What Rocket Money does with your subscriptions
Rocket Money is a free app that connects to your bank and credit card accounts to find subscriptions and recurring charges you're paying for each month. It shows you a list of everything it finds — streaming services, gym memberships, software licenses, insurance premiums — organized by category and cost. The app then lets you cancel subscriptions directly from the app or contact the company on your behalf.
The core value is visibility. Most people have subscriptions they forget about because the charges are small or infrequent. Rocket Money surfaces those charges so you can decide whether to keep paying or cancel. It doesn't require you to manually enter anything; it reads your transaction history and identifies the pattern.
The app is free to use for basic subscription tracking. Rocket Money makes money by offering a paid tier called Rocket Money Premium, which adds features like bill negotiation and financial planning tools, but you don't need it to see your subscriptions.
Key Takeaways
- Rocket Money scans your connected bank and credit card accounts to find recurring charges and organize them by type and monthly cost.
- The app can cancel subscriptions for you or send cancellation requests to companies, though some require manual cancellation on the company's website.
- You control which accounts Rocket Money can see, and you can disconnect it at any time without affecting your bank accounts.
- The free version shows all your subscriptions; the paid version adds bill negotiation and other financial tools but is not required for tracking.
- Rocket Money does not reduce your bills or negotiate on your behalf unless you pay for the Premium tier.
How to connect your accounts to Rocket Money
Download the Rocket Money app (available on iOS and Android) or use the website. Create an account with your email and a password. The app will ask you to connect your bank and credit card accounts by logging in through a secure connection. Rocket Money uses Plaid, a third-party service, to read your transaction history without storing your login credentials.
You choose which accounts to connect. You can add your primary checking account, savings account, credit cards, and any other accounts where subscriptions appear. Rocket Money will not make any transactions or changes to your accounts; it only reads the history. You can disconnect any account at any time from the app settings.
After you connect your accounts, Rocket Money scans your past transactions (usually the last 90 days, depending on what your bank provides) and identifies recurring charges. This process takes a few minutes. The app then displays a list of subscriptions organized by category: streaming, software, fitness, food delivery, and so on.
Understanding what Rocket Money finds and misses
Rocket Money identifies subscriptions by looking for charges that repeat on a regular schedule — monthly, quarterly, or annually. It catches most common subscriptions: Netflix, Spotify, Adobe Creative Cloud, Apple Music, gym memberships, insurance premiums, and app store charges. It also finds less obvious recurring charges like domain registrations, cloud storage, and subscription boxes.
The app sometimes misidentifies charges or misses subscriptions, especially if a company uses a different name on your statement than you expect, or if the charge amount varies slightly month to month. You can manually add subscriptions that Rocket Money missed, and you can edit or delete entries that are wrong. Over time, as the app learns your patterns, accuracy improves.
Rocket Money will not find subscriptions paid through cash, check, or accounts you don't connect to the app. If you pay a gym membership in cash at the front desk, or if you have a subscription on a credit card you didn't connect, Rocket Money won't see it.
Canceling subscriptions through Rocket Money
When you decide to cancel a subscription, you have two options in Rocket Money. The first is to cancel directly through the app. For some companies — particularly larger ones like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify — Rocket Money can send a cancellation request on your behalf. You authorize the cancellation in the app, and Rocket Money handles contacting the company. This usually takes a few business days to process.
The second option is to have Rocket Money provide you with instructions or a link to cancel on the company's website yourself. For smaller services or companies that don't have a direct integration with Rocket Money, you'll need to log into the company's account and cancel manually. Rocket Money will guide you through the steps.
After you cancel, Rocket Money tracks whether the charge actually stops appearing on your statement. If the company continues charging you after you've canceled, Rocket Money can alert you. This is useful for catching companies that ignore cancellation requests or charge you after the cancellation date.
What Rocket Money Premium adds
The free version of Rocket Money shows you all your subscriptions and lets you cancel them. Rocket Money Premium (a paid subscription itself) adds features like bill negotiation, where Rocket Money contacts companies on your behalf to try to lower your rates on services like internet, phone, and insurance. It also includes financial planning tools, credit score monitoring, and alerts for unusual account activity.
For subscription tracking alone, you don't need Premium. The free version is complete for finding and canceling subscriptions. Premium is worth considering only if you want the additional financial management features, and even then, you're paying for a service that may or may not save you money on your bills.
Privacy and security considerations
Rocket Money connects to your accounts through Plaid, which is a widely used financial data aggregator. Your login credentials are not stored by Rocket Money; instead, Plaid handles the connection and passes transaction data to Rocket Money. This is more secure than giving Rocket Money your passwords directly, but it does mean a third party has access to your transaction history.
You control what Rocket Money can see. You choose which accounts to connect, and you can remove accounts or disconnect Rocket Money entirely at any time. Disconnecting Rocket Money does not affect your bank accounts or subscriptions; it simply stops the app from reading your transactions.
Rocket Money's privacy policy states that it does not sell your personal data to third parties. The company uses your data to provide the service and to show you targeted ads within the app (in the free version). If privacy is a concern, read Rocket Money's full privacy policy before connecting your accounts.
Alternatives to Rocket Money for tracking subscriptions
Other apps offer similar subscription tracking: Truebill (now part of Rocket Money), Trim, and Mint (now owned by Intuit) all scan your accounts for recurring charges. Some banks, like Chase and Bank of America, have built subscription tracking into their own apps. You can also track subscriptions manually by reviewing your bank and credit card statements each month, though this is time-consuming.
The main difference between these tools is the breadth of features. Rocket Money focuses on subscriptions and bill negotiation. Mint was a broader budgeting tool that also tracked subscriptions. Your bank's app may offer subscription tracking but won't show subscriptions across multiple accounts or cards. For subscription tracking specifically, Rocket Money and Trim are the most straightforward options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rocket Money actually save me money?
Rocket Money shows you what you're spending on subscriptions, which lets you decide what to cancel. The savings come from your decisions, not from Rocket Money itself. If you cancel a subscription you weren't using, you save that cost. Rocket Money Premium's bill negotiation feature may lower some bills, but results vary and are not may provide.
Can Rocket Money access my bank account and move money?
No. Rocket Money can only read your transaction history; it cannot make transfers, payments, or any changes to your accounts. You authorize it to view specific accounts, and that permission is read-only. You can revoke access at any time.
What happens if I cancel a subscription and the company keeps charging me?
Rocket Money monitors your accounts and can alert you if a charge continues after you've canceled. If this happens, you can contact the company directly or dispute the charge with your bank. Rocket Money does not handle disputes on your behalf, but the alert gives you a chance to catch the problem quickly.
Is Rocket Money safe to use?
Rocket Money uses Plaid to connect to your accounts, which is an industry-standard service used by thousands of financial apps. Your login credentials are not stored by Rocket Money. That said, connecting any app to your bank account carries some risk. Use a strong, unique password for your Rocket Money account, and review the privacy policy before connecting.
Can I use Rocket Money if I have accounts at multiple banks?
Yes. You can connect accounts from different banks, credit card companies, and financial institutions to Rocket Money. The app will show all your subscriptions across all connected accounts in one place.