Quicken versus Microsoft Money - which one's best?
One of the most effective ways to track and manage your finances is through software. With charts, spreadsheets, bill pay reminders, and other handy features, money management software helps take the hassle out of finances for many people.
Intuit's Quicken and Microsoft Money are two of the most popular kinds of financial software available on the market today. Each is similar with regards to features and each one has its own loyal following, but which one's best? First of all, keep in mind that both Quicken and Microsoft Money offer standard, deluxe, and premium packages, with standard offering the most basic features and premium providing the most. The following table illustrates features that will help you decide which will best fit your needs, based on the mid-level Deluxe versions of the two:
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Features Microsoft Money Deluxe Quicken Deluxe
(A 1 for Microsoft Money Deluxe and a 2 for Quicken Deluxe, 1-2 for both)
Automatic register updates- 1- 2
Balance checkbook- 1- 2
Categorize spending- 1- 2
Pay Bills Online- 1- 2
Schedule bills- 1 - 2
Spending reports and charts- 1- 2
Track spending- 1- 2
Budgets- 1- 2
Budget reports- 1 - 2
Customize start screen- 1- 2
Debt reduction planning 1- 2
Cash flow forecast 1- 2
Set and track financial goals 1- 2
What-if" financial events models 1- 2
Tax line item management 1- 2
Export to tax software 1- 2
Estimate taxes 1- 2
Tax deduction finder 1- 2
Tax withholding estimator 1- 2
Portfolio management 1- 2
Portfolio analysis 1- 2
401(k) management 1- 2
Asset allocation 1- 2
Investing alerts 1- 2
Capital gains estimation 1- 2
Morningstar ratings 2
Capital gains minimization 2
Schedule a, b and d reports 2
One click review of payment history 2
Search by keyword 2
Expandable register 2
Attach electronic images 1- 2
Convert reports to PDFs 2
Change customized reports 2
On-demand internet content 1
Credit report and monitoring 1
Browser-like navigation 1 Quicken or Money?
Quicken has a few features that make it unique, including the ability to pull up mini-windows within a register of transactions. This is handy because it lets you see instantly what you've spent at a particular store and is good for determining your spending trends. One thing that is unique to Quicken is its ability to securely store pictures of checks, receipts, and invoices. This is a handy feature and eliminates the need for your paper copies.
While both copies allow you to connect to online sources and accounts, Quicken stores your passwords for your banks, credits cards, and other accounts in a more secure fashion by giving you a PIN that can't be accessed outside of Quicken. Microsoft Money also allows users to access this information, but Microsoft Money uses your Windows Live ID, which you can access from any type of insecure spot.
Both Quicken and Microsoft have enhanced their set up and displays, making it easier to navigate for both new and continuing customers.
One area in which Quicken excels is the reduced need for updates. Where Quicken only needs to be updated every three years, Microsoft Money ends online support after two years (just one for the Essentials version.)
Both Quicken and Microsoft Money provide a number of helpful features that allow you to keep track of your finances. However, when it comes to support and security, Quicken fares slightly better. Ultimately, however, whether you decide to go with Quicken or Money depends on your individual needs.
