support two-factor authentication for some banks, but not all.
No. Rocket Money does not negotiate refunds from your financial institutions, although they do provide an in-app script and guidance to help you call and try to negotiate away those fees yourself.
Final Thoughts: Is Rocket Money Worth It?
If you have yet to fall in love with a budgeting app, we recommend giving Rocket Money's free budgeting app a test run.
As for the premium services, the question you have to ask yourself is this: In the past year, have you gone through your unused subscriptions and called up various service providers to negotiate lower bills?
If the answer is “no,” you'll likely benefit from using a service like Rocket Money.
Yes, you can do all these things for free. But if you've put off these tasks, a service like Rocket Money can knock them off your plate fairly effortlessly.
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