Nav.it Review: A Financial Planning App Focused On Women

Nav.it is a personal finance app designed to help young people (women in particular) navigate the complex world of finance. It purports to help users gain confidence in paying off debt, saving for multiple goals at once, and even investing.

It promises a community feeling, and even statistics around “people like me.” For example, people like me earn $**,*** more or less on average, people like me have a higher or lower interest rate on their debt, etc.

Want to know more about the Nav.it app? Here’s what we know after testing it.

Our Nav.it Experience

When I first logged into the app, I had high hopes. Unlike many “cold” financial apps, this one had a feeling of warmth. It communicated using language that I understood. Everything from the font to the images chosen seemed to fit my demographic.

Then, I connected my account. The app provided a nice message: “Be patient, this will take a minute. We’re using your data to build a budget.”

And to be sure, it managed to build a budget, but the numbers were just off. I figured that the huge budget deficits that I saw (on the order of $60,000 per month) were the result of some funky math. After all, I had just rolled over an old 401(k) and bought a house and sold another house, and put the money from the proceeds into a brokerage account. So a few big transactions were probably throwing me off.

But how could I fix it? I started digging. But the transaction screen would only allow me to look at the last month’s worth of transactions. I figured out how to recategorize some of these, but I struggled to find the big transactions that were throwing off the budget.

I tried to build my own budget using Nav.it’s budget builder (and my own knowledge of my finances), and struggled with that. I decided to come back to the app the next day for further review. By then, all my accounts had disconnected, and I couldn’t get them to reconnect. My third attempt, a few days later (using my spouse’s phone), yielded similar results.

Unfortunately, my multiple experiences with the app said that this app is high on promises, but low on delivery. The low-quality experience disappointed me on two levels. First, this app is not in beta. I did not have to enter a wait list, so I expected a “full app” experience. Second, the marketing around the app was so good, that I was willing to give the app three chances and it failed all three times.

Right now, few financial technologies are oriented towards a uniquely feminine experience. Few have well-written advice combined with personalized financial experiences. I really thought Nav.it was going to deliver, but it didn’t.

What Is Nav.it?

Nav.it is a financial planning app that’s specifically designed for women. It integrates financial advice with budgeting and goal-setting features.

What Makes It Special?

Right now, Nav.it differentiates itself by being an online/offline app. It offers discounts on financial coaching and certain types of financial therapy. The goal of the app also seems to be to promote an online/offline community of financially minded women who can support one another.

As far as the app world goes, Nav.it has a “content-forward” approach, which means that the articles and financial advice are super high-quality. The design of the app is also really nice (but unfortunately, a great front end can’t cover when the app itself doesn’t work).

Best Features in Nav.it

By far the best feature in Nav.it is its articles. Part of this is because the app itself didn’t work during testing. But the articles are high-quality in their own right. They include pithy advice, and complex topics are broken down simply.

Where Nav.it Didn’t Shine

Unfortunately, Nav.it didn’t shine anywhere else. The technology seems to have been released prematurely. Maybe six months to a year from now, the app will be where it needs to be. But for now, it’s unusable.

How Much Does Nav.it Cost?

Nav.it is a free app. The services including financial coaching cost extra, but the prices weren’t made clear in the app.

Should You Download Nav.it?

Right now, I can’t recommend downloading Nav.it. Consider alternatives such as the Emma app, Monarch, or Mint to get a better experience.