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Quicken was traditionally known as one of the best personal finance software options for desktop users. However, the Mac version had traditionally lacked the features found in the PC version, and that was disappointing to many users. While last year's version was a big improvement, it still wasn't there for everyone.

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After using Quicken for Mac 2019 for several weeks, we're happy to see that Quicken has continued the improvements over prior years. It's not as robust as we'd like to see yet, but it's definitely been moving in the right direction.

So, how did Quicken for Mac 2019 do? Honestly, it's an incremental improvement over 2018. But we like the direction it's going, and if you can get a great deal on pricing (which you typically can on Amazon or when they have a sale), it could be worth it.

• Incremental improvements over 2018 version
• A great mobile app with seemless sync across platforms
• Price is still a concern, but if you can find a great deal, go for it

Quicken on Monday released the 2018 Mac edition of its personal finance software, making upgrades in areas like bill payments and investments, but primarily transitioning to a subscription-only model with Starter, Deluxe, and Premier packages. I’m still using Mac Quicken 2007 for one feature only. The HISTORY of every single buy/sell/dividend, including the account in the listing, price of security, and amount of transaction. I simply absolutely need this history and CAN’T FIND IT IN ANY OTHER APP even the new Quicken 2018, which I also use as Treasurer of organizations.

Key Features Of Quicken For Mac 2019

Quicken For Mac continues to build on the many traditional features that Quicken users expect. As always, it comes with great spending tracking (compared to other online options like Mint and Personal Capital), it has investment tracking, and budgeting.

For 2019, they have improved the usability of the platform, but the navigation is still a little challenging. Even after using Quicken for about a week, I still find it hard to get to different reports. It's not intuitive.

They also improved the web interface for Quicken. If you don't want to use the desktop software, and prefer a web version (like what you get with Mint), you can have that now. But I prefer the app over the web version.

Here's what the home screen looks like:

Instead of being under reporting, most of the things you'll care about are actually available by clicking on the 'Acccount' sidebar - for example, your income and spending isn't viewable under 'Reports', but it's actually visible under 'Banking'.

Here's an example:

Here's another example. One silly thing that's missing is having income and expenses together on one page. I think there is a report you can run, but there's no easy to access dashboard that compares your income to your expenses (except in the mobile app, which is odd).

Quicken for Mac dramatically improved their investment tracking for 2018, but this is one area that didn't continue to improve into 2019.

There are still issues here. When I imported my accounts, some positions transferred the cost basis, while others didn't. Not a huge deal, but very odd. Also, it's still missing key reports that I valued in the Windows version - most notably the asset allocation and ability to play with your allocation in the program.

See the investment screen here:

Also, Quicken touts that you can now see investment performance, but it consistently showed 'N/A' for every account. My guess is that Quicken calculates this in the program, versus using historical data. That is a good thing in that you get a real snapshot of your performance, but a bad thing in that you need the Quicken app to consistently update to make it happen.

Here's what the screen looks like:

If you check the comments below, you can find other frustrating experiences with the investing tracking in Quicken for Mac. It has so much potential, but it's just not there yet.

Quicken 2019 Mobile App

The Quicken 2019 for Mac mobile app is probably my favorite feature that has been improved. This app has existed since the last few versions, but I found it glitchy years ago and gave up on it. For this review, I started using it again, and it's actually a bit more user friendly than the desktop version.

Here's the home screen of the mobile app:

As you can see, you get your account balances and recent transactions right at the top of the page. You can link this with Quicken's new credit card, and easily categorize your transactions on the go. It then seamlessly syncs with the desktop version.

One of the features I love on the mobile app, which is missing in the desktop version, is easily being able to see your income and expenses against each other.

Here's what that looks like:

I don't know why this can't just be included on the main page. There's also something funky up with the net income over time graph... maybe a glitch?

The pricing for Quicken For Mac 2019 continues to be a focus point for most users. Quicken changed their pricing model last year to a subscription-based model, instead of a one-time fee. I see this as both good and bad.

It's bad, because many Quicken users kept their software for years, and never upgraded. For users, this was fine - because you could avoid bad rollouts like Quicken for Mac 2017. However, to continue to receive updates and banking information, you had to update every few years anyway or Quicken would cut you off.

It's good, because my hope is with more recurring revenue, Quicken can continue to improve their software and ensure banking connectivity.

Quicken For Mac 2019 has three price points this year. I think 90% of users would benefit simply using the Deluxe version, which is $49.99/yr at full price.

Here's what the pricing looks like:

It's hard to say if Premier is worth the huge additional price. I think Deluxe is the best value, for the added features of investment and loan tracking. But I've never used BillPay, and I highly recommend that most people don't use a service like BillPay because not only does Quicken charge more, but many banks charge for the service as well.

Note: For Windows, there is also a Home and Business version. However, we think most consumers with a small business would benefit more from using a tool like Quickbooks, versus using Quicken Home and Business.

Special Promotional Pricing

As you probably already know, Quicken is notorious for running promotional pricing all the time. Recently, they were offering 40% off their prices - which I think is a fair price for the product.

I would have a hard time paying $49.99 per year for Deluxe, but paying $29.99 per year makes much more sense - especially considering that I would typically upgrade every 2-3 years, this aligns much better with the pricing I'd expect.

However, in our search for deals, we found that Amazon.com is offering a 14-month subscription of the Deluxe version for $38.49 (which is 30% off full price). Given the $49.99 price is $4.17 per month, Amazon's deal is $2.75 per month. Still not as good as Quicken's own sale, but the second best deal we've found.

Check out the deal on Amazon here.

Quicken World Mastercard

Another interesting product/feature that Quicken launched this year is the Quicken World Mastercard. The Quicken credit card provides real-time transaction notifications in the Quicken mobile app, and offers integration with Quicken for Mac desktop.

This card also gives you a free year of Quicken Deluxe when you spend at least $500 in the first 90 days. If you already have a subscription, you'll get a 1 year extension.

The card offers 2x rewards points on all your qualified spending, and has no annual fees.

Given that this card is really about integration with Quicken, we're surprised that you don't get Quicken free every year as long as you spend at least $500 per year. Otherwise, all the rewards are on par or below the other top rewards credit cards out there.

Pros And Cons Of Quicken For Mac 2019

As you can see, there are some definite improvements in Quicken for Mac 2018 versus the prior year. However, it's still not perfect and it still has a lot less features than you'll find in the Windows version.

Pros:

• Great mobile app to compliment the desktop version
• Improved Loan Tracking
• Spending Tracking Categories and Reporting

• Poor Navigation And Not Intuitive
• Still Lacking Some Key Investment Features Like Asset Allocation
• New Subscription Pricing Isn't Worth It At Full Price

Final Verdict

The final verdict is that we're giving Quicken for Mac 2019 four stars. As I've been using it more and more, I'm actually liking it more than many of the free online money management tools out there. This is especially true since the mobile app has become much more useful.

However, for those that want desktop software, AND if you can get it at a discounted price, Quicken for Mac is a much better piece of software than before.

​Have you tried Quicken for Mac 2019? What are your thoughts?

Quicken For Mac 2019

• Product Cost - 60
• Ease Of Use - 83
• Tools And Features - 90
• Customer Serivce - 85

Summary

Quicken For Mac 2019 has continued to improve on what’s been working and has an even better mobile app experience.

If you’ve finally had it with the Mac version of Quicken, we’ve taken a closer look at the best Quicken alternatives for Mac of 2019.

Quicken for Mac has lagged behind the Windows version for years and even though Quicken 2019 was an improvement, the decision to make it subscription only was the final straw for many faithful users.

The good news is that nowadays there’s some great personal finance software for Mac that not only do a better job, they don’t require a monthly or annual subscription to use.

Some of the apps featured here are even FREE like the excellent Personal Capital which blows Quicken out of the water when it comes to investment tracking and requires no subscription or commitments.

Apart from price, other reasons the apps here are better than Quicken include:

• Bank Syncing: Quicken is notoriously bad at syncing with bank accounts. You’ll find the apps here that support connecting to financial institutions far more reliable.
• Mobile Support: Quicken’s mobile app is limited and nowhere near as useful as the desktop app. Most of the apps here have well designed iPad and iPhone apps which are clear and easy to use.
• Investment Tracking: The Mac version of Quicken has never been good at tracking investments. You’ll find software here that do a much better job of managing car loans, home loan amortization, stocks, retirement funds and more. For a more specific look at investment apps, check out our look at the best investment software for Mac.
• Less Paperwork: By centralizing all of your accounts and bill payments with some of the tools here, you should also find that they help you if you want to create a paperless office on your Mac.
• Better Tax Tracking: You’ll also find that many of the apps here do a better job of preparing your accounts when it comes to filing taxes on your Mac.

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With this in mind, here then is our list of the best alternatives to Quicken for Mac in order of ranking.

1. Personal Capital (Free)

Personal Capital is a superb tool to manage your finances and best of all, it’s actually free to use.

If you already use Intuit’s other budgeting tool Mint (see review later), you’ll really like Personal Capital because it’s got the same feel but with far more powerful investment management features.

Around 1.8 million people use Personal Capital and many of them have switched from Quicken, especially those with investments.

Here’s a summary of why Personal Capital is such a great replacement for Quicken.

• It’s free

Hard to believe for a personal finance software worth its salt but Personal Capital is 100% free to use for as long as you want with no limitations.

Personal Capital only charges you a small commission if you decide you want to maximize your investments via a personal consultation with one of its own Financial Advisors.

This is completely optional and not obligatory but is there if you want it.

• It syncs accounts seamlessly in one place

If you’re tired of constant syncing issues and problems with Quicken, Personal Capital is a breath of fresh air.

It syncs extremely well with all major financial institutions, aggregates your accounts and makes it easy to get an overview of your finances.

This includes checking, savings, 401k, mortgage and investment accounts.

That’s not to say that hiccups don’t happen as much depends on technical changes made by financial institutions but it’s so much more reliable than Quicken.

You can also download any transactions synced with Personal Capital in CSV format.

• It analyzes your investments to save you money

What makes Personal Capital different to many budgeting apps is that it also helps you save money on existing investments.

One of the ways it does this is via a fee analyzer and an investment analyzer.

For example, the retirement fee analyzer immediately identifies areas where you may be getting ripped-off or over charged with 401K admin or management fees.

The investment analyzer does the same for your investments to see where your existing investments and holdings can be diversified to improve your returns.

• It helps you plan for the future

By telling Personal Capital exactly how much income you expect to have in retirement, Personal Capital calculates exactly how on or off track you are.

It can also assess the impact on your 401k of major life events such as the birth of a child, illness, college fees etc. Or it can be used to assess how your immediate finances could be improved if you get a lump sum and eliminate expensive premiums by getting a free estimate on selling your life insurance policy.

There’s also a comprehensive cost of living retirement calculator which gives you useful insights into your average net worth by age.

In fact Personal Capital is easily the best retirement planning software for Mac available.

• It’s as secure as any bank out there

Like any major financial institution, Personal Capital is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and has to adhere to the same security standards and procedures.

What’s reassuring about Personal Capital is that it doesn’t actually handle your log in details at all. It uses Yodlee which is a highly secure financial credentials management system used by major banks and investment institutions worldwide.

This is bank level, military grade security that’s about as secure as it gets nowadays.

Even if your account were somehow compromised, Personal Capital doesn’t actually allow transferring of funds via the interface so they cannot be touched anyway.

There are other measures that Personal Capital takes to encrypt and protect your data which you can read more about here.

• You can talk to a human if you want to

Sometimes an app just isn’t enough if you really want to grow your money.

Especially if you’re investing large sums, Personal Capital allows you to consult with a Personal Capital advisor who can make specific recommendations based on your personal situation and minimize tax liabilities.

You need a minimum of $100,000 to use this service and Personal Capital charges a commission for it but for serious investors, this is a unique bonus of the app.

Personal Capital obviously encourages you to use one its Financial Advisors but there’s no hard sell if you’re not interested.

• You can check your finances on the move

The Personal Capital iOS app is one of the best personal finance apps for iPad or iPhone we’ve tried, allowing you to manage and monitor your finances wherever you are.

It’s clear, easy to use and has lots of features compared to most mobile budgeting apps.

Quicken vs Personal Capital

So what are the drawbacks to all this? Well, like any finance tool for Mac Personal Capital is not perfect.

The biggest gripe we have with Personal Capital is that you can’t import Quicken QIF or QFX files. This is definitely disappointing if you have years of Quicken accounts although even apps that do import Quicken files don’t usually do it very well due to the complexities of the format.

However, this is less of an issue now anyway since Quicken 2019 has removed the option to export files in QIF format from the Mac version anyway (although the Windows version of Quicken still exports to QIF). Quicken for Mac now only exports in QXF which is a proprietary Quicken format that can’t be imported into any program. Therefore, there’s no way to import Quicken 2019 files into Personal Capital unfortunately.

Unfortunately as well, you can’t change transaction dates in Personal Capital. If you have a fixed payment (such as salary or pension) that posts on the 1st of every month and it falls on a weekend or holiday, the transaction will appear in Personal Capital as the last banking day before that. This means Personal Capital will show that you have a double payment in the same month which messes up your budget.

Finally, another slight drawback to Personal Capital is that it doesn’t help you much at tax time. Although there’s dedicated tax software for this, there seems little reason why Personal Capital can’t make things easier when it comes to declarations.

Overall though, Personal Capital not only helps you budget better but it manages your investments too and it’s so convenient to have that all in one app.

For more information, you can check out our full Personal Capital review.

You can also open a Personal Capital account for free to judge for yourself.

Pricing: Free

2. Moneyspire

If Cloud based apps are not your thing and you want a dedicated Mac desktop app, Moneyspire 2018 (formerly Fortora Fresh Finance) is an excellent no-nonsense personal budgeting software for both Mac and Windows.

Moneyspire doesn’t store your accounts in the Cloud, doesn’t require you to upgrade regularly or subscribe like Quicken and you can download it onto your Mac.

Even better, at the moment, Moneyspire is 40% off at just $29.99 compared to the normal price of $49.99 which is definitely a good deal for a desktop personal finance software for Mac on this level.

You can import QIF files from Quicken and likewise, export your accounts to QIF if you move back to Quicken at a later date.

If you’ve got a lot of accounts saved in Microsoft Money on Windows, Moneyspire can also import MS Money files.

Moneyspire supports online bill payments though via both Direct Connect and its own Moneyspire Connect service both of which are free to use.

Moneyspire Connect supports over 15000 financial institutions so it’s safe to say, your bank is probably supported if Direct Connect doesn’t work for any reason.

Like many personal finance app bank syncing services, Moneyspire Connect doesn’t always work perfectly but this is often due to security changes on the bank side.

Generally, you’ll probably find Direct Connect more reliable although that isn’t without its problems too.

Moneyspire is a very complete alternative to Quicken on Mac which tracks bank accounts, credit cards, loans, investments and more.

You can set bill reminders, budgets and generate detailed reports and charts to monitor your outgoings and if you run a small business, you can also create professional invoices and track payments.

It can even print checks which most finance apps no longer support anymore on Mac.One of the things we like most about Moneyspire is that it doesn’t over complicate things. It gives a very clear overview of everything from accounts and details of spending to bill reminders and budgets.

The Bill & Deposit Reminder provides a very clear overview of upcoming payments:

You can generate detailed reports and charts to see exactly where your money is going to make tax reporting less stressful and much easier.

Other useful features in Moneyspire include Balance Forecast, Reconcile Statements, Online Banking, Import & Export of Data and Cloud syncing.

Reconciling of accounts in particular is a very useful feature when it comes to budgeting and you can see how it works below.

For mobile users, there’s a free Moneyspire app for iPad and iPhone which allows you to check your account balance, edit transactions, see upcoming bills and keep an eye on how your budget is doing.

Moneyspire used to be available in different versions but has now simplified its pricing policy and there’s now just one version of Moneyspire for $29.99 which includes Direct Connect access.

Normally it retails for $49.99 so that’s 40% off.

The impressively reliable Moneyspire Connect service is even included in the price (which previously used to cost an extra $49.99 per year).

If you do decide to purchase it, you have a 60 day money back guarantee if you’re not happy with it.

Unlike with Quicken, updates to Moneyspire are free but major updates usually require an upgrade fee.

You can also try Moneyspire on Mac for free if you want to see what it’s like for yourself.

You can also check our full Moneyspire review for more.

Pricing:$29.99 (40% off – normally $49.99) – Free Trial

3. Banktivity

Banktivity (formerly iBank) is designed specifically for Mac and has long been one of the most popular desktop replacements for Quicken on Mac.

Long before Quicken for Mac, Banktivity supported things like online banking integration, bill pay, envelope and full year budgeting, loan amortization and multi-currency support.

Some of these things have now been introduced in the latest version of Quicken 2018 for Mac but Banktivity still remains an excellent personal finance app for macOS.

Here are some of the things we like the most about Banktivity:

• Account Importing

Banktivity will import your accounts from Quicken and other finance software.

Although it’s not perfect, the import tool does a pretty good job and saves valuable time manually entering old accounts. You can see how this works below.

• Bank Syncing

Banktivity will automatically connect to and download transactions from your bank or other financial institution in real time.

It offers various ways of doing this with the most reliable and widely supported being Direct Access.

Direct Access is Banktivity’s own syncing service and generally works very well although it costs an extra $44.99 on top of the cost of Banktivity. Other free ways of connecting are available though.

• Detailed & Customized Reports

The reports generated by Banktivity are very well-organized due to tags and categorization.

There are Quick Reports for instant overviews of the essentials and you can create highly customized reports for virtually any kind of spending.

• Budgeting

Banktivity supports traditional and envelope budgeting with useful setup wizards to get you going.

You can filter budgets by time frame to see exactly when you’ve gone under or over budget and set budgets for scheduled and unscheduled expenses.

• iPad, iPhone and iWatch Apps

Banktivity is designed exclusively for the Apple ecosystem with iOS apps to help you monitor and enter transactions on the move.

The apps sync with the desktop version of Banktivity and there’s even an iWatch app with spending alerts to help keep you on budget.

Investment management isn’t Banktivity’s strong point but there is a separate free Banktivity Investor app (formerly iBank Investor) which syncs investment data specifically.

So for example, you can see all of your holdings with the current gains or losses in real time with data pulled from Yahoo Finance.

Banktivity 6 costs $64.99 but you must pay an additional $44.99 per year for Direct Connect access.

You can also try a 30 day free trial.

For a more in-depth look, you can also read our full Banktivity review.

4. Moneydance

Moneydance has many satisfied customers that previously used Quicken and is an excellent desktop equivalent to Quicken on Mac.

Moneydance has all of the features of Quicken including online banking and bill payments, bill attachments and arguably has better investment tracking and budgeting tools than Quicken.

Moneydance is particularly good at handling investments and transactions in multiple currencies so is an excellent choice for those that hold investments or make purchases in currencies other than US dollars.

Moneydance provides a very clear overview of your finances. It gives you all the essentials such as account balances, upcoming and overdue transactions and exchange rate information.

The calendar overview is particularly useful for a quick oversight of upcoming credits and debits so you can manage your finances for that month more easily.

Moneydance can import Quicken files in QIF format although we noticed several duplicate transactions which had to be manually adjusted.

Moneydance can automatically download transactions and make bill payments online to hundreds of financial institutions. However, online banking is only available via Direct Connect and we found this can be tricky to setup in Moneydance.

Moneydance can sometimes be unreliable at retrieving bank data especially from credit card accounts and there’s no enhanced online bank connection service that you can pay extra like with Moneyspire and Banktivity.

Investment tracking is also easier to navigate and more powerful than Quicken, with support for stocks, bonds, CDs and mutual funds among others.

You can see the total value of your investments or the performance of individual stocks and mutual funds over time. Moneydance will also download stock prices automatically in real time.

Moneydance also has some powerful reporting tools that compare favorably with Quicken and it can generate reports for any of your accounts, savings or investments.

The Moneydance iPad and iPhone apps are both free so you can manage your budgeting on the move although it’s only really useful for manually inputting transactions.

Slightly concerning though is the fact that Moneydance only syncs the Mac and iOS app via Dropbox which doesn’t feel very secure compared to Banktivity’s encrypted Direct Access features.

You can also extend its functionality with add-ons and extensions for such things as a Balance Predictor, Debt Insights and a Find and Replace extension.

Overall Moneydance is a solid financial software for Mac to replace Quicken especially if you need reliable online banking integration.

Moneydance is $49.99 from the Mac App Store with a 90 day money back guarantee and there is also a free Moneydance demo for up to 100 transactions.

You can also check out our full Moneydance review.

Pricing: $49.99

5. Mint

Mint is owned by Intuit the makers of Quicken and is basically a free, lighter and less powerful version of Quicken.

The biggest difference between Mint and Quicken is there is no automatic online bill pay feature in Mint so if this is a deal breaker for you, move on.

Mint has improved a lot over the years and has faced less criticism than Quicken, partly because it doesn’t cost a cent to use.

In fact many people use Mint for day-to-day budgeting alongside Personal Capital to manage their finances.

Mint is all about getting your money in order and is based around three things:

• Budgeting: Mint will automatically suggest a budget for you based on your income and goals. You can factor in one off expenses and of course recurring monthly costs.

• Bill Tracking: All your bills are clearly labelled and managed in one place. You can see when bills need paying and set alerts to let you know before they’re overdue.

• Credit Score Analysis: Mint performs a free credit score analysis if you verify your identity. It also gives you recommendations on how you can improve it.

• Spending Summary: You get a weekly summary of where your money has gone. This is useful for seeing which areas you’re spending most in and is handy to compare month-by-month. Mint will also alert you to unusual or large transactions.

• Spending by Category: Mint can also categorize transactions to make it clearer where you spent your money. If you’ve ever looked through your bank statement and can’t understand the codes and jargon used for certain transactions, this is useful. It also separates ATM withdrawal amounts from ATM withdrawal fees so you can see just how much your spending in charges and other hidden fees.

• Investment Tracking: The investment tracking features in Mint are very basic and certainly nothing like the financial tools in Personal Capital but for 401(k) accounts, mutual funds and IRAs it gives a basic overview.

Mint also has one of the best mobile apps out there for budgeting. The Mint iPad and iPhone app looks good, gives a clear overview of your finances and is easy to navigate.

The biggest problem you”ll encounter with Mint is connecting to banks to update your accounts.

Like many personal finance apps, Mint can take time to update your balances and transactions and can be affected by changes made by your bank to the way third-party apps communicate with it.

Sometimes this means you have to delete an account in order to reconnect it and the problem with this is that you lose your account history in Mint.

It’s also important to note that although Mint and Quicken are both Intuit products, there is no integration between Quicken and Mint. They are completely separate products.

Overall however, as a more basic free alternative to Quicken, Mint is an excellent budgeting tool for Mac users.

Pricing: Free

6. SEE Finance 2

SEE Finance 2 is designed specifically for Mac and used to be the closest thing you could get to Quicken before Intuit finally released Quicken for Mac.

Despite the launch of Quicken, the makers have continued to develop SEE Finance into a very reliable, robust and feature packed personal budgeting app for Mac.

In fact the latest version of SEE Finance 2 has been built from the ground up and is a big improvement on SEE Finance 1 in terms of both looks, functionality and affordability.

We found that SEE Finance 2 is one of the best personal finance software for Mac when it comes to importing Quicken QIF data accurately.

Unlike apps such as Banktivity and Moneydance, there’s less chance of duplicated transactions when importing large QIF files into SEE Finance. You can import files in QIF, QMTF, CSV, QFX and OFX format.

Investment tracking is also very well done in SEE Finance 2 with a clear and varied overview of your investments with lots of different reports.

SEE Finance 2 is also very good at handling multiple currencies with over 150 different currencies supported.

You can connect to banking institutions via Direct Connect which will automatically download transactions and import data from others.

This is easy to setup and use in SEE Finance and pretty reliable at syncing and updating account. Note however that SEE Finance 2 does not support Bill Pay.

More recently there’s now an SEE Finance iOS app for iPhone and iPad that syncs with the Mac version via iCloud. It also works with OFX Direct Connection downloads if your bank supports it.

SEE Finance 2 is a massive improvement on the first version and remains a fast, reliable and slick app to manage your finances on Mac.

Note that SEE Finance 1 is still available in the Mac App Store but we strongly recommend using SEE Finance 2 instead as it’s far more modern, includes an iOS app and is more likely to be supported by the developer in the future.

You can also try a 30 day free trial of SEE Finance.

Pricing: $39.99 – Free Trial

7. YNAB

Although You Need a Budget (YNAB) can’t fully compare with Quicken, if it’s mainly budgeting you use Quicken for, it’s definitely a contender.

YNAB claims that new users save on average $200 in their first month and more than $3000 by month nine although this of course won’t be true for everyone.

Because of the way it approaches budgeting, YNAB has proved very effective at helping users to save money and get their finances in order which is made it very popular with Mac and PC users alike.

More recently, it’s now added online banking support via Direct Connect to conveniently sync and update all of your accounts and transactions in one place so you can keep tabs on your money better.

There is no support in YNAB for Bill Pay however.

The developers of YNAB strive to help you manage your money more efficiently by encouraging you to use a Four Basic Rule method which can genuinely help you save money or get out of debt.

The four golden rules are:

1. Give Every Dollar A Job: Every cent is accounted for
2. Embrace Your True Expenses: Break down large purchases into monthly payments
3. Roll With The Punches: Create an overflow for the unexpected
4. Age Your Money: Deal with bills as they happen

YNAB is structured around these four principles and helps you to structure your budget accordingly.

YNAB can import bank files and transaction ledgers and can retrieve your balances from over 12,000 banks.

Note that there’s no support for Direct Connect or Bill Pay though.

Graph Yield Curve 2018 Compared To 2017

YNAB also does not support multiple currencies or investment tracking so it’s not really suitable for those who have a big investment portfolio.

It does however allow you to factor mortgages and simple investments into your overall budget and gives you a very clear overview of where your money is going.

YNAB is also one of the only personal finance apps that has an iWatch app but even more unusual, an Alexa app which can automatically check category balances or record new spending at your command.

Although YNAB can sync across all devices, note that it uses Dropbox for syncing and doesn’t offer its own Cloud syncing service or syncing via iCloud.

YNAB now costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 per year direct from the developer.

If you’re a US college student, YNAB is absolutely free.

You can also try a 34 day free trial of YNAB before deciding whether its for you or not.

If you’re struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month, YNAB is an excellent straightforward budgeting alternative to Quicken.

Pricing: $49.99/Year – Free Trial

8. CountAbout

CountAbout is a simple but effective budgeting app that can import Quicken QIF files and Mint files.

The Quicken import tool is one of the best we’ve tried and accounts are imported with very little need for manual adjustment.

CountAbout automatically downloads transactions from your bank including investment balances like 401k’s. There is no support for Bill Pay though.

CountAbout offers two subscription plans – one for $9.99 per year and a premium subscription for $39.99 per year.

The difference is that the Premium subscription includes Direct Connect which allows you to automatically download transactions from bank, credit card and investment institutions.

CountAbout is very good value for money and considerably cheaper than most personal finance software that supports Direct Connect.

You can see a quick overview of what CountAbout can do below.

Pricing: $9.99/year or $39.99/year with Direct Connect

9. MoneyWell

MoneyWell is a slick, simple but effective Quicken alternative designed specifically for Mac.

MoneyWell is unique in that it uses an envelope budgeting system to help you manage your finances better.

Rather than setting targets that you either hit or miss, envelope budgeting works on the basis that any money you save or overspend is constantly adjusted to show the effect on your incoming bills.

MoneyWell also supports Direct Connect so that you can automatically pay bills from your bank account.

MoneyWell is clearly well thought out with some really smart interactive reports. In fact the graphs and reports in MoneyWell are some of the best we’ve seen in any budgeting software at this price.

Unfortunately, there’s no longer a mobile app though. MoneyWell Express was the mobile version of MoneyWell but was discontinued in early 2018 due to syncing issues.

MoneyWell costs $72.60 but you can also try it for free.

Pricing: $72.60 – Free Trial

10. MoneyWorks

Finally, if you’re looking for something that can double as both a budgeting app and accounting software on your Mac, MoneyWorks might be for you.

MoneyWorks was one of the first ever finance apps for Mac and made its debut on OS X way back in 1992 – before Windows 95 was even invented.

If you’re a treasurer and use Quicken to keep track of your organization or company budget, MoneyWorks may be ideal for you as it’s designed for small businesses, organizations and accountants in mind.

MoneyWorks can import data from QuickBooks, MYOB, Xero and Greentree although it doesn’t support importing Quicken data.

MoneyWorks also doesn’t support Direct Connect or Bill Pay though so it’s not suitable for those that want to sync it with their bank.

MoneyWorks is however well-integrated with other business software on Mac including Daylite, FileMaker, Numbers and Microsoft Office.

If you need something that can manage payroll, CRM and POS systems on Mac, then MoneyWorks is a particularly good choice.

MoneyWorks is also generally very good at representing complex business data in graphs and produces custom reports via the MoneyWorks Gold report writer.

It’s also a good option for those that need to share their accounts with Windows-based accountants as it works on both Mac and PC.

MoneyWorks comes in 5 different versions aimed at differing sizes of business and all are available for standalone purchase or via subscription.

MoneyWorks Cashbook is completely free to use and is ideal for small organizations that need a simple financial management solution.

You can also try MoneyWorks free for 45 days.

If you’re looking for a Quicken alternative with a focus on accounting and cashflow, MoneyWorks is a powerful solution for Mac users

Pricing: Free/$18 per month+/$249+

Which Is The Best Quicken Alternative For Mac?

If you’re looking to maximize your investments as well as manage your budget, then Personal Capital is still the best of the lot.

The fact that you can use it completely for free is obviously a massive advantage compared to any other personal finance tool out there.

It also just makes budgeting and maximizing your assets so easy compared to Quicken and it also looks like something that’s made for Macs compared to Quicken which was originally made for Windows and later ported to Mac.

Considerations When Replacing Quicken

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The best Quicken alternative for you really depends on your specific needs. Some people need things like Bill Pay and Online Banking while others are more focused on investments.

To help you in your decision though, here’s a checklist of features to bear in mind when deciding which Quicken replacement to choose.

You can see whether the application you’re interested in supports these features by checking the comparison table above.

• Online Banking Integration

This is essential for those that want their accounts to be regularly updated with real time bank transactions.

Direct Connect (known as QFX in Quicken products) is the standard method that most banks support although increasingly, users are finding it very unreliable.

Sometimes this is not an application’s fault and is due to changes made by banks on how third party software connects to them.

Some banks such as Citibank have even dropped support for Direct Connect in favor of their own proprietary system instead.

As a result, some applications such as Moneyspire, Banktivity and Moneydance have developed their own version of Direct Connect although this usually costs extra.

However, Moneyspire’s reliable Moneyspire Connect service is now included for free in the price of the product which makes it a very good deal indeed.

Note that some banks may levy a small charge for connecting your account to a third-party app via Direct Connect so it’s always wise to check with your financial institution first.

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• Bill Pay

It’s important to be aware that just because an app supports online banking, doesn’t necessarily mean it supports Bill Pay.

Bill Pay enables an application to automatically pay your bills to help keep on top of them.

Of course, you can do this easily by setting up a Direct Debit with your bank for things such as utility bills but Bill Pay enables your finance app to track them more easily.

• Account Reconciliation

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Not all personal finance apps allow you to reconcile accounts manually.

This is essential if you’re trying to manage a budget but get payments that fall on the first of the month but it happens to be a weekend or holiday.

In such cases, many apps will automatically enter the transaction on the last previous banking day and there’s no way to change this.

• Encrypted Connections

When it comes to security, remember that any connection made between finance apps and your bank are only as safe as the application accessing it.

Make sure that the application takes security seriously and uses encrypted connections to your bank to prevent unauthorized interceptions.

A few apps such as Personal Capital add an extra layer of protection by not actually storing your financial credentials but managing access via specialized encrypted service Yodlee.

This is also used by many financial institutions and adds an extra layer of protection to your data.

• Investment Tracking

This is essential to track loans, assets, stocks, shares and bonds etc.

One of the big gripes Mac users have with Quicken is that it doesn’t do a good job of tracking basic things like car loans or home loan amortization (although fixed interest rate tracking was introduced in Quicken 2017).

Alternatives such as Personal Capital, Banktivity and Moneydance all feature robust investment tracking as standard.

• Mobile Apps

If you like to manage your money or check accounts on the move, make sure the software you choose has a mobile app.

Most apps that have a mobile app sync accounts with your iPhone or iPad although many are limited in functionality and don’t allow you to make many transactions. Some user their own servers to sync while others offer syncing via iCloud.

If you like to take photos of receipts and invoices to sync with your Mac later, make sure this feature is supported.

• Quicken Import Support

If you want to import your Quicken accounts into another application, you can easily do so by exporting them into QIF format.

Unfortunately, Quicken 2019 has removed the option to export files in QIF format. It now only exports in QXF which is a proprietary Quicken format that can’t be imported into any program.

Therefore, there’s no way to import Quicken 2019 files into any personal finance app anymore but earlier versions of Quicken can.

Note that not all personal finance software supports QIF importing so if this is important to you, make sure you can migrate from Quicken easily.

Note that no Mac personal finance app will import Quicken files 100% perfectly – there will always be some manual correction necessary.

• Multiple Currencies

For those that travel a lot or that deal with foreign transactions regularly. The Mac edition of Quicken is still lagging behind when it comes to multiple currency transaction support.

Those that imported foreign currency accounts into Quicken 2018 for example found that they were suddenly converted to dollars.

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Make sure foreign currencies are supported if you do a lot of trade abroad to avoid some major headaches when importing data.

• User Profiles

If you share the software with a partner, other members of your family or colleagues, support for creating multiple profiles is very useful.

It allows you to track spending and create budgets for each individual member whilst also preserving the privacy of each user.

Some financial software only allows one user per license and some don’t support more than one profile so bear this in mind if you’re intending to use the program with other.

We hope this article has helped you be more informed when choosing a replacement for Quicken on your Mac.

This is by no means a definitive list of programs to replace Quicken with on your Mac. There are other options (examples include LiquidLedger and moneyGuru) but we haven’t included them as most are now very dated and can’t compare to the latest version of Quicken anymore.

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If you have any other questions, experiences or suggestions regarding the software featured here, let us know in the comments below.

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