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Personal Finance · head to head

Betterment vs Moneydance

Betterment logo

Betterment

Personal Finance

Your path to financial independence

From
$5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Moneydance logo

Moneydance

Personal Finance

Cross-platform personal finance management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Betterment digital automated investing charges $5 per month fee for accounts under $24,000 balance; Moneydance the free trial is limited to 100 manually entered transactions
  • They diverge on capability: Betterment covers Automated investing, Moneydance covers Bill tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Betterment and Moneydance actually diverge.

Attributes where Betterment and Moneydance differ
AttributeBettermentMoneydance
Starting price$5/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionone-time
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, Mac, Linux, IOS, Android
Founded20082001

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Betterment

  • Automated investing
  • Retirement planning
  • Financial advisory
  • Goal tracking
  • Web support

Only in Moneydance

  • Bill tracking
  • Investment monitoring
  • Budget tracking
  • Financial forecasting
  • OFX import
  • Windows support
  • Mac support
  • Linux support

Both cover

  • Bank accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • IOS support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Betterment

  • Small investors starting with automated investing at no minimum balancenot Moneydance
  • Fee-only digital wealth management for accounts under $24,000 via $5/month flat feenot Moneydance
  • Premium advisory access for high-net-worth individuals with $100,000+ balancenot Moneydance

Moneydance

  • Desktop personal finance management on macOS, Windows and Linuxnot Betterment
  • Importing and reconciling bank and credit card transactions locallynot Betterment
  • Tracking investments and budgets without a cloud-only servicenot Betterment

Where each one falls short

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

Betterment

  • Digital automated investing charges $5 per month fee for accounts under $24,000 balance
  • Premium advisory service requires minimum balance of $100,000 in eligible investments
  • Foreign transaction fees apply to checking account (though reimbursed after the fact)
  • High-balance fee discounts only available above $1,000,000 account balance

Moneydance

  • The free trial is limited to 100 manually entered transactions
  • A one-time Buy Once purchase covers Moneydance 2024 plus one free upgrade to the next major release, not all future versions
  • Bank connection features are sold separately as the Moneydance Plus subscription rather than included in the one-time purchase
  • Business use requires one licence per computer, while the household licence covers personal use only

Pricing, plan by plan

Betterment

$5/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Betterment review.

Moneydance

On request
  • Perpetual License$59.99/month
    • Full feature set
    • Free updates

Which should you pick?

Choose Betterment if

  • You need automated investing.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want retirement planning.
Betterment review

Choose Moneydance if

  • You need bill tracking.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, Linux, IOS, Android.
  • You also want investment monitoring.
Moneydance review

Questions people ask

Is Betterment or Moneydance better?
Neither clearly leads. Betterment starts at $5/month and Moneydance at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Betterment or Moneydance?
Betterment starts at $5/month and Moneydance at On request.
Does Betterment or Moneydance run on more platforms?
Betterment runs on Web, iOS, Android. Moneydance runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, IOS, Android.
What is Betterment best used for?
Betterment is most often used for small investors starting with automated investing at no minimum balance, fee-only digital wealth management for accounts under $24,000 via $5/month flat fee, premium advisory access for high-net-worth individuals with $100,000+ balance. Of those, small investors starting with automated investing at no minimum balance and fee-only digital wealth management for accounts under $24,000 via $5/month flat fee are not what Moneydance is typically brought in for.
What can Betterment do that Moneydance cannot?
Betterment covers Automated investing, Retirement planning, Financial advisory, Goal tracking. Moneydance covers Bill tracking, Investment monitoring, Budget tracking, Financial forecasting. Both handle Bank accounts, Investment accounts, IOS support, Android support.
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