Honest comparison

Financial IQ vs Plum

Plum is a good product. Here is where each of us is genuinely better, including the parts where that is not us.

Choose Plum if

Its auto-saving algorithm works. It moves small amounts you do not miss, and people who cannot save deliberately end up with savings.

Saving and investing sit in the same app, with a curated fund range, so the money does not have to go anywhere else.

If you want the decision taken away rather than explained, that is a legitimate preference and it is the better product for it.

Choose Financial IQ if

You want to understand the decisions rather than have them automated away.

You run a company as well as a household.

You want the working shown on every figure.

Feature by feature

Capability

Financial IQ

Plum

Budgeting approach

Financial IQ: Multiple methods: 50/30/20, zero-based, envelope, and custom

Plum: AI-driven automatic saving based on spending patterns

Debt management

Financial IQ: Comprehensive tools with snowball and avalanche comparison

Plum: Not a primary feature

Financial education

Financial IQ: Education-first: articles, creator programmes and guided learning

Plum: In-app nudges and savings prompts

Property portfolio tools

Financial IQ: Section 24, buy-to-let calculators, and landlord guidance

Plum: Investment-focused with fund selection

Free tier availability

Financial IQ: Free tier with budgeting, net worth, and education access

Plum: Free tier available with basic features

From publicly published feature lists, last checked 2 September 2026. Competitors ship; recheck quarterly.

Already on Plum?

The switching cost is the real objection, not the feature list. Tell us what you are on and we will tell you honestly what moving involves.