Quicken, after 25 years of existence, has finally launched something that users have wanted in the for a long time: a companion website that mirrors the features and information found in the desktop version. Now, you can work on much of your Quicken data in a web browser, from anywhere, since the data is stored in the cloud and syncs with your desktop file. The new web access capabilities also take away some of Quicken's intimidation factor and makes it more competitive with state-of-the-art personal finance websites. As a result, Quicken is the Editors' Choice for paid personal finance services. There are four versions of Quicken 2019.

All let you download transactions so that you can get a comprehensive view of your finances through a variety of lenses. You can simply track your income and expenses, create budgets, and run reports in the most junior version.

† Limited time offer of 10% off the list price applies only to the purchase of Quicken Deluxe, Premier, Home, Business & Rental Property for the first year only when you order directly from Quicken by September 30, 2019, 11:59 PM PST.

If you want to view and manage your investments, track your property and debt, pay bills online, and do long-term planning, you'll find tools for those actions in the more advanced plans. Quicken's newest tools—especially the companion website—offer a state-of-the-art user experience, but make older features look dated by comparison. Quicken launched a membership program with its 2018 version. Instead of paying for the application upfront, you now pay for a one- or two-year membership and receive upgrades as long as you maintain your subscription.

Quicken Starter ($34.99 per year) is best for consumers who just want to connect to their online financial accounts and track income and expenses, monthly budgets, bills, reports, calendars, and alerts. The version tested here, Quicken Deluxe ($49.99), adds sophisticated investment tracking. Quicken Premier ($74.99 per year) offers Quicken BillPay and priority access to customer support. Quicken Home & Business ($99.99 per year) allows you to track business data as well as personal income and expenses. The competition has grown steadily, though, as you can see from our reviews of rival personal finance web services, such as,, and, the Editors' Choice for free personal finance services. With those services, you can get a lot of good personal finance functionality for little or no monthly cost and have anytime, anywhere access.

Some Setup Required. Quicken 2019 comes ready to use, but there are some setup chores you should do to make it work the way you want. Open the Edit menu in the Windows toolbar, select Preferences, and choose from options related to program functions like navigation, the register display, and downloaded transactions.

Of course, you'll need to connect your online accounts if you want Quicken to import cleared transactions from your financial institutions. The software supports spending and saving, property and assets, investing and retirement, and debt accounts. You usually just supply the user name and password that you use to log in to these online accounts to set up the connection. Mint and other competitors work similarly.