Subgrove vs Rocket Money: Bank Link or Manual?
App Comparisons · The Subgrove Team · · Updated · 3 min read
Rocket Money is the better fit if you're in the US and want an app to find your subscriptions in your bank transactions and cancel them for you; Subgrove fits if you'd rather not link a bank, live outside the US, or just want reminders before each renewal. They overlap on the word "subscriptions" but do different jobs.
Disclosure: Subgrove is our app. Rocket Money's details come from its help centre and pricing guide, checked in October 2026.
The two apps at a glance
| Rocket Money | Subgrove | |
|---|---|---|
| How subscriptions get in | Detected from linked bank and card accounts | You add them yourself |
| Bank linking | Required, through Plaid | None |
| Cancels for you | Yes, on Premium | No |
| Bill negotiation | Fee of 35–60% of first-year savings; Premium+ only from 2 November 2026 | No |
| Price | Free plan; Premium $7–14/month; Premium+ $15/month | Free up to 5 subscriptions; Pro $4.99/month or $39/year |
| Where it works | US users with US banks | Any country, 38 currencies |
| Platforms | iOS and Android apps; web on Premium | iPhone, Android, desktop (installable web app) |
What Rocket Money does that we don't
Rocket Money (it was called Truebill until 2022; here's what changed) connects to your accounts and lists the recurring charges it finds, including ones you'd forgotten. Its pricing guide says it connects through Plaid. For someone who will never keep a list by hand, that detection is the main reason to use it.
It also does two things Subgrove never will. Premium members can have Rocket Money's team cancel subscriptions for them, and its bill negotiation service tries to lower bills like internet and phone. Today a successful negotiation costs 35–60% of the first year's savings. Rocket Money has announced that from 2 November 2026, new negotiations need Premium+, a fixed $15 a month with no success fee. Premium itself is "pay what you think is fair", typically $7 to $14 a month. Our Rocket Money cost breakdown has the detail.
The trade-offs before you link a bank
It only works in the US. Rocket Money's help centre says it is "only available to users located within the United States and with U.S. based banks". Readers in the UK, Canada, Australia and elsewhere can't use it at all.
Detection needs read access to your accounts. An app can only spot a charge it's allowed to see. Many people are comfortable with that; if you're weighing it, our guide on whether Rocket Money is safe sets out the considerations.
A complaint was filed about its design. In December 2022 the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), working with NYU's Technology Law and Policy Clinic, filed a complaint with the CFPB alleging that Rocket Money used dark patterns, including around its sliding Premium price and its bill-negotiation fees. That is an allegation in a complaint; no enforcement action followed.
What Subgrove does instead
Subgrove is a manual tracker. You type in each subscription, which takes a minute or two for a typical list, and nothing you enter touches your bank. If you'd rather not type, the free subscription finder reads a bank statement you paste or upload and lists the recurring charges, entirely in your browser.
- Reminders before every renewal, by push and email, set per subscription from the day itself up to two weeks before.
- Monthly and yearly totals, with weekly, monthly, yearly and custom cycles converted to a monthly figure, totalled per currency.
- A list and a renewal calendar, on iPhone, Android and desktop, working offline.
- Free for up to five subscriptions, with no card needed. Pro, at $4.99 a month or $39 a year, adds unlimited subscriptions, household sharing, free-trial alerts, price-increase alerts and CSV export.
What you give up is automation: no detection, no cancelling on your behalf, no negotiation. If you know you'll never maintain a list, that's a real point in Rocket Money's favour.
Who should use which
- Rocket Money if you're in the US, want charges found automatically, and want someone else to cancel or negotiate, and you're comfortable linking your accounts.
- Subgrove if you're outside the US, don't want an app reading your bank, or mainly want to stop being surprised by renewals for less than Premium costs.
Not sure what you pay in total? The free subscription cost calculator adds it up in a couple of minutes, and you can put your first five subscriptions into Subgrove for free.