Trim vs. Rocket Money [2024]: Which One Is a Better Option for You?

If you’re trying to figure out how to save money on monthly subscriptions, bills, and other expenses, consider using apps like Trim and Rocket Money. It can be difficult to keep track of a growing number of subscriptions and knowing how much you should pay on certain bills, which is why Trim and Rocket Money exist. These apps can help you save money on forgotten expenses and bills.

In this Trim versus Rocket Money comparison, we break down the different features you’ll find on each app. This will help you understand how the apps work, how much they cost, and where each app’s strengths and weaknesses lie. With these insights, you can judge whether one app might suit you better than the other.

Trim vs. Rocket Money

Budgeting apps are designed to help you manage your finances and save money where you can. Trim and Rocket Money are two apps focused on cutting your spending on everyday bills and subscriptions. However, they also offer other useful features to help with your finances.

To determine which app is better suited to your financial situation, use the table below to compare the cost of services and available features. This will give you a quick overview of both apps, and we’ll get into more detail below.

Type of app	Budgeting	Budgeting
Cost	Free, with optional paid features; $99 per year for Trim Premium	Free, with optional paid features; between $3 to $12 per month for Rocket Money Premium
Bill negotiation cost	With the free version, bill negotiation costs 33% of first year’s savings With the premium version, bill negotiation is included and Trim does not take a percentage of your savings	Bill negotiation costs 40% of first year’s savings
Availability	Desktop web browsers	Desktop web browsers and mobile apps (Android and iOS devices)
Features	Budgeting Financial tracking Savings goals Financial planning Bill negotiation Bank negotiation Medical bill negotiation Subscription cancellation	Budgeting Financial tracking Savings goals Checking credit score Bill negotiation Subscription cancellation
Best for...	Bill negotiation, including medical bills	Budgeting and bill negotiation
	Visit Trim	Visit Rocket Money

How does Trim work?

Trim is an online budgeting app focused on helping its users find quick and straightforward solutions to specific financial issues. For example, the growing number of subscription services and ever-increasing bills has made it difficult to track how much we’re spending on a regular basis. But Trim’s services provide helpful solutions for these common problems.

Trim aims to cut your expenses and provide an easy way to track your subscriptions and everyday transactions by linking your checking account to your Trim account. With Trim’s help, you can then quickly and easily find and cancel unwanted subscriptions and monitor any inaccurate transactions. Trim will also negotiate a variety of bills for you, including your phone, internet, and medical bills.

Trim offers a free version with optional paid features, but you get access to all of Trim’s services and features when you pay $99 per year for a Trim premium account. Bill negotiation is a complimentary service with Trim premium, and as a premium member, you won’t pay a percentage of your savings if Trim successfully negotiates lower bills on your behalf. With a free Trim account, you’ll have the option to use Trim’s bill negotiation feature, but the company will take 33% of your first year’s savings if it negotiates a lower rate.

Read our Trim review.

How does Rocket Money work?

Rocket Money (previously known as Truebill) is an online financial services app focused on helping you save money through budgeting, bill negotiation, and canceling unwanted subscriptions. Its budgeting features might put you closer to your financial goals, but you may find more value in its other features.

For example, Rocket Money's dashboard will automatically locate all your subscriptions when you link your bank account to your Rocket Money account. This makes it easy to cancel any unwanted subscriptions or simply know how much you’re paying on subscriptions each month. Rocket Money will also find common bills and offer to negotiate them for you.

Rocket Money takes 40% of your first year’s savings, only if it negotiates a lower rate. If Rocket Money doesn’t negotiate a lower bill, you don’t pay anything.

Read our Rocket Money review.

What both budgeting apps excel at

Both Trim and Rocket Money are designed to help you figure out how to manage your money in simple, yet effective ways. Their end goal is to help you save money, which they accomplish through their various available features. Because their goal is the same, it’s not surprising that many of their features share similar aspects.

Here are a few areas where both budgeting apps excel:

• Bill negotiation: Negotiating a bill is a foreign concept for many of us because we’re used to buying products or services at their listed prices. We may think the practice of haggling or negotiating with service providers is outdated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Still, it doesn’t mean negotiating bills is an easy or enjoyable experience. Outsourcing the whole ordeal to professionals can make a lot of sense, as well as cents. And in some cases, these apps may be able to help with bills you didn’t know you could renegotiate.
• Subscription tracking: Do you know how many subscriptions you’re paying for right now? If so, you’re likely more knowledgeable than many. Trim and Rocket Money make it easy to spot your subscriptions through your applicable online account. Then it’s up to you to decide which ones to keep and which ones to cancel.
• Financial account tracking: Tracking your finances isn’t necessarily a new concept, and you can likely do it straight from your online bank account. However, Trim and Rocket Money take your same banking data and make it easy to see where you might be able to cut back on monthly spending. You can quickly see how much you’ve spent this month and see whether you’re on track to stay under your saved budget.
• Savings goals: Both apps provide options to save for specific goals. Trim lets you access a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-insured savings account that can earn up to 4% on your savings. You can also set up automatic transfers from your own bank account to the Trim savings account to progress quickly toward your goals. Rocket Money has a Smart Savings feature that acts similarly. It offers an FDIC-insured savings account and you can schedule automatic transfers from your existing bank account.

3 important differences between Trim vs. Rocket Money

Both Trim and Rocket Money have many similarities, so it’s hard to determine which app presents the better options. However, if you look at their differences, it’s much easier to see where each app shines the most.

Here are a few important differences between Trim and Rocket Money:

1. Cost

Trim has a free version with optional paid features, and it also offers a premium account, which costs $99 per year. It’s possible to only use Trim’s bill negotiation service with the free version, but doing so will cost you 33% of your first year’s savings if Trim ends up lowering one of your recurring bills. Bill negotiation is free with a Trim Premium membership, so the company won’t take a percentage of your annual savings.

Because Trim advertises an average savings of $290 per user, the $99 fee seems like a small price to pay for a Premium account. In addition, you get access to a helpful budgeting platform to keep your finances more top of mind.

Rocket Money is free to use if you don’t want any of its premium features, like Smart Savings, Premium Chat, unlimited budget plans, and credit score activity. This isn’t a bad deal if you’re primarily interested in bill negotiation and tracking your subscriptions. Of course, you’ll have to pay 40% of your first year’s savings whenever Rocket Money lowers one of your bills, whether or not you pay for a premium account. Rocket Money leaves its monthly premium subscription fee up to its members, so you get to decide how much you want to pay each month between $3 and $12.

Overall, Rocket Money may be the better choice based on the lower monthly cost of its Premium subscription. However, it’s worth noting that even with a Rocket Money Premium account, the company will take 40% of your first year’s savings if it negotiates lower bills for you. Trim will take just 33% of your first year’s savings with its free service, and it won’t take a percentage of your savings at all if you’re a premium member.

2. Accessibility

Your Rocket Money personal finance dashboard can be accessed through a desktop web browser or directly from its mobile app on a compatible iOS or Android device. Keep in mind, the Rocket Money mobile app is more developed than the desktop version, so it’s easier to use and see all your financial information in one place.

The desktop version mainly shows your subscriptions and recurring charges from your linked bank account and not much else. However, this shouldn’t be a problem if you prefer to use mobile apps for their accessibility.

Trim doesn’t have a mobile app, so you can only access your account from a web browser. This isn’t a huge deal for some people, but it might be a deal-breaker for others. The easy accessibility of a mobile app can help you keep better track of your finances.

Overall, Rocket Money's services are more accessible than you’ll find with Trim. Most people typically have their phone with them, so a mobile app makes perfect sense for a budgeting platform.

3. Additional features

It may seem like both apps essentially do the same thing at first glance, but that’s not entirely true. If you dig deeper into their differences, you’ll see that Trim has loads of unique features you might not find elsewhere.

For example, you might accidentally include medical bill negotiation and bank negotiation into the bill negotiation feature, but they’re not actually the same things. Medical bills aren’t typically included in bill negotiation, but they present huge expenses that can sometimes be negotiated. Also, bank negotiations are more along the lines of getting better interest rates and getting fees refunded from your bank.

Although Trim offers both services, Rocket Money doesn’t at this time. You can access your credit score activity if you pay for Rocket Money Premium, which you won’t find on Trim, but you can get this same feature from other services that you don’t have to pay for, like Credit Karma, for example.

Trim also offers ways to lower student loan payments and can make automatic payments on your credit cards to help you get out of debt quicker. Overall, Trim’s additional features make for an appealing product, which may be why its price tag is potentially higher than Rocket Money Premium.

Which budgeting app should you choose?

To choose the best budgeting app between Trim and Rocket Money, you need to know what features you want. Both apps provide ways to negotiate your bills and track your spending, including on monthly subscriptions, but they also have additional features that could be helpful. So it’s up to you to decide which features would most benefit you and your budget.

Do you specifically want help negotiating medical bills? Do you want quick and easy access to factors affecting your credit score? Are you more proficient using a mobile app vs. using a web browser, or vice versa?

Answering these questions can help you decide on the best app for you. However, if you’re most interested in saving money primarily through negotiating lower bills, both apps present excellent options. You don’t have to pay upfront for bill negotiation with either app, but there is a small difference between what you’d have to pay if you end up with a lower bill.

Trim charges 33% of your first year’s savings with its free version, and if you have a Premium membership, it won’t take a percentage of your savings at all. Rocket Money charges 40% of your first year’s savings with both its free and Premium versions. With the free versions, if your annual savings end up being $250, you’d pay $82.50 ($250 x .33 = $82.50) to Trim or $100 ($250 x .4 = $100) to Rocket Money. Based solely on the bill negotiation service, Trim would be the less expensive option. However, other features on either app may offer you more value, so it depends on what you’re looking for.

FAQs

Bottom line

There’s no clear winner between Trim and Rocket Money because it depends on your lifestyle and financial goals. However, they’re both some of the best money-saving apps available, so it’s hard to go wrong with either option. This is especially true if you’re looking for professionals to help negotiate lower bills and save you money. But if you want to make an informed decision, be sure to use this guide as a reference to see which app’s features align better with your needs.

If Trim and Rocket Money don’t sound like the right options for you, check out our picks for the best budgeting apps.