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Home » Money » Budgeting » Simplifi By Quicken Review

Simplifi By Quicken Review

Updated: January 6, 2023 By Hannah Rounds

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Simplifi Review

For years, Quicken reigned as the number one personal finance software on the market.

But over time, more companies have released free personal finance budgeting and tracking software services. Companies like Tiller Money allow power users to create bespoke financial spreadsheets, and Personal Capital and Monarch have made easy-to-use apps that track every part of your financial life.

While it’s a little late to the party, Quicken has recently released Simplifi, a mobile app for tracking personal finances.


Simplifi by Quicken

Quick Summary

  • A basic personal finance tracking and budgeting app
  • Still lacking in-depth tracking that Quicken users really want
  • $3.99 per month after your 30 day free trial
OPEN AN ACCOUNT

Simplifi by Quicken Details

Product Name

Simplifi

Services

Spending Tracking and Budgeting

Annual Cost

$47.88/yr ($3.99 per month)

Promotions

None

Table of Contents
What Is the Simplifi App?
What Makes Simplifi Special?
Best Features in Simplifi
Spending Plan
Watchlists
Enhanced Reporting
Where Simplifi Doesn’t Shine
How Much Does Simplifi Cost?
How Does Simplifi Compare?
Should You Download Simplifi?

What Is the Simplifi App?

Simplifi is a personal finance app designed to help users manage their cash flow and get a big picture view of their finances.

The app is mobile-friendly and available as a desktop website.

What Makes Simplifi Special?

Since Simplifi is a basic financial tracking and budgeting app, it can be tough to stand out.

However, Simplifi has several nice features. For example, it has a great net worth tracker that allows you to see your net worth broken down by account or all together.

The app also has a simplified budget called a spending plan where users track income, fixed bills, and discretionary spending.

If you’re into detailed spending reports, splitting transactions, or ignoring certain transactions (such as work expenses that will be reimbursed later), the app works very smoothly. The visualizations of spending were especially good (on both the desktop and app versions).

Best Features in Simplifi

Simplifi has two amazing features.

Spending Plan

The first is its spending plan. The spending plan essentially forecasts your income and fixed expenses for the month. The difference between the two is your “spending plan,” or the discretionary income you have to spend.

Some months, the extra income will go towards a vacation, and other months it will go towards snow tires for your vehicle and copays at the doctor. Instead of worrying about the details, you can focus on spending within your means.

Check out this planned spending feature here:

Simplifi Review: Planned Spending

Watchlists

The watchlists, which give users a way to keep tabs on specific spending targets, are also helpful. If you love going out to restaurants with friends, but you want to limit monthly spending to $150 on restaurants, you can set up a watchlist.

With the watchlist, you can easily see how much money you have left in your “budget.” That way, you can decide whether it’s a boozy-brunch kind of a day, or a split-a-Little-Caesars-pizza-four-ways kind of a day.

Enhanced Reporting

Simplifi reporting lets users filter reports by category, payee, tag, account, and more to offer fresh insight into spending behaviors.

For example, you can filter a spending report by category to see how much you’ve spent on groceries or filter by payee to see your spending on Amazon. Additionally, a monthly summary reports make it easy to compare your finances month over month.

Where Simplifi Doesn’t Shine

Although Simplifi gives a great overview of cash flow, it doesn’t do much to motivate users to save money or pay off debt. The design of the app, especially the “spending plan” feature, makes it too easy (in my mind) to ignore savings, investing, and eliminating debt.

That said, the spending plan feature can work well as long as users already have a lot of their finances automated. For example, if you save for retirement through work, and you automatically draft to a savings account for short- and mid-term goals (such as a vacation, new furniture, or a vehicle fund), the spending plan will work perfectly. There is no need to beat yourself up over natural fluctuations in spending.

How Much Does Simplifi Cost?

The first 30 days with Simplifi are free, but it costs $3.33 per month after your initial trial. The price is somewhat lower than most “high-end” personal finance apps (such as Tiller Money, You Need a Budget, or Emma).

Even with a relatively low price, I’m not sure that Simplifi is worth the price. Apps such as Emma, Personal Capital, and Clarity Money offer similar functionality for free.

How Does Simplifi Compare?

Simplifi is not the only budgeting and money tracking app available. In does a lot of things well, but it's still lacking in several areas that might not make it the best choice for you.

For example, if you're looking for a specific budgeting method, YNAB might be a better choice for you. If you have a lot of investments, Personal Capital might make sense.

See this quick comparison below, or check out our full list of the best budgeting apps.

Header
Simplifi Comparison
Simplifi Comparison: YNAB
Simplifi Comparison: Personal Capital

Rating

Pricing

$47.88/yr

$11.99/mo or $84/yr

Free

Net Worth Tracking

Retirement Planning

Cell
OPEN ACCOUNT
READ THE REVIEW
READ THE REVIEW

Should You Download Simplifi?

Right now, I can’t recommend Simplifi for most people. While it offers excellent functionality, I don’t think that the spending plan and watchlist features are compelling enough to make the app worth the monthly cost. While these features are somewhat unique, many apps offer similar functionality in my opinion - for free!

While they are continuing to develop the app, I think it's a wait and see how much it improves before paying.

That said, if you’re the type of person who wants to give yourself a 10,000-foot view of your finances, and only get alerts when something is wrong, Simplifi could be the app for you.

Simplifi Review
  • Product Cost
  • Ease of Use
  • Tools and Features
  • Customer Service
Overall
4

Summary

Simplifi is a new personal finance app from the makers of Quicken that focuses on spending tracking and budgeting.

Pros

  • Comprehensive spending tracking and goal setting
  • Ad-free money experience
  • Highly customizable

Cons

  • It is a paid app, versus many of the free options available
  • Still lacks some of the investment features of more robust apps
  • Try Simplifi
Hannah Rounds
Hannah Rounds

Hannah is a wife, mom, and described personal finance geek. She excels with spreadsheets (and puns)! She regularly explores in-depth financial topics and enjoys looking at the latest tools and trends with money.

Simplifi By Quicken Review

Editor: Clint Proctor Reviewed by: Claire Tak

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, or other advertiser and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Comment Policy: We invite readers to respond with questions or comments. Comments may be held for moderation and are subject to approval. Comments are solely the opinions of their authors'. The responses in the comments below are not provided or commissioned by any advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any company. It is not anyone's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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