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dhershberger

macrumors 6502
Jan 19, 2018
276
5,426
Ohio
Just updated my copy, I wish though Quicken for Mac was a 1v1 port of the Windows App but I'm glad to see (whoever) owns quicken keep the app alive. I'm surprised they were this quick to update it.
I'm a loooong time Quicken user. From my experience this new CEO and the new ownership have really improved things. They've been responsive and have truly started to improve the app and it's noticeable.
 

mpuk

macrumors member
Apr 16, 2015
38
79
The Divided United Kingdom
For me, the M1 Apple Silicon has been one of the most exciting developments in a long time. The increased performance / battery life is substantial.

I was shocked to learn, however, that Apple’s Big Sur OS (the only OS capable of running on an M1-based machine) has implemented kernel-level back doors that expose users to app-level tracking. What’s more, the OS hobbles VPNs and apps like Little Snitch which have been designed to prevent tracking of users.

Jeffrey Paul’s article of 12-Nov-2020 “Your Computer Isn’t Yours” first exposed this issue. For a video summary, take a look at Louis Rossmann’s video (9m) where he reviews Jeffrey Paul’s article.

What is going on here? Has anyone else validated this? And why would any of us want to have to choose between performance and privacy? Particularly when Apple keeps telling us that privacy is at the heart of everything it does?
 

pr43

macrumors newbie
Jan 22, 2007
8
3
Quicken for Windows is the alternative to Quicken for Mac. The Mac version feature space is a subset of the Windows app. Because of it, I spend an additional $100 a year on Parallels just so I don’t have to buy a PC computer for my financial management needs. Now, this stop gap is in jeopardy with the advent of Apple silicon Macs. Please Quicken, give the Apple app the same feature set as the Windows app so I can get rid of Parallels.
I've been running quicken windows with parallels for 10 years or so, not as an alternative but as a necessity. The win and mac versions are not compatible and not all data will migrate. Quicken's explanation for the incompatibility ring hollow, and I simply will not accept losing historical data (eg., tax basis). So quicken Mac is a not an option. I have considered banktivity as an alternative, but I lack enthusiasm to scrub 25-30 years of records in a 75MB data file. In the end I pay the parallels license and quicken subscription fee to avoid a lot of work.

Lastly, Parallels is in development for an M1 CPU compatible version: https://www.parallels.com/blogs/parallels-desktop-apple-silicon-mac/
 
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name99

macrumors 68020
Jun 21, 2004
2,184
1,996
Ok, <insert random app> runs x times faster on M1, I get it. And I think it is perfectly fine to post such things as the M1 is completely new and we're all excited.

But why add marketing BS and pricing details? Is this a paid post? I think MacRumors lacks transparency sometimes.

The background is that for the last transition, PPC to Intel, Quicken was notorious for never updating. Even 5 years after the transition it was still PPC-only! They only fixed this months after MacOS stopped supporting Intel.
https://christianboyce.com/quicken-for-mac-incompatible-with-lion/
This stupidity/laziness probably cost them much (most?) of their customer base -- it certainly had me finding an alternative.

So that's the context -- they're trying to make a big deal that "We're NEW Intuit, we get that this transition matters, we're doing it right this time". Sorry guys, too little, too late -- I'm not coming back as a customer.
 

DrKarl

macrumors member
Jun 6, 2010
72
79
Montana
I've been running quicken windows with parallels for 10 years or so, not as an alternative but as a necessity. The win and mac versions are not compatible and not all data will migrate. Quicken's explanation for the incompatibility ring hollow, and I simply will not accept losing historical data (eg., tax basis). So quicken Mac is a not an option. I have considered banktivity as an alternative, but I lack enthusiasm to scrub 25-30 years of records in a 75MB data file. In the end I pay the parallels license and quicken subscription fee to avoid a lot of work.

Lastly, Parallels is in development for an M1 CPU compatible version: https://www.parallels.com/blogs/parallels-desktop-apple-silicon-mac/

In case you don't realize it, your Quicken subscription includes BOTH platforms and both apps get regular feature updates - previously annual things. ALL of my tax basis migrated from Q Windows to Q Mac without a single issue. If you have not tried Q Mac in a while, go ahead and try migrating your current file and compare your content / reports. The conversion has to go through an upload to a Quicken cloud server (allegedly secure - but who can you really trust these days?) - because the old Windows to Mac converter was 32 bit and they didn't want to re-write it when Catalina came out.

The only data that I found would not migrate were some non-numeric codes that I put in the Check number field for my own notes.

Q Windows is still definitely a super set of features, but for many people (who don't need Home & Business or Property Management features etc) who have normal investing and banking needs, Q Mac is pretty decent now.
 

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
"We're NEW Intuit, we get that this transition matters, we're doing it right this time". Sorry guys, too little, too late -- I'm not coming back as a customer.

Intuit sold Quicken back in 2016 and a causal look at the Release Notes for Quicken Mac shows the new owners have been giving it a lot of attention ever since.
 
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DrKarl

macrumors member
Jun 6, 2010
72
79
Montana
To everyone complaining about this article not pointing out what's new - rather that it is just a Universal app - and complaining about the subscription:

There's a lot new in the 6.0 release besides just the appearance changes - and they're mentioned in the article, making it "news" on multiple fronts (universal app/speed and new features).

In fact, this relates to subscription: Quicken has been releasing new features for Q Mac regularly (every couple of months), improving reporting, investing, bill pay and more. This continual release of new features - vs just bug fixes - is a major plus of their subscription model - not unlike Adobe releasing new features/filters for Lightroom Classic and Photoshop throughout a subscription year.

(I hate subscriptions in general too, but I think that some like Quicken and Microsoft 365 Home are reasonably priced - vs the Adobe Suite which is highway robbery for a home user, compared to my ancient, continually upgraded CS6 license.)
 
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Schnacka

macrumors newbie
Jul 26, 2011
6
4
Can anyone recommend an alternative to Quicken?
I have moved from Quicken to Simplifi, from the same company, except fully web based and mobile. It's not free but the annual pass is priced to my liking (I think $39) - it's being updated regularly and has a responsive customer service. Most importantly, it connects much better to banks than Quicken for me, is visually more appealing, and gives me exactly what I want in budget app. I've ditched also Mint as a result.
 

erinsarah

macrumors 6502
Mar 17, 2011
468
666
There's Mint and something called Personal Capital. I tried Mint and didn't like it. Never checked out Personal Capital but it has some good reviews.

I've been using Banktivity for a while. It's reasonable. In that it does bank downloads and ledger stuff the way Quicken used to, without a subscription.
 

Dimwhit

macrumors 68020
Apr 10, 2007
2,068
297
Just updated, and it is, indeed, quicker. I've been liking Quicken a lot lately.
 

mwinterr

macrumors newbie
Oct 14, 2016
12
15
I have moved from Quicken to Simplifi, from the same company, except fully web based and mobile. It's not free but the annual pass is priced to my liking (I think $39) - it's being updated regularly and has a responsive customer service. Most importantly, it connects much better to banks than Quicken for me, is visually more appealing, and gives me exactly what I want in budget app. I've ditched also Mint as a result.

I've been using Mint since 2009, and have a lot of data compiled in there from over the years. Were you able to seamlessly switch from Mint (e.g. no issues with adding the same financial institutions, etc.), and were you able to upload your existing data, tags, etc., or did you have to start over your financial tracking from scratch?

I have a love/hate relationship with Mint. When it works, it's great, but their customer service is non-existent, and there are frequent issues connecting to financial institutions. Not to mention their useless investments section.

I'd love to hear a in-depth take on Simplifi coming from a former Mint user.
 

randian

macrumors 6502a
Jan 15, 2014
777
352
Is Quicken for Mac still the gimped, feature-free version? They have always heavily favored Windows when it comes to Quicken.
 

Freeangel1

Suspended
Jan 13, 2020
1,191
1,753
bring back the pay once and own the software please

I can deal with leasing Adobe cloud software for the right price. not quicken
 

CthuluLemon

Cancelled
Aug 14, 2020
260
455


Quicken has released version 6.0 of its popular finance and budgeting software that's twice as fast on Apple Silicon, according to the press release.

quicken2019.jpg

The new version is a universal app that allows it to run natively on Apple's M1-powered machines for a faster and more seamless user experience, while the interface builds on Apple's new UI design signature for macOS Big Sur.
This version promises to make it easier for users to manage all of their financial accounts in one place, with new tabs and icons that can be used to display all transactions across accounts with one click.

New features offer a more seamless experience around account settings and payments, according to the company, and in addition to updates in the Bills & Income section, the update also offers deeper analysis in New Worth Drill-Down Reports.

Quicken for Mac is available from the company's website. There are several price plans available for Quicken for Mac starting at $35.99 per year, which includes phone and chat support along with a 30-day risk-free guarantee.


Article Link: New Quicken 6.0 Universal App 'Twice as Fast on Apple Silicon'
This is particularly great, as quicken has a practical, utilitarian function. Having a program that serves a need like this while showcasing M1’s capabilities is a huge win for Apple silicon adoption (?).
 
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CthuluLemon

Cancelled
Aug 14, 2020
260
455
at this point you basically need a software like this just to keep up with subscriptions! worst is, they dont just charge at the beginning of the month, no they always charge on the date you signed up which makes it even more of a mess to keep track off
I have a credit card with a lock/unlock fiction to get around this issue. I use it for most subscriptions, but leave the card off by default so they can’t charge me if I forget when the renewal is. Most applications have a grace period, so when I get the notification, I can just unlock the card and retry the payment. A lot of credit cards have this option now, if you have the means, I suggest dedicating a card as your subscription card and doin similar. For subscriptions you are sure you will renew and don’t want to bother with this process for, you can use an alternative payment. I use another card for subscriptions through Apple, for instance, as it’s easy to keep track of them through my Apple ID settings.
 
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MacBH928

macrumors G3
May 17, 2008
8,275
3,696
how come all the developers are releasing native apps so quick, I really thought this will take time to adjust the code. More interesting they are releasing M1 versions even before their clients got an M1 computer. Seriously how many AS computers are out there now?

I am not complaining I am just amazed. It wasn't like this when they transition from powerpc to intel.
 
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amartinez1660

macrumors 68000
Sep 22, 2014
1,559
1,594
how come all the developers are releasing native apps so quick, I really thought this will take time to adjust the code. More interesting they are releasing M1 versions even before their clients got an M1 computer. Seriously how many AS computers are out there now?

I am not complaining I am just amazed. It wasn't like this when they transition from powerpc to intel.
I get the feeling (unfounded) that numbers might be showing a small gold rush of sorts. It’s almost a clean slate, a fresh race... most things work, but here’s a chance to be “first” on some domain to be the fastest and most efficient app.

Anecdotal, but I have seen on a lot of forums and comments around the net people saying that they might get a Mac now for the first time, get a Mac after 20 years being out of it or just getting it for the sake of getting it (portable co-pilot for even recently bought 2020 iMacs).

I think the M1 performance numbers, the bold move to a fresh new architecture for normal users (on laptops and desktops Mac at least), the positive surrounding news and the exciting vibe it all entails, has costumers and developers alike motivated about it. It’s like the chicken and the egg problem being solved by creating both at the same time.

We do have quite naysayers where every use case, benchmark, app review and live test is “not a real use case”, “those are synthetic numbers”, “my 120W CPU and 300W GPU TDP truck PC smokes it”, Apple is doomed and Epic is the future, etc... and indeed there’s the minor chance that some flaw could bring it all down; however I think, this time, these are the incredibly vast minority.
 

Zoolook

macrumors newbie
Oct 18, 2006
25
15
Beacon, NY
I would have recommend Banktivity as a replacement for quicken but they are going down the subscription model as well. At this point may just have to start using a spreadsheet.
I wouldn't usually defend subscription models, but I think in the financial management world it is a necessary evil. Bank connections are constantly changing, there are new cyber-security and data sensitivity regulations coming in all the time and IGG and Quicken for that matter need to have engineers working full time to keep up with the changes tens of thousands of institutions are making all the time. The alternative is they use data-aggregators, like Yodlee and others, who charge them a fee.

Anyone who thinks the cost of this is covered by a one time fee of $50, and expects to get 3 or 4 years of support, is naive.

In the end, it comes down to what kinds of companies you want to support and what kind of apps are important to you. For me personally, my finances are important, and IGG is the kind of company I'd like to support. Adobe, not so much...
 
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Zoolook

macrumors newbie
Oct 18, 2006
25
15
Beacon, NY
I’m 11 months into running YNAB (https://www.youneedabudget.com/) in parallel with Quicken as a part of a complete switch-over from Quicken (20+ year user) and two spreadsheets to a single program.
I also love YNAB, especially with YNAB Tools (you have to use Firefox or Chrome) it's really easy with some beautiful reporting. My only slight gripe is I have so many connectivity issues, especially with Discover and Amex, plus there is no portfolio analysis.
 

Ener Ji

macrumors 6502
Apr 10, 2010
473
340
Does anyone still use this.
I dumped them after they abandoned the Mac years ago.

Is Quicken for Mac still the gimped, feature-free version? They have always heavily favored Windows when it comes to Quicken.

They have been making major investments into Quicken for Mac for at least the last couple of years. The app has been steadily getting new, useful, features and capabilities roughly every couple of months.

Quicken for Windows is the alternative to Quicken for Mac. The Mac version feature space is a subset of the Windows app. Because of it, I spend an additional $100 a year on Parallels just so I don’t have to buy a PC computer for my financial management needs. Now, this stop gap is in jeopardy with the advent of Apple silicon Macs. Please Quicken, give the Apple app the same feature set as the Windows app so I can get rid of Parallels.

Out of curiosity, what features are you still missing from the Windows version? As I mentioned above, Quicken for Mac has made tremendous strides in recent years. It's not 100% at feature parity with Windows yet but it's getting closer.
 
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skymovieguy

macrumors newbie
Nov 20, 2020
3
2
planet earth
Can anyone recommend an alternative to Quicken?
It appears that an app called Buckets has entered the game and its style seems to be after the now defunct YNAB 4 that I still currently use since I bought it years ago. YNAB (You Need a Budget), went to a subscription model a few years ago, and a complete product redesign. They tried to implement direct importing of your transactions into the software but from what I read with so many banks around the world, that is probably taking up most of their time and it was something I never really thought would be worth subscribing to software for. Give Buckets a look. You also might be able to hack the YNAB 4 software by installing it, using it for the trial, then going into your User/Library/Application Support - and seeing if you can delete any files that started the trial - thus perpetually extending it forever. YNAB 4 Wass 32 bit - but someone created a script to do whatever magic that turned it into 64 bit, so it runs on my Catalina, and word has it Big Sur as well.


Here's a reddit with some YNAB 4 info:
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/gdzh8j
 
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seangoggin

macrumors newbie
Mar 23, 2019
2
0
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
https://www.banktivity.com/ is the closest alternative and will import the Quicken windows data. Even so, any data migration will need a few hours of debugging at least, with 25 years of data.

Last time I tried BankTivity the thing I could not live with is I put a lot of expected future transactions to plan stuff out and it was at least 2 years ago could not really deal with moving the time of account balances which you can do in Quicken. For example, what is my projected cash and securities balances on April 1 2021. It is very good, in general.

The Quicken for Windows is missing most graphical reports and can not deal with common brokerage setup where the cash balance is in a separate account (BoughtX, SellX) transactions. I try the Mac version is every year or so since the subscription to Quicken includes Mac and Windows versions. The Mac version is getting better and better.

I think Quicken windows is still best for my needs and have run it under a VM for years. The VM will not currently run on my M1 Mac, I think eventually someone will just brute force x86 emulation or maybe an ARM Windows version will be released. We are ok for a few years on x86 macs.
 

Just sayin...

macrumors 6502
Jan 8, 2008
386
624
...there is no portfolio analysis.
I agree with this 100%. However at the beginning of 2020, I took a look at exactly what I wanted to accomplish with various portfolio analysis runs, and came to the conclusion that Schwab‘s tools have been improved so that now they are “satisfactory enough” for me to get a high level analysis of all holdings (across two financial service institutions). I’ve been running my old system in parallel with my new, streamlined system for the past eleven months and I can see profit/loss, sector asset allocation, etc. with enough granularity for my uses...and save myself a lot of data entry and maintenance in the process. As of Dec 31st, I turn off my old system and gain about 2 hours/wk free time. Plus, I can now be totally platform-agnostic so, I can do everything using Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, whatever. I’m a very hands-on type, so relinquishing direct control took a lot of time and trust...but that’s where I’m headed.
 
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