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Personal Finance · head to head

Acorns vs Money Manager

Acorns logo

Acorns

Personal Finance

Invest your spare change

From
$4/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Money Manager logo

Money Manager

Personal Finance

Personal and household finance tracker

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Money Manager has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Acorns a flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account; Money Manager databases created by version 1.4.x are not readable by current releases and produce the error MMEX database version 13 doesn't work with this MMEX version, requiring a manual conversion procedure
  • They diverge on capability: Acorns covers Round-up investing, Money Manager covers Expense tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Acorns and Money Manager actually diverge.

Attributes where Acorns and Money Manager differ
AttributeAcornsMoney Manager
Starting price$4/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, IOS, AndroidWindows, Mac, Linux, IOS, Android
Founded20122005

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Acorns

  • Round-up investing
  • Automated investing
  • Portfolio management
  • Recurring investments
  • Bank accounts
  • Credit cards
  • Debit cards
  • Web support

Only in Money Manager

  • Expense tracking
  • Budget tracking
  • Reporting
  • Multi-currency support
  • Import/Export
  • CSV
  • Windows support
  • Mac support

Both cover

  • IOS support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Acorns

  • Automated investing of spare change from everyday purchasesnot Money Manager
  • Retirement saving through Acorns Later IRA accountsnot Money Manager
  • Checking and high-yield savings alongside investingnot Money Manager
  • Custodial investing and debit cards for children through Acorns Earlynot Money Manager
  • Earning cashback that is invested rather than bankednot Money Manager

Money Manager

  • Free desktop personal finance tracking on Windows, macOS and Linuxnot Acorns
  • Running a portable personal accounts file from removable media on Windowsnot Acorns
  • Categorising spending and reporting on personal accounts without a subscriptionnot Acorns

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Acorns

  • A flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account
  • The emergency savings account and the 1 percent IRA match need Silver at $6 a month
  • Custom portfolios, Acorns Early for children and Money Manager are Gold tier only at $12 a month
  • There is no free tier

Money Manager

  • Databases created by version 1.4.x are not readable by current releases and produce the error MMEX database version 13 doesn't work with this MMEX version, requiring a manual conversion procedure
  • Linux is supported only through Flatpak builds for aarch64 and x86_64
  • The download page states no system requirements, deferring them to a separate compatibility page
  • There is no vendor support contract; the project is distributed as open source with no paid tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Acorns

$4/month
  • Bronze$4/month
    • Investment account with diversified portfolio
    • Round-Ups spare change investing
    • Acorns Later retirement account
  • Silver$8/month
    • All Bronze features
    • 1% IRA match on first-year contributions
    • Acorns Checking with no overdraft fees
  • Gold$12/month
    • All Silver features
    • 3% IRA match on first-year contributions
    • Investment accounts for kids with 1% match

Money Manager

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Expense tracking
    • Budget management
    • Reports

Which should you pick?

Choose Acorns if

  • You need round-up investing.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want automated investing.
Acorns review

Choose Money Manager if

  • You need expense tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux, IOS, Android.
  • You also want budget tracking.
Money Manager review

Questions people ask

Is Acorns or Money Manager better?
Neither clearly leads. Acorns starts at $4/month and Money Manager at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Acorns or Money Manager?
Money Manager has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $4/month for Acorns and Free for Money Manager.
Does Acorns or Money Manager run on more platforms?
Acorns runs on Web, IOS, Android. Money Manager runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, IOS, Android.
Can I use Money Manager for free?
Yes. Money Manager has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Acorns starts at $4/month.
What is Acorns best used for?
Acorns is most often used for automated investing of spare change from everyday purchases, retirement saving through acorns later ira accounts, checking and high-yield savings alongside investing, custodial investing and debit cards for children through acorns early. Of those, automated investing of spare change from everyday purchases and retirement saving through acorns later ira accounts are not what Money Manager is typically brought in for.
What can Acorns do that Money Manager cannot?
Acorns covers Round-up investing, Automated investing, Portfolio management, Recurring investments. Money Manager covers Expense tracking, Budget tracking, Reporting, Multi-currency support. Both handle IOS support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Acorns: What's the difference between Acorns Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans?

Bronze at $4/month provides basic investment accounts and Round-Ups investing. Silver adds 1% IRA matching, no-fee checking, and emergency savings at $8/month. Gold includes 3% IRA matching, kids' accounts with 1% match, and tax filing for $12/month. Each tier includes all features from lower tiers.

Source
Money Manager: How much does MoneyManager Ex cost?

MoneyManager Ex is completely free and open source software with no charges, subscriptions, or hidden fees of any kind.

Source
Acorns: Does Acorns charge hidden fees or commissions?

No, Acorns charges no hidden fees or commissions. Monthly subscription fees start at $4 and are the only recurring charges; all other services included in each tier have no additional costs.

Source
Acorns: What IRA match percentage does Acorns provide?

Silver tier provides 1% IRA match on first-year Later contributions. Gold tier increases this to 3% IRA match on first-year contributions. Both tiers limit matching to first-year contributions only.

Source
Acorns: What's the APY on Acorns Emergency Savings?

The Emergency Savings account offers 3.35% APY as of March 16, 2026, which is described as more than 8.5 times the national average savings rate. This feature is available on Silver and Gold tiers only.

Source
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