If you’ve recently made the switch to Mac, you might be disappointed to know that Microsoft Money is not available on macOS.
Microsoft Money used to be one of the most popular personal finance software on the market to track investments.
Microsoft actually replaced Money in 2010 with a free version called Money Sunset Deluxe although there’s no Mac version of that either.
There is a way to run Microsoft Money on a Mac but its not easy to setup and its getting harder with each update to macOS.
However, the good news is there are plenty of other options for Mac users to manage their finances, from free Cloud based apps to personal finance software designed specifically for Mac.
We found that Empower is the best alternative to Microsoft Money for Mac because it’s FREE, is much easier to use than MS Money and does a much better job of tracking your finances.
Here then is our list of the best replacements for Microsoft Money on Mac in order of ranking.
1. Empower (Free)
Empower is more than just a way to manage your money, it actually advises you on how to maximize your capital and investments.
Not only that but Empower is free to use unless after an optional free personalized consultation you choose to go with one of their investment strategies (more on how this works here).
It also connects to your bank, credit card, credit union and other financial institutions so that it can automatically download transactions.
Empower was previously Personal Capital until it was acquired in August 2020 but the product has retained all the features that made Personal Capital so popular for financial management.
It is just as powerful as the original Personal Capital and can also import Microsoft Money files from Windows if they’re in CSV format.
Empower is built around 3 simple pillars: Knowing Your Net Worth, Analyzing & Optimizing Investments and Planning For The Future.
This means it gives you a clear overview of your investments and makes recommendations about how you can optimize your finances.
The Investment Checkup Tool is one of the best things about Empower as it immediately identifies areas where you should diversify investments without increasing the risk.
Other useful features we really like about Empower include automatic bill reminders, stock value updates and 401K updates.
Although there’s no native Mac client, the web interface works extremely well and Empower looks like an application that’s built for macOS.
There is however an official Empower iOS app which looks great on both iPhone and iPads and gives you most of the same features as the desktop version.
If you’re looking for an alternative to MS Money on Mac that not only helps you manage finances but optimize them too, Empower is an excellent free replacement.
You can get started with Empower for free to see for yourself.
You can read our full review of Empower for a more in depth look.
Pricing: Free
2. Moneyspire
Moneyspire (formerly Fortera Fresh Finance) is an extremely well put together personal finance software that has a native Mac desktop client.
Moneyspire is focused more on managing your day-to-day finances in a straightforward no-nonsense way.
One of the big attractions of Moneyspire is that it doesn’t force you to store your financial data online or in the Cloud although you can if you want to enjoy syncing with iOS devices.
Unlike personal finance software such as Quicken for Mac, it also doesn’t tie you into any annual subscriptions to keep using it although again, you can choose that model if you want.
You can also import MS Money files in CSV format into Moneyspire very easily.
The interface of Moneyspire keeps things very simple by not overwhelming you with information – it’s basic but informative with all essential financial data at your fingertips.
Moneyspire can pay bills automatically with the Direct Connect service, generate reports, forecast balances and reconcile accounts.
Note however that Direct Connect is increasingly being phased-out by banks in favor of Express Web Conect+ (EWC+) which Moneyspire does not support.
If your bank does not support Direct Connect anymore, you may still however be able to connect to your bank via Moneyspire Connect which is a free syncing tool included with Moneyspire.
It does not however support Bill Pay or transferring funds between accounts within it though.
What we like most about Moneyspire is that it feels like it puts the user first, giving you control over both the storage of your finances and the payment model you prefer. It also doesn’t complicate things unnecessarily with features you’ll probably never need.
For a limited period too, Moneyspire 2024 is currently 20% off for $69.99 or $99.99 with invoicing included.
You can check out our review of Moneyspire for more.
Pricing: Starting from $69.99 (20% off)
3. Banktivity
Banktivity (formerly iBank) is a popular personal finance application with a desktop app for macOS.
In fact Banktivity is designed exclusively for Apple devices and the only budgeting software for Mac which works across Mac, iPad, iPhone and even Apple Watch.
Banktivity can automatically download transactions from your Bank either via its own Direct Access service (although this costs extra) or by using Banktivity’s built-in browser.
Its Direct Access service supports around 10,000 banks although the reliability of this service often depends on changes your bank makes to security regarding access by third-party apps and type of account.
401K accounts for example are known to be particularly fussy about connectivity with external apps.
Banktivity can track investments, credit cards, savings accounts, mortgages and pretty much most standard types of financial interest you have.
You can attach receipts to transactions, print checks and using the Direct Access service, pay bills automatically.
You can also generate some quite detailed reports based on your net worth to see exactly where your money is going.
There’s also an iOS app which allows you to track and manage your net worth on the move and syncs with Banktivity’s cloud sync server.
Banktivity costs $49.99 but bear in mind if a Direct Access subscription costs an extra $44.99 annually on top although there are also cheaper 90 day or 30 day subscriptions.
We recommend trying a 30 day subscription first to ensure that everything works smoothly with your bank.
You can try a free trial of Banktivity to see for yourself.
You can also check out our full review of Banktivity for a more in-depth look.
Pricing: Plans starting from $49.99/year
4. Quicken For Mac
For many years, Quicken for Mac had a rocky ride with Mac users when it was owned by Intuit but under new ownership, recent versions of Quicken on macOS have been considerable improvements.
Quicken is probably the most popular personal finance application out there for Windows users although the Mac version has always lagged behind.
Quicken 2018 finally made it comparable with the Windows version although there are various features it still lacks and it’s not exactly the same product.
One of the biggest recent improvements to Quicken For Mac has been the introduction of Bill Pay so that you can automatically manage and pay bills online.
Reporting has also been improved although it is still behind the Windows version of Quicken. The overall interface and speed has been improved to make it more similar to the Windows version too.
Most controversial of all however was the decision to make Quicken For Mac 2018 subscription only.
Quicken users on both Windows and Mac can no longer pay a onetime fee, you must pay an annual subscription to maintain online services such as Bill Pay.
If you don’t renew your subscription, you can still edit your accounts on your Mac desktop as long as you’re not using the Starter Edition in which case your accounts will be read-only.
If you’re interested in learning more, you should check out our review of Quicken for Mac.
Pricing: Plans starting from $2.99/month
5. Tiller
If want a spreadsheet alternative to Microsoft Money then take a look at Tiller.
Tiller is an automated spreadsheet software that automatically fills in spreadsheet budgets as you fill it in with your financial data.
If you like to use Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to track your net worth, Tiller can automatically extract data from them and then correlate and organize them into budget spreadsheets and dashboards.
Microsoft have even recommended Tiller to those that use Money in Excel or Microsoft 365 subscribers (formerly Office 365) as a way of processing financial planning data in its apps.
The software provides a range of templates to get you started or if you’re already spreadsheet savvy, you can start from scratch.
Tiller can be used to track almost any financial data you want from your net worth to budgets.
It does take some time to setup and use, especially if you don’t use one of the templates but it’s extremely customizable compared to Microsoft Money as you can track anything in it.
Tiller can also be used to generate reports and dashboards rather than having to pour through data heavy spreadsheets.
Most recently the app has added a Spending Trends dashboard to keep a track of where your money is going with useful dashboards for annual and monthly budgets.
Like as with Microsoft Money, none of your data is stored in the Cloud with Tiller – it’s all processed in a spreadsheet on your desktop.
If like the spreadsheet approach to budgeting then Tiller is an excellent alternative to Microsoft Money for Mac.
You can try a 30 day free trial of Tiller.
You can also check out our full Tiller review for more.
Pricing: $6.58/month or $79 per year
Discover more from MacHow2
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
