Who Owns Rocket Money? A Deep Dive into the Popular Finance App

Hey there! If you‘ve heard of Rocket Money lately, you may be wondering – who exactly owns this fast-growing finance app? And can it really help manage your money better?

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll give you an in-depth look at the ownership, history, services, trustworthiness, pricing, and more around Rocket Money. My goal is to provide all the insider knowledge you need to evaluate if Rocket Money is right for your financial needs.

Rocket Companies Acquired Rocket Money in 2021 for $1.3 Billion

First, let‘s uncover who owns Rocket Money. The app was actually founded in 2015 under the name Truebill. Truebill operated as an independent company until December 2021.

That‘s when it was acquired for a whopping $1.275 billion in an all-cash deal by Detroit-based fintech company Rocket Companies.

You may recognize Rocket Companies as the parent company behind the popular mortgage lender Rocket Mortgage. They also own fintech brands like Rocket Homes, Rocket Loans, Rocket Auto and more.

So while Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Money operate as separate subsidiaries, they now share Rocket Companies as their parent organization.

But here’s an important note: Rocket Mortgage focuses on mortgage lending solutions, while Rocket Money offers budgeting tools, bill negotiations, account management and other consumer finance services.

The expertise doesn’t overlap much between the two brands. Rocket Companies seems to have acquired Truebill specifically to expand their portfolio into broader personal finance services.

Truebill Rebranded to Rocket Money after the Acquisition

Founded in 2015 by entrepreneur Haroon Mokhtarzada, Truebill operated for years as a finance app focused on helping users identify and cancel unwanted subscriptions.

Mokhtarzada still runs the Rocket Money team as CEO and Chairman after selling Truebill.

Over time, Truebill expanded its offerings beyond just subscription management to include:

• Budgeting tools
• Bill negotiation services
• Account aggregation
• Payment features
• Travel savings analysis

Then in December 2021, the company announced Truebill would rebrand to Rocket Money following the acquisition.

The transition appeared seamless – the app design and core features stayed the same. The rebrand simply brought it under the Rocket corporate umbrella.

Today Rocket Money serves over 10 million users and continues growing rapidly. The user-friendly design and automation features have made it a popular choice for optimizing finances.

What Can You Actually Do with Rocket Money?

Rocket Money packs an impressive suite of money management features into a free mobile app. Here are some of the key things it can help you do:

Tame unruly subscriptions

• Identify recurring charges from forgotten free trials or unused services
• View all your subscriptions in one place and track spending over time
• Easily cancel subscriptions with a few taps to stop wasteful charges

Save on monthly bills

• Provide details on your current internet, cable, phone bills, and more
• Get matched with a negotiator who contacts your provider to lower your rate
• Users save an average of $720 a year on bills without losing services

Build budgets that stick

• Create customized budgets with colorful graphics to track spending
• Syncs with bank accounts and credit cards to auto-categorize transactions
• Alerts for overspending help you stick to your budget goals

Automate your savings

• Set savings rules like “auto-transfer $25 each Tuesday to emergency fund”
• Deposits savings into FDIC-insured accounts to earn interest
• Helps users effortlessly build emergency funds and save for goals

Regain control of your finances

• Aggregates all bank accounts, credit cards, and bills in one secure place
• Analyze spending patterns and trends over time
• Make one-time or recurring payments to individuals, groups, or charities

Rocket Money aims to put your finances on “autopilot” by optimizing where money goes. The basic app is free, but advanced bill negotiating and auto-savings features require a paid subscription.

Security Experts Consider Rocket Money Trustworthy

I totally get any concerns around security and privacy when using finance apps like Rocket Money. You want to make sure your sensitive personal data stays protected.

The good news is that security experts widely consider Rocket Money‘s safeguards robust and trustworthy:

• Bank-level encryption – Your data is secured with 256-bit AES encryption. This matches the encryption level used by major financial institutions.

• Plaid aggregation – Rocket Money uses Plaid to safely aggregate financial account data from thousands of institutions. Top apps like Venmo and Betterment also rely on Plaid.

• No login credentials stored – You log into your accounts through Plaid so Rocket Money never sees or stores your bank credentials.

• SSL certificate – Their website has an active SSL certificate that encrypts transmitted data.

• Strong track record – Rocket Money maintains excellent consumer ratings for data security and privacy based on user feedback.

Of course no data system is completely hack proof. But Rocket Money checks the right boxes in terms of safeguarding your personal financial information. Their security aligns with industry best practices.

Here‘s What Rocket Money‘s Paid Plans Cost

While the Rocket Money app is free to download, you‘ll need to pay for a premium plan to access certain features:

• Free version – Lets you cancel subscriptions, negotiate bills, and access basic budgeting tools.

• Premium monthly plan – Unlocks advanced bill negotiation, auto-savings, extra budgeting features, and more. Price ranges from $3 – $12 per month, billed annually.

• Negotiation fee – If bill negotiation saves you money, Rocket Money charges 40% of the annual savings as a one-time fee.

• Add-ons – You can add services like credit monitoring and identity theft protection for extra per month.

Many people find the free version provides enough value with subscription tracking and basic budgeting. But Rocket Money‘s premium plan offers more robust automation for those looking to maximize bill savings and automated finances.

How Rocket Money Compares to Mint

Mint is another popular finance app, so how do the two compare?

Mint

• Focuses primarily on budgeting tools and expense tracking
• Provides free credit monitoring, reports, and tools
• Aggregates transactions from over 16,000 financial institutions
• Interface shows some ads and offers
• Completely free

Rocket Money

• Prioritizes bill negotiation and comprehensive money management
• Credit features cost extra and not a core offering
• Connects to about 2,000 institutions
• Ad-free interface
• Free version with paid upgrade options

Mint edges out Rocket Money in terms of free credit insights and sheer number of connected institutions. But Mint‘s interface includes ads and offers while Rocket Money adopts a cleaner approach.

For proactive bill negotiating and savings, Rocket Money provides more robust automation. But Mint offers more powerful free budgeting and credit tools.

Bill Negotiation Saves Users Hundreds Per Year

Here’s an exciting capability that sets Rocket Money apart – the promise to negotiate lower bills on your behalf.

According to Rocket Money, users save an average of $720 per year on bills through their negotiation services.

The process works like this:

1. Provide details on your current TV, internet, cell phone, and other bills.

2. Get matched with a negotiator who contacts your providers.

3. The negotiator leverages tactics like:

   • Securing one-time credits or discounts

   • Negotiating lower base rates without losing services

   • Fixing billing errors in your favor

   • Helping you switch to cheaper plans

4. When savings are confirmed, you pay a 40% fee of the annual savings.

User reviews praise Rocket Money for securing discounts of $30, $40, even $100+ per month off bills for internet services, cell phones, cable packages, and more.

The results can really add up. Say Rocket Money saves you $60 per month off your internet bill – that’s $720 per year. Even after paying their 40% fee, you still pocket $432 in savings.

Now, negotiations don’t always succeed, and savings amounts vary drastically based on your current bills. But the service makes it easy to potentially trim fat off your monthly expenses.

Is the 40% Fee Worth It? The Pros and Cons

That 40% service fee Rocket Money charges on savings might make you think twice. It‘s quite steep compared to competitors:

• Billshark charges 25-30% on savings
• Trim charges 33%

Paying 40% of your savings means less money going back into your pocket. But you‘re also outsourcing the legwork required to actually achieve those savings.

There are reasonable arguments on both sides here:

Pros of paying the fee

• Requires no effort on your end – they handle everything
• Very high likelihood of lowering at least some bills
• Can lead to substantial annual savings

Cons of the fee

• 40% is higher than other bill negotiators
• No guarantee of reaching your desired savings
• Lose control over the negotiation process

My take? The premium fee makes most sense for big recurring bills you haven’t negotiated in years – think cable TV, internet, cell phone plans. Just make sure to compare Rocket Money‘s achieved savings vs other negotiators before accepting the 40% charge.

Tips to Maximize Value from the App

To really optimize what you get out of Rocket Money, keep these tips in mind:

• Check if your current bills have discounts for autopay or paperless to enroll before negotiating.

• Link up all financial accounts, even ones you rarely check, to get the full picture of your money.

• Use their customer service to cancel unwanted subscriptions and trial memberships.

• Focus negotiations on bills $50+ to ensure the 40% fee nets you solid savings.

• Compare negotiation results to quotes from Billshark or Trim first. Then decide if the fee warrants accepting Rocket Money‘s savings.

• Set up savings transfers to go into high yield savings accounts, not just checking.

• Evaluate the identity/credit monitoring add-ons closely – they can tack on substantial costs over time.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, Rocket Money provides an appealing package of automation, convenience, and expertise to help optimize your financial life.

Backed by fintech giant Rocket Companies, they seem primed for even more growth through acquisition of new products and features.

Of course, it‘s smart to weigh the costs against your needs when using any financial service app. But taken as a whole, Rocket Money delivers an outstanding option to simplify bill management and money savings.

I hope this dive gives you the complete picture to decide if Rocket Money fits into your financial needs and goals. Let me know if any other questions come up!