Financial planning software for the mass market is dominated by two major players – Microsoft Money and Intuit Inc.'s Quicken line. Just about every ranking of top money management software lists these two at the top of the heap, but they are not the only choices. Anyone looking for a software package to help with budgeting and bill paying has a wide range of choices, especially if their needs are limited and they are not interested in a lot of the bells and whistles offered by the major programs.

Just because the other players in the field do not have the same market share as Quicken or Money, some come from large, well respected companies. Both H&R Block and Peachtree Software Inc. offer specialized software that can be used for financial planning, plus there are numerous smaller companies that offer programs with fewer features.

Other Software Players

A new player to hit the market recently is a financial planning suite called Moneydance from Reilly Technologies, a company specializing in financial software. With a price tag of $30, Moneydance offers features that are comparable to both Quicken and Money and is currently being listed in the same reviews as the big two, getting just about as much praise. Moneydance does not include as many features as the other two, but covers the basics of handling bills and writing checks. It also offers internet connectivity, rapidly becoming an essential feature of money management software. A free, triall version is available online.

For the bargain price of $20, someone looking for money management software can download SmartMoney (or pay $30 to receive a CD in the mail), another basic package. Like the others, SmartMoney can balance checkbooks, pay bills, and manage the family budget. Unlike Moneydance, which runs on the Mac and Linux operating systems, SmartMoney is a Windows-only offering.

Others

Other smaller, less robust programs are almost too numerous to mention. A basic check writing or home budgeting shareware program can be purchased for as little as $5, but you get what you pay for. These programs might not offer internet connectivity or be very limited in the scope of sites with which they are compatible. Also, since the world of finance changes so rapidly, many of these smaller programs could become out of date rather quickly and not offer updates.