Personal Capital vs Mint: A Comparison
In this day and age, apps have made our lives so much easier. There is an app for everything and the financial world is not privy to it. People want to keep track of their money and the modern way to do it is via apps. Before we begin our comparisons, let us learn about the apps.
About Personal Capital
Founded in 2009 by Bill Harris, Rob Foregger, Louie Gasparini, and Paul Bergholm, Personal Capital is a financial app that helps you with financial advice and personal wealth management. The company headquarters are in Redwood Shores, CA, United States and its app also operates and serves only in the US. The company has 1,193 people on its payroll. Personal Capital was previously known as SafeCorp Financial Corp until the name change happened in 2010 and the company then publicly launched in 2011. Currently, the company has assets worth 21.9 billion dollars under management. The app has free as well as paid premium services that it offers to users. The app is available to download on Android and Apple devices or their services can also be used via the website. Personal Capital also partnered with Yodlee to ensure user data safety. Empower Retirement purchased Personal Capital for 825 dollars plus contingency payment in July 2020. Today the company offices are present in US and Canadian states like San Francisco, CA, Denver, CO, Dallas, TX, and Atlanta, GA. Now let’s look at the Mint app before we move to Personal Capital vs Mint comparison.
About Mint
Formerly known as Mint.com the company was founded in 2006 and is presently known as Mint or Intuit Mint as Intuit is the parent company. This is an app built for US and Canadian citizens which helps them with personal finance management. The app is available to download for Android and iOS users and the services are also usable through the website. The company headquarters are located in Mountain View, California, United States, and the founder of the company is named Aaron Patzer. Earlier the company was also tied up with Yodlee before shifting to Intuit. Intuit bought the company on September 13 in 2009 for 170 million dollars. Mint is free to use but there is also a premium service available for users willing to pay 4.99 dollars monthly. The app allows users to use various calculators and budgeting tools which help people manage their finances while at the same time, they can also save money. Now that we know about both apps it is time for Personal Capital vs Mint comparison where we will break down both the apps and their features to find out the better app.
Personal Capital vs Mint
So we now have two personal finance or finance apps that we know about and both of which operate in the US and Canada. But now is the time to find out which app is better overall as we turn to Personal Capital vs Mint comparison to determine the app that benefits the users better than the other.
Budget
When it comes to budgeting the competition is almost nonexistent with Mint winning it cleanly. Mint is a budgeting app while Personal Capital is a more investment-centric app. With Mint, you can look at your spending on different categories separately and can also put a cap on each of the categories as you wish. You can also customize and create the budget categories that you wish. However, with Personal Capital you can just look at your expenses in detail for various categories and that’s about it no more no less budgeting features are offered. So Mint takes the lead in this comparison.
Investment
Like the Mint fared better than Personal Capital previously, it is now time for the latter to do the same to the former. Using Personal Capital you can not only manage your investment but also can analyze the fee using the app. However, Mint is a budget-centric app and so the only investment-related thing that you can do on the platform is to check your portfolio value now and then, and that’s it. So here Personal Capital comes level with Mint on points.
Charge
While both apps are free to download for Android and iOS devices and also usable via the website that is not the whole picture. Mint offers additional services for 4.99 dollars a month but these are features that you can easily skip out on so more or less the app is wholly free to have and use. However, with Personal Capital the paid version gets you a Wealth management program which is the feature that takes control of your funds and manages them actively. The fee ranges from 0.89% for the first 1 million dollars to 0.49% for over 10 million dollars. Though it might not look like much, the fact that a charge is involved means that Mint automatically emerges victorious yet again.
Alerts
Ever been worried about forgetting a bill payment or having to pay more money for missing a deadline on any bill? Worry not anymore both these apps have an alert feature in place that will remind you about any upcoming bills in advance so that you miss out on timely payments. So here both the apps face a tie as there is nothing to separate them here.
Retirement
When it is a financial app that you are dealing with you would want it to cover all the bases. It should help you with your current money situation and also help you plan your future. With Mint, you are limited in this aspect as it only helps you with your current money situation and on a short-term basis where you can plan your budget and save for a vacation or something else. However, with Personal Capital you get access to a retirement planning tool that gives you some guidance on how much to save for retirement based on your goals. So with that Personal Capital vs Mint comparison is back on level terms as the former takes the point here.
Customer Service
When it comes to problem-solving, a good customer service team could be instrumental in ensuring that your company does better than its competitors. That is the case here as well as Mint has a customer service team available from 5 am to 9 pm. During this window, you can chat with support agents online and address your issues. This window is bigger for Personal Capital users who get customer service availability around the clock, which means they offer customer service 24 hours a day. Also, the customers of Personal Capital have reportedly been happier customers when it comes to getting a response and help from the customer service team. So with that, Personal Capital finally takes the lead in this comparison.
Security
When it comes to the security aspect we have mentioned above that both apps make sure to keep our data safe. Both apps offer financial services and money is involved so it is not only important but basic thing that the apps have good security measures in place and that is what they do. So it is yet again a tie.
Usage
Both apps are downloadable on Android and iOS devices. You can also use the services of both Mint and Personal Capital by logging in through their website. So the options to use either platform are similar. This means both apps are available to access on the go. Thus, we have another tie in place. The region these apps work in could be used as a tiebreaker but again both apps are usable in the US and Canada which is again a tie. So after all the features and comparisons being drawn, Personal Capital vs Mint battle ends up being won by Personal Capital marginally. However, the point to be kept in mind is that both these platforms are different and are not in direct competition. Therefore the points mentioned above should not be used to choose one app over the other but rather to understand that both these apps used together would cover more services for you. Also Read: Truebill vs Mint: A Detailed Comparison
Mint Premium
So as we mentioned above Mint is usually considered to be a free app because most of its services are available for free. However, for users who wish to have access to certain additional features, the app comes with a premium version that is paid. This paid version might not be necessary but the users have the option to opt for it and that is why we will look at Mint premium and the stuff it has to offer to the users.
Ad Free
The basic characteristic of any paid service involves it becoming ad-free. Most apps support ads to make revenue and Mint is no different but Mint premium is different. By subscribing to the premium version you get yourself an ad-free version of the app where only the Marketplace tab will have third-party ads.
Advanced Options
As mentioned in the Personal Capital vs Mint comparison section, the premium subscription gets you certain advanced features. These features include being able to access features that allow you to predict your spending and a breakdown for each category, indicators that alert you if you are projected to overspend in some category, you can download Mint data from the app in CSV format, you are allowed to share a picture of your spending graph and lastly, you also get to compare your spending graph to that of other users of the app.
Billshark
Mint has partnered with Billshark and a few other platforms. What Billshark does is it works with your subscription provider and cancels the subscriptions that you are no longer using or need. This helps you save money and is a very useful tool that can only be used by premium users.
Other Features
You get access to Arcade for premium users which has two exclusive games where you get spending and saving tips. As of now, the Premium service is only available to iOS users. Also, the charge for Mint premium is 4.99 dollars per month. Though there are a handful of extra features that the premium version offers the users of the app can do without them. That is why the app is usually referred to as a free app. Now that we know all about Mint we need to introduce you to the YNAB or You need a budget app. It is yet another budgeting app like the Mint which is more of a competitor to it than Personal Capital. So let’s introduce you to the app before we head to compare the two. Let us now compare YNAB vs Mint.
About You Need A Budget
Released in 2004 this is a personal budgeting app created by Jesse Mecham. The platform can be operated on Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS. The app helps users save money to help savings grow. YNAB is usable for free for the first 34 days after which you can pay for it monthly or yearly. Students can get to use the app for free for a year if they submit the necessary documents. iOS users have been able to use the app since 2010 while the Android version rolled out in 2011. Now that we know what YNAB is, it’s time to compare YNAB vs Mint. Also Read: Cash App vs Venmo vs Zelle: Which is the best?
YNAB vs Mint
Just like we compared Personal Capital vs Mint we are going to compare YNAB and Mint by looking at their features and breaking down all the clashing points. Ultimately we will find out which app is the better of the two for budgeting purposes and otherwise.
Operation
So with YNAB what you do is you allocate each dollar of your income to either savings or expenditure. This means if you get 1,000 dollars a month then you instantly segregate the amount you expect to use in the month on various expenses and the amount that you plan to save from the total income. With Mint the basic purpose is to see all your financial accounts in one place and to be able to see where all your money is being spent. Both apps are budget-centric and savings oriented and have their benefits, it is hard to separate them here and so let’s call this one a tie.
Reports
Since both are financial apps they both give you certain reports. YNAB gives you reports for your spending, net worth, and your income vs expense. While with Mint you get reports for spending, income, net worth, and multiple other categories. So here Mint does what YNAB does and more which is why the first point in YNAB vs Mint goes to Mint.
Unique Feature
YNAB users can use the app to plan deep into the future which means planning for retirement or some milestone in the future is possible with this app. Whereas, with Mint, you get to check your credit score for free and are alerted when there are changes to it. Depending on the personal choice of the user and present and future aspects this section is yet another stalemate in this comparison.
Usability
Both these apps require you to add your bank accounts, to begin with, which is the easy part. However, from there Mint is easier to use and navigate through, while YNAB is a bit tougher to understand and get used to. So unlike Personal Capital vs Mint comparison, Mint here seems to be having the upper hand and is easily winning every alternate category so far.
Pricing
We have repeatedly seen and established that Mint is a free app. You can pay 4.99 dollars per month to get premium services but it is not required. The free version of the app more or less gives you access to all the essential features that you might require and so the free version is good enough for the users. However, when using YNAB you need to know that the platform is only free for 34 days after that you have to pay 14.99 dollars monthly or 98.99 dollars yearly as a subscription fee to be able to use it. At the max, the students get to use the platform for free for a year by submitting the necessary documents. So yet again it’s a point for the Mint app. So after features have been put to comparison and the clash is settled, Mint emerges as the undisputed better app of the two. For the Personal Capital vs Mint comparison, the Mint app was compared to an app that is not a direct competitor but rather a different service provider. However, now when two direct competitors were compared, Mint emerged as the clear winner. Let us continue our YNAB vs Mint comparison. Also Read: Yotta Savings Interest Rate, Fees, Review
Pros and Cons of Mint and YNAB
While the battle has been won by Mint in the YNAB vs Mint comparison it remains to be seen as to what pros and cons both apps have to ensure that the users know everything there is to know about the respective apps.
Pros
YNAB is a future-oriented app that you can use to plan ahead of time as to how you manage your income by segregating expenses and savings. The Mint app on the other hand is easier to use. YNAB has a good user interface and it claims to help you save more money than any other app of its kind. With Mint, you get an app where you have access to data related to your money on the go. The Mint app allows you to connect to a large number of financial institutions and so most US and Canadian citizens can use the platform. The YNAB app helps you plan expenses and savings that too in advance. Most of the features on the Mint app are free to use. As for YNAB, it does not show you ads or offers.
Cons
The YNAB app is not easy to use and it might take some getting used to before you understand it well. With Mint, you can only plan and budget for the current month and this might also make it less ideal for people wanting to pay debts or loans. Unless you interact with the YNAB properly and with the utmost discipline the app might not provide you with maximum benefit. On the other hand, the user interface of Mint is not so attractive or user-friendly. YNAB requires you to compulsorily pay money after the free trial period. The free version of Mint is filled with ads and offers. We have now compared Personal Capital vs Mint and YNAB vs Mint. In the end, we can say that Personal Capital is the best app among the three with Mint in second position and YNAB coming last. However, to each their own, which means our opinion and comparison might mean nothing to you as your preferences might be different.
