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Personal Finance · head to head

Fidelity vs PocketGuard

Fidelity logo

Fidelity

Personal Finance

Building a better financial future

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PocketGuard logo

PocketGuard

Personal Finance

In Your Pocket personal finance

From
$6.25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fidelity options trades carry a 0.65 USD per contract fee on top of zero commission; PocketGuard no free plan, only 7-day free trial
  • They diverge on capability: Fidelity covers Commission-free trading, PocketGuard covers Real-time spending alerts.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fidelity and PocketGuard actually diverge.

Attributes where Fidelity and PocketGuard differ
AttributeFidelityPocketGuard
Starting priceOn request$6.25/month
Pricing modeltransactionsubscription
Founded19462012

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, IOS, Android), 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 Fidelity

  • Commission-free trading
  • Retirement planning
  • Advisory services
  • Research tools
  • Investment accounts

Only in PocketGuard

  • Real-time spending alerts
  • Budget tracking
  • Goal setting
  • Spending insights
  • Credit cards

Both cover

  • Bank accounts
  • Web support
  • IOS support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Fidelity

  • Commission free trading of US stocks and ETFsnot PocketGuard
  • Holding IRAs, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accountsnot PocketGuard
  • Trading bonds, options and mutual funds from one accountnot PocketGuard

PocketGuard

  • Tracking spending and bills against a personal budgetnot Fidelity
  • Finding and cancelling recurring subscriptionsnot Fidelity

Where each one falls short

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

Fidelity

  • Options trades carry a 0.65 USD per contract fee on top of zero commission
  • Non Fidelity mutual funds carry a 49.95 USD transaction fee per purchase
  • Secondary market bonds cost 1.00 USD per bond, while new issues are free
  • A foreign settlement fee of 50 USD applies per trade
  • Margin rates are tiered by debit balance, from 11.825 percent below 25,000 USD down to 7.50 percent at 1 million USD or more, against a base rate of 10.575 percent effective 12 December 2025
  • Margin liquidation by the broker costs 32.95 USD per liquidation

PocketGuard

  • No free plan, only 7-day free trial
  • Monthly subscription at $12.99/month costs $155.88 annually if not switched to annual billing
  • Lifetime plan at $149.99 is relatively expensive for personal finance software

Pricing, plan by plan

Fidelity

On request
  • Brokerage$undefined/month
    • Commission-free trading
    • Research tools
  • Advisory$undefined/month
    • Personal advisor
    • Wealth management

PocketGuard

$6.25/month
  • Premium - Monthly$12.99/month
    • Budgeting tools
    • Expense tracking
    • Unlimited bank accounts
  • Premium - Annual$6.25/month
    • Same as monthly
    • $74.99 annual charge saves $81/year
  • Lifetime$149.99/one-time
    • All features
    • No recurring fees
    • Lifetime access

Which should you pick?

Choose Fidelity if

  • You need commission-free trading.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want retirement planning.
Fidelity review

Choose PocketGuard if

  • You need real-time spending alerts.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want budget tracking.
PocketGuard review

Questions people ask

Is Fidelity or PocketGuard better?
Neither clearly leads. Fidelity starts at On request and PocketGuard at $6.25/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fidelity or PocketGuard?
Fidelity starts at On request and PocketGuard at $6.25/month.
Does Fidelity or PocketGuard run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Fidelity best used for?
Fidelity is most often used for commission free trading of us stocks and etfs, holding iras, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accounts, trading bonds, options and mutual funds from one account. Of those, commission free trading of us stocks and etfs and holding iras, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accounts are not what PocketGuard is typically brought in for.
What can Fidelity do that PocketGuard cannot?
Fidelity covers Commission-free trading, Retirement planning, Advisory services, Research tools. PocketGuard covers Real-time spending alerts, Budget tracking, Goal setting, Spending insights. Both handle Bank accounts, Web support, IOS support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PocketGuard: How much does PocketGuard cost?

PocketGuard Premium costs $12.99/month for monthly billing or $6.25/month when billed annually ($74.99/year). A one-time Lifetime plan is also available for $149.99.

Source
PocketGuard: Does PocketGuard offer a free trial?

Yes, PocketGuard offers a 7-day free trial with full access to all features. No credit card is required to start the trial.

Source
PocketGuard: What is the annual savings with PocketGuard's yearly plan?

PocketGuard's annual plan costs $74.99/year ($6.25/month), saving $81 per year compared to paying $12.99 monthly ($155.88/year).

Source
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