Quicken Vs. Mint

Mint offers a free app for the iPad.

The Quicken software and the Mint.com website both let users enter financial data and plan for the future. Both services are owned by Intuit, which also owns TurboTax, the tax preparation software. As a result, Quicken and Mint influence each other as Intuit releases new versions of each. However, the two services are separate entities and operate in different ways.

Price and Features

Mint is free for anyone to use, and its steady stream of updates are free as well. Its features include the ability to consolidate bank and credit card statements, automatically categorize transactions and receive alerts. As of November 2011, the Quicken software ranges in price from $29.99 for the Starter Edition to $149.99 for Quicken Rental Property Manager. All Quicken versions can do everything Mint can do, while more feature-rich versions of Quicken include budget guidance, savings planning, investment tracking, tax preparation tools and property management tools.

Advertising

Because the Web-based Mint is a free product, advertisements frequently appear throughout the Mint website interface. As an example, when Mint issues you an alert, either via the Web or mobile, when your bank charges you an account maintenance fee, Mint may also display an advertisement for a bank that doesn't charge such fees. Quicken, which is not free, runs very few of its own ads inside the software and no third-party ads at all.

Mobility

Mint is Internet-based by design and anyone can access a Mint account from anywhere in the world. Quicken is generally tied to a single computer, although it has moved into the online world as quickenonline.com. Also, in keeping with Mint's emphasis on mobility and freedom, Mint makes mobile apps available, including apps for the iOS and Android operating systems; Quicken does not.

TurboTax Integration

Before October 2011, only Quicken integrated with TurboTax, another of Intuit's financial software holdings. However, as of October 2011, Mint can now integrate with TurboTax as well, which Intuit encourages using a free 30-day trial of TurboTax via Mint. Both Mint and Quicken integrate with TurboTax by exporting all available personal and financial information to TurboTax. Because the advanced versions of Quicken -- including Deluxe, Premier, Home and Business, and Rental Property Manager -- include more features than Mint, TurboTax receives more information from those versions of Quicken than it would with Mint alone.

References

• Mint From the Makers of Quicken: The Best Free Way to Manage Your Money Online:
• Mint: Personal Finance, Online Money Management, Free Budget Planner, Budgeting Tools, Money Manager, Financial Planning Software
• Mint.com: Taxes
• CNN Tech: Maker of Mint, Quicken Balances Two Approaches to Money
• Quicken Products and Services, Personal Finance Software, Money Management