Investor Junkie
MENUMENU
  • Start Investing
    • HOW TO GET STARTED INVESTING

      New here? Just starting as an Investor?

      If you're a new investor and visiting Investor Junkie for the first time, then this is what you need to get started.

    • GETTING STARTED STEPS

      • Get Rid of Consumer Debt
      • Start ​​​​​​​Investing Now
      • Open a Retirement Account
      • Create an Asset Allocation
      • Minimize Taxes
      • Reduce Fees & ​​​​​​​Fund Expenses
      • Start a ​​​​​​​Side Hustle
      • Protect ​​​​​​​Your ASSets
      • Next Steps
  • Reviews
      • Recommended Services

      • Personal Capital
      • Betterment
      • YNAB
      • Acorns
      • Fidelity Investments
      • Ally Invest
    • Robo Advisors

      • Betterment
      • Wealthfront
      • Wealthsimple
      • Blooom
      • More Reviews

      Stock brokers

      • Ally Invest
      • E*TRADE
      • Merrill Edge
      • TD Ameritrade
      • More Reviews
    • Microsavings

      • Acorns
      • Digit
      • Stash Invest
      • Qapital
      • More Reviews

      Banking

      • Ally Bank
      • CIT Bank
      • Chime
      • EverBank
      • More Reviews
    • Personal Finance

      • Mint
      • Quicken
      • Personal Capital
      • YNAB
      • More Reviews

      Accounting

      • FreshBooks
      • QuickBooks
      • Sage Business Cloud Accounting
      • Wave
      • More Reviews
    • Real Estate

      • Fundrise
      • Realty Mogul
      • RealtyShares
      • PeerStreet
      • More Reviews

      Peer-to-Peer Lending

      • Lending Club
      • Prosper
      • Wunder Capital
      • YieldStreet
      • More Reviews
    • Investment Research

      • Barron’s
      • Morningstar
      • Stansberry Research
      • YCharts
      • More Reviews

      Financial Books

      • Rich Dad, Poor Dad
      • Money Master The Game
      • The Millionaire Next Door
      • The Best Finance Books
      • More Reviews
  • Compare
    • Robo Advisors

      • Betterment vs. Wealthfront
      • Betterment vs. Vanguard
      • Wealthfront vs. Vanguard
      • Wealthfront vs. Wealthsimple
      • Compare Others
    • Personal Finance

      • Quicken vs. Mint
      • Mint vs. Personal Capital
      • Mint vs. YNAB
      • Quicken vs. Personal Capital
      • Compare Others
    • Stock Brokers

      • Schwab vs. Fidelity
      • E*TRADE vs. TD Ameritrade
      • E*TRADE vs. Robinhood
      • Fidelity vs. Vanguard
      • Compare Others
    • Real Estate

      • Fundrise vs. Realty Mogul
      • Realty Mogul vs. RealtyShares
      • Fundrise vs. Rich Uncles
      • LendingHome vs. PeerStreet
      • Compare Others
    • Banking

      • Best Online Savings Account
      • Best Online CD Rates
      • Best Jumbo CD Rates
    • Peer-to-Peer Lending

      • Lending Club vs. Prosper

      Microsavings

      • Acorns vs. Stash
  • Learn
      • All Articles
      • Investing SecretsInvesting Secrets
      • The Mint ManualThe Mint Manual
      • SEE ALL ARTICLES
    • Budgeting

      • How Much Do I Need to Save per Month
      • What is Zero-Based Budgeting?
      • 50/30/20 Budgeting Doesn’t Work
      • Why I’ve Switched to Personal Capital
      • See All

      Robo Advisors

      • Robo-Advisor Overview
      • True Costs of the Robo-Advisors
      • Robo-Advisors vs. Target Date Funds
      • Robo-Advisors vs. Microsavings
      • What is Tax-Loss Harvesting
      • See All
    • Investing

      • How to Choose an Online Broker
      • How to Transfer to a New Broker
      • Invest Your First $1,000
      • Who Offers a Virtual Trading Account?
      • See All

      Real Estate

      • Investing in Real Estate
      • 3 Steps to Get Started as a Real Estate Investor
      • You’re a Fool to Prepay Your Mortgage
      • How to Use Your 401(K) as a Down Payment
      • Tax Lien Investing
      • See All
    • Retirement

      • How to Rollover a 401(K)
      • How to Maximize Your 401(k)
      • Target Date Funds Comparison
      • Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA
      • See All

      Taxes

      • 2017 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits
      • Tax-Efficient Investing
      • Tax-Loss Harvesting
      • How to Pay $0 Tax on a Six-Figure Income
      • The Best Tax Software for Investors
      • See All
  • Promotions
    • Featured promotion
      Betterment

      Betterment

      BEST OFFER
      Up to one year managed free initial deposit

      Learn More
    • Stock Brokers

      • Ally Invest
      • E*TRADE
      • Firstrade
      • Merrill Edge
      • TD Ameritrade

      Best IRA Promotions

      Free Stock Trading

    • Robo Advisors

      • Betterment
      • Blooom
      • Wealthfront
      • Wealthsimple
      • Ellevest
    • Personal Finance

      • Quicken
      • QuickBooks
      • YNAB
    • Microsavings

      • Rize
      • Stash Invest
      • Acorns
    • Other

      • Lending Club
      • Roofstock
      • RealtyShares
      • YCharts
      • Personal Capital
Home > Personal Finance > CountAbout Review

CountAbout Review 2018 – Import Your Data From Mint or Quicken

CountAbout Review

Review of: CountAbout

Reviewed by: Ruth Lyons

Last modified: March 27, 2018

Rating:
7.5/10

CountAbout is the only budgeting app that allows you to import from Quicken or Mint. The service allows you to easily sync your personal finances in one location, and with reporting. The downside is CountAbout lacks any advanced financial planning features.

Cost
8.5/10
Customer Service
8.5/10
Ease of Use
7/10
Tools & Resources
8/10
Synchronization
8.5/10
Accessibility
8/10
Our Review Methodology

Personal finance and budgeting software options have come a long way in the last decade. Security and technology advances make it safe and easy to link your financial accounts, so you can manage your personal finances from your desktop or on the go.

Back in the day, Quicken was the be-all-end-all when it came to personal finance software. However, over the years, a number of new players have entered the game, bringing with them new functionalities and features, as well as the ability to manage your finances and budget on a mobile device (Quicken remains desktop-based).

One of these apps, CountAbout, allows users to seamlessly migrate from Quicken without losing any historical data. Then its personal finance software automatically syncs your old and new financial data from your desktop or any mobile device. The program allows you to easily keep track of spending, categorize transactions and create or manage budgets. Plus, it’s clean, intuitive and ad-free.

CountAbout Features

Price$9.99 - $39.99/year
BudgetingYes
Bill PaymentNo
Investment TrackingNo
AccessWebsite, iOS App, Android App
Credit Score MonitoringNo
Bill ManagementYes
Retirement PlanningNo
Tax ReportingNo
Reconcile TransactionsYes
Currency SupportUS
Custom CategoriesYes
Two-Factor AuthenticationYes
Import QFX, QIF FilesYes
Online SynchronizationYes
Promotions15-Day Free Trial
Try CountAbout for 15 Days

How Does CountAbout Work?

Logging into CountAbout takes you to the site’s main Transactions tab. This is where you will set up your account. It’s also the spot where you’ll add and categorize transactions (or flag them to deal with later).

Elsewhere on the site, you can create and edit budgets, run reports — such as to compare your spending against your budget — and manage recurring transactions, such as mortgage or rent payments.

CountAbout’s account registers provide an up-to-date picture of your financial status. That’s because CountAbout reflects all of the transactions you’ve entered or downloaded — not just those that have cleared the bank.

Don’t like CountAbout’s default spending categories? Maybe you don’t have a pet, so you don’t need a “pet grooming” category. Or maybe you’re a horse rider, so you want an “equestrian” category. CountAbout makes it easy to add, delete, rename or merge categories.

CountAbout also offers information-rich graphics that provide a quick visual sense of whether your spending in specific categories is keeping pace with what you’ve budgeted.

CountAbout supports the automatic downloading of transactions from more than 12,500 financial institutions (premium subscribers only). CountAbout also supports downloading of investment balances, such as 401(k) balances, but doesn’t support investment transaction imports.

There are a lot of other functions you can explore, from memorized transactions to tagging to tracking investment balances.

CountAbout Alternatives

Personal Finance
CountAbout
RecommendedPersonal Capital
RecommendedYNAB
Rating7.5/109.5/108.5/10
BudgetingYesYesYes
Investment MonitoringNoYesNo
Promotions15-Day Free TrialJoin for FREEFREE First Two Months
Review—Read the Review Read the Review
Compare more Personal Finance Software

Pricing

You can choose either Premium ($39.99/year), which provides full access to all CountAbout functions, including free, automatic downloading of all your financial transactions (banking, credit card, mortgage, etc.), or Basic ($9.99/year), which includes all of the above except automatic downloading from financial institutions.

When you join, you will automatically be signed up for a free 15-day trial of CountAbout Premium. After your free trial, you will be given the opportunity to choose to subscribe to either the Premium or Basic service.

Screenshots

CountAbout - Budget
CountAbout is the only budgeting app that allows you to import from Mint or Quicken
CountAbout - Category
CountAbout allows you to edit your monthly expenses and income
CountAbout - Recurring Transactions
Enter your income and expenses into CountAbout's budgeting system
CountAbout - Transactions
Keep track of your transactions and categorize them with CountAbout's Transactions tab
CountAbout - User Options
You can easily manage your account setup with CountAbout
CountAbout - Widgets
CountAbout's Widgets generate charts and graphs to help you visualize your spending patterns

Security

CountAbout uses a respected third-party service, MX, to connect subscribers to their financial institutions.

Similar to the other online aggregation services, CountAbout does not store usernames, passwords, account numbers, phone numbers or addresses. Your encrypted email address is the only information CountAbout has that identifies you.

CountAbout supports a two-factor authentication login process, making it harder for hackers to access your information.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Smartphone Access — Keep track of your finances, wherever you are. Manage your money from anywhere — at home, at work, or shuffling through airport security — with the iOS and Android apps.
  • Import Quicken or Mint Transactions — CountAbout is the only online service that allows you to import data from Quicken or Mint. This makes it easier to transition to CountAbout.
  • No Ads — Unlike Mint, where ads attempt to upsell you various product, CountAbout is ad-free.
  • Great Reporting — Reporting is easy and comprehensive.

Cons

  • No Bill Pay — You cannot pay bills or move money at your banks using CountAbout.
  • Annual Fee — While the annual subscription cost is not exorbitant, there are free, ad-supported personal finance options available that offer some of the same features as CountAbout.
  • No Financial Planning — Unlike Personal Capital, CountAbout is purely a budgeting app and does not offer any help with your investments.
Try CountAbout for 15 Days

Summary

There are a lot of other personal finance apps available to choose from. One huge advantage of CountAbout is you can import categories and transactions from your Quicken or Mint.com accounts — so you can pick up with CountAbout where you left off with these programs.

Another key distinction: CountAbout is a completely advertising-free experience. Of course, to make that possible, there is an annual subscription cost.

If you are looking for a paid competing product, YNAB offers similar functionality. If you are looking for investing guidance, Personal Capital‘s free service is another good option.

However, with any of these online services, nothing prevents you from using multiple services.

Finally, CountAbout places a high value on online security. The software does not track your usage so your data is completely private. Unlike Mint, they don’t collect — or sell — your personal information. The only data stored about you is your encrypted email address.

CountAbout’s mobile app syncs your data quickly and securely, so you can access your data on the go and easily categorize new transactions daily.

Share12
Tweet4
Share3
Reddit
Email

Author: Ruth Lyons
Updated: March 27, 2018
Category: Personal Finance

Suggested For You

  • Mint.com

    Mint.com Review 2018 - The Bill Pay, Budgeting and Tracking App

    For over several years I have taken mint.com for a test spin with my personal finances. Is Mint usable, or are there viable other options?

  • Why I've Switched From Using Quicken to Personal Capital

    For my needs, Quicken no longer fits the bill, so I've switched to using Personal Capital. Here's why and my thoughts on both services.

  • YNAB

    YNAB Review 2018 - Now an Online Service With Bank Syncing

    YNAB (You Need A Budget) helps manage your finances and gain control of your money. It's now web-based and with bank synchronization. Here's our review.

  • Personal Capital Review 2018 - Track Your Investments Free

    Free personal finance software that syncs your accounts in one location. Personal Capital can track your spending, net worth and investments. Find out more in our review.

Comments

Notify of



Sort by:   newest | oldest | most voted
WisGal
7 months 8 days ago

I really wanted to like Countabout. Really, I did. But about once a month it stops downloading transactions from my bank, credit cards and brokerage accounts. Back to contacting customer service. They have me send them a screen shot of what my bank account currently looks like. They review it and then “open a ticket” with MX, the firm they use to download your data. It takes a day. It’s fixed. Next month, same thing. Lather, rinse, repeat. And don’t show any frustration with their customer service reps via email because they have no problem biting back! I asked them why this keeps happening—-no response to that. I said I wasn’t hearing back from them and they said, “Sorry our response time is two days and I have responded to you”! Thanks! No “I apologize for the inconvenience”. And truth be told, they had actually started the response back to me the day before and I had not heard from them in a day. So, yeah, I was wondering what had happened. I am now a week out with no updates from banking, credit cards and brokerage balances. PS. They don’t use YODLEE any more. That’s been gone for months. They use MX.

4
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
Ggg
1 year 18 days ago

Hi,

Thanks for the review. What I would like to know is if there’s an option for Budget beyond the current month? That’s the really limiting aspect of mint as far as I’m concerned because I have a few months over the summer when my stipend is much more than the rest of the year.

So I’m looking for somwthinge to navigate between year, current month and future months. If that doesn’t do that, do you have other suggestions?

Thanks!

Gabe

0
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
Mike
1 year 1 month ago

I didn’t get a feel for how the budgeting part worked in this. How does it compare to YNAB, Everydollar, Mint, Mvelopes? I love that it includes all the things Mint does and more, but I really need to get a feel for the budgeting side of things. YNAB sounds awesome, but since I can’t see my 401k and IRA info in there I have to go outside the app to look at that info – and – no bill pay (which I would like…but not required).

We’re new to budgeting, etc. and I’m desperately trying to find something that is integrated with my banks and credit cards, investment houses, is affordable to use, and is simple; not “I’m an experienced investor/accountant/financial planner” simple, but “normal/newbie people” simple. LOL

0
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
Bob
1 year 1 month ago

I am not sure Ruth actually used the software. The user interface is AWFUL. The drop-down box used for categorization looks like a third grader did it. It’s way too small. The product doesn’t use the entire width of the screen and therefore feels scrunched up. I’ve been trying them all, so far YNAB is the leader

2
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
Danny Wilson
1 year 2 months ago

Can I print checks as I did from Quicken?

0
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
Larry Ludwig
1 year 2 months ago

No you cannot print checks. Why would you want this when most banks offer services to send a check electronically?

1
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
Danny Wilson
1 year 2 months ago

Because it’s what I’ve always done. I didn’t want to have to change my way of doing things.

0
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
JW500
1 year 1 month ago

Okay, but checks are on the way out. I have a law office and I still only issue maybe 50-75 checks a year. For so few checks I can hand write them. Maybe if you have a business that needs to print and mail dozens of checks a week then check printing is important. The major shortfall with this CountAbout is it cannot handle investment transactions. I’m guessing if someone prints a lot of checks they have a successful business, some nice income and quite a few investments as well.

0
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
rami
1 year 3 months ago

Please advise if I can add new accounts with multi-currency in CountAbout.

0
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
Larry Ludwig
1 year 3 months ago

Currently CountAbout only supports US currency.

1
 |     Reply   Hide Replies ∧
wpDiscuz

Advertiser Disclosure

Investor Junkie has advertising relationships with some of the offers listed on this website. Investor Junkie does attempt to take a reasonable and good faith approach to maintaining objectivity towards providing referrals that are in the best interest of readers. Investor Junkie strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information on Investor Junkie could be different from what you find when visiting a third-party website. All products are presented without warranty. For more information, please read our full disclaimer.

Featured Personal Finance Software

  • Banktivity
  • Mint.com
  • Moneydance
  • Moneyspire
  • Quicken 2018 for Windows
  • Quicken 2018 for Mac
  • Personal Capital (recommended)
  • YNAB (recommended)

Compare

  • Best Personal Finance Software
  • Quicken vs. Mint
  • Mint vs. Personal Capital
  • Mint vs. YNAB
  • Compare Personal Finance Software

Personal Finance Resources

  • Why I've Switched to Personal Capital
  • Mint.com Alternatives
  • Quicken Alternatives
  • Get Started With Mint.com
  • Get Started Using Quicken
  • Get Started Using Personal Capital
  • Running Quicken on a Mac
  • The Mint Manual eBook

Investor Junkie Testimonials

Table of Contents

  • Features
  • How Does CountAbout Work?
  • Alternatives
  • Pricing
  • Screenshots
  • Security
  • Pros and Cons
  • Summary
Try CountAbout for 15 Days

Investor Junkie

Helping make finance easy. Investor Junkie is your shortcut to financial freedom. We know that managing finances is not easy. We analyze and compare tools to help you make the best decisions for your personal financial situation.

© 2018 Empowering Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Subscribe to the Investor Junkie Newsletter
  • About
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Disclaimer

Stay Connected to Investor Junkie

  • subscribe unsubscribe

Investor Junkie is a financial publisher that does not offer any personal financial advice or advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment for any specific individual. Members should be aware that investment markets have inherent risks, and past performance does not assure future results. Investor Junkie has advertising relationships with some of the offers listed on this website. Investor Junkie does attempt to take a reasonable and good faith approach to maintaining objectivity towards providing referrals that are in the best interest of readers. Investor Junkie strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information on Investor Junkie could be different from what you find when visiting a third-party website. All products are presented without warranty. For more information, please read our full disclaimer.