Spend & Invest vs Rocket Money: Which Saves You More?

Rocket Money (formerly Truebill) is one of the most popular personal finance apps. It cancels subscriptions, negotiates bills, and tracks spending. But it charges up to $12/month plus a cut of any savings it negotiates. Here's how it compares to Spend & Invest.

Comparison at a Glance

These are two different tools with some overlapping features. Here is how they compare on the things that matter most.

Where Rocket Money Excels

Let's be honest about what Rocket Money does well. It has real strengths that Spend & Invest does not try to replicate.

Subscription Cancellation

Rocket Money's signature feature is canceling subscriptions on your behalf. It detects recurring charges, shows you a list, and lets you tap a button to cancel ones you do not want. For people paying for forgotten streaming services or unused gym memberships, this can save real money.

Bill Negotiation

Rocket Money will call your internet provider, phone carrier, or insurance company and negotiate a lower rate for you. If they succeed, you keep the savings. This is a genuinely useful service if you hate spending 45 minutes on hold arguing about your cable bill.

Smart Savings

The app can automatically move small amounts from your checking account to a savings account based on your spending patterns. It is a set-it-and-forget-it approach to building savings.

Established Brand

Rocket Money is owned by Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage. It has millions of users and a well-funded team. The app is polished and reliable.

Where Spend & Invest Wins

Spend & Invest takes a completely different approach to personal finance. Instead of managing your subscriptions and bills, it focuses on helping you understand where all your money goes.

Completely Free

There is no premium tier, no monthly fee, no percentage-based charges. You get full access to AI categorization, spending dashboards, natural language queries, and multi-currency support for free. Rocket Money's free tier does not include its most useful features.

No Bank Login

Rocket Money requires you to connect your bank account through Plaid. Spend & Invest does not. You upload a PDF statement, and the app never has access to your bank credentials. This is a fundamental difference in how your financial data is handled.

AI Categorization That Learns

Spend & Invest uses AI to categorize every transaction, and it learns from your corrections. The first statement might need a few fixes. By the third or fourth, the AI knows your preferences and categorizes accurately without your input.

Works Worldwide

Rocket Money is US-focused and requires Plaid, which only supports banks in a handful of countries. Spend & Invest works with any bank that produces PDF statements. It supports 10+ currencies including USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, INR, and TTD.

No Percentage-of-Savings Fee

When Rocket Money negotiates a lower bill for you, it takes 30% to 60% of the annual savings as its fee. If they save you $240/year on your internet bill, you might pay $72 to $144 of that back to Rocket Money. Spend & Invest does not negotiate bills, but it also does not take a cut of anything.

The Pricing Catch

Rocket Money's pricing is more complicated than it first appears. Here is what you actually pay.

The Free Tier Is Very Limited

On the free plan, Rocket Money shows you your transactions and detects recurring charges. That is about it. You cannot cancel subscriptions, negotiate bills, or use smart savings. The features that make Rocket Money worth using are all behind the paywall.

Premium Costs $6 to $12 Per Month

Rocket Money uses a "name your price" model for premium, but the recommended range is $6 to $12 per month. That is $72 to $144 per year just for the base subscription.

Bill Negotiation Takes 30% to 60%

On top of the monthly subscription, Rocket Money charges a percentage of any savings from bill negotiation. This fee is calculated on the annualized savings amount, so it can add up quickly.

Example: Rocket Money negotiates your internet bill down by $20/month ($240/year). At a 40% fee, you pay $96 to Rocket Money. Combined with a $10/month subscription ($120/year), you are spending $216/year on the app. That is real money.

The Total Cost Adds Up

For an active user who negotiates 2 or 3 bills, the annual cost of Rocket Money can easily reach $200 to $300. That is money you could be saving or investing instead. There is nothing wrong with paying for a service that provides value, but it is important to know the full cost going in.

Different Tools for Different Goals

Rocket Money and Spend & Invest solve different problems. They are not direct competitors, and for some people, using both might make sense.

Rocket Money Is About Reducing Bills

Its core value is in canceling subscriptions you forgot about and negotiating lower rates on recurring bills. If you have a lot of subscriptions or hate calling your internet provider, Rocket Money can save you time and money, even after accounting for its fees.

Spend & Invest Is About Understanding Your Spending

Its core value is in showing you exactly where every dollar goes, with smart AI categorization and the ability to ask questions about your finances in plain English. It is built for people who want a clear picture of their spending patterns without handing over bank credentials.

Who Should Choose Which?

Here is a straightforward guide based on what you actually need.

• Choose Rocket Money if: You have a lot of subscriptions you want to audit, you want someone else to negotiate your bills, and you are comfortable paying for that convenience.
• Choose Spend & Invest if: You want to understand your complete spending picture, you do not want to share bank credentials, you need multi-currency support, or you want a free tool that is not limited behind a paywall.
• Use both if: You want Rocket Money to handle subscription cancellation and bill negotiation, and Spend & Invest to give you a detailed, privacy-first view of where all your money actually goes.

The Bottom Line

Rocket Money is a good product for what it does. Subscription cancellation and bill negotiation are real time-savers. But it is not free, and the costs can be significant once you factor in the premium subscription and negotiation fees.

Spend & Invest takes a different approach. It is completely free, requires no bank login, and focuses on giving you a clear, AI-powered understanding of your spending. If your goal is to know where your money goes without paying for the privilege, it is the better choice.

Read more: Track Your Spending Without Plaid or Bank Credentials or see the Best Mint Alternatives in 2026.