Do you need objective advice and timely tips to answer your money questions? Why don’t you turn to the Nerds? In this NerdWallet review, we’ll discuss whether or not the nerds may be for you!
Their online platform provides financial advice and resources like credit cards, mortgages, insurance, and personal loans. NerdWallet makes its money by promoting financial products to its users and earning fees from its financial services partners.
There are several alternatives to NerdWallet, such as Mint, The Points Guy, and Chime.
Table of Contents
NerdWallet Review of the Platform
NerdWallet is a personal finance company based in the United States. Established in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, it provides financial advice and resources to individuals and small and mid-sized businesses through its online platform.
A NerdWallet review funds that they operate with a transparent business model. It provides a website and app to access objective ratings, reviews, and personalized insights. The company’s revenue is generated through promoting financial products to its users and earning fees from its financial services partners.
The company’s headquarters are in San Francisco, California, and as of 2022, it had approximately 770 employees. In 2023, NerdWallet was recognized as one of the 100 Best Medium Workplaces, with a culture encouraging experimentation and continuous improvement.
NerdWallet Services
NerdWallet stands out with its unique financial services and resources through its online platform. These services empower individuals and small-to-mid-sized businesses with the knowledge they need to make informed financial decisions.
A NerdWallet review found their key services include the following:
Credit Cards: NerdWallet offers a platform where users can browse and compare the best credit cards for cash back, travel rewards, 0% APR, and credit building. They can even apply for selected cards.
Refinance Rates: NerdWallet can help you refinance your mortgage. Users can get information on 30-year fixed refinance rates, 5-year ARM refinance rates, FHA refinance rates, V.A. refinance rates, and Jumbo refinance rates.
Student Loans: NerdWallet offers detailed comparisons and evaluations of various student loan choices. These include private student loans, loans for parents to pay for their children’s college education, loans for individuals with poor credit, and options for acquiring student loans without needing a co-signer.
Mortgages: NerdWallet can help determine how much house you can afford, guiding home-related costs based on income and other financial factors.
Financial News: NerdWallet offers a section on financial news, providing up-to-date information and insights on various financial topics.
Personal Loans, Savings Accounts, Banking, and Credit Score: NerdWallet also provides information and resources for personal loans, savings accounts, banking services, and credit score guidance, aiming to help individuals make well-informed financial decisions.
Insurance: NerdWallet provides insurance services through NerdWallet Insurance Services, Inc. They help users understand insurance options and make informed decisions about insurance products.
NerdWallet Review of the Pros
A NerdWallet review found that they offer many benefits to users, such as
- Free imports of financial transactions
- Free credit score checker and simulation. It has good walkthroughs on how to get your credit back on track.
- Explores credit score, net worth, cash flow
- Voluminous financial literacy content
- Offers financial products such as credit cards, mortgages, student loans, personal loans, savings accounts, and banking
- Little advertising on the site
NerdWallet Review of the Cons
While NerdWallet provides numerous benefits, there are also a few potential drawbacks. Here is a NerdWallet review of the cons.
- They make their money by promoting certain financial products, which means they might not always be the best fit for users.
- You cannot refresh your account balances on demand. From what I can see online, some people have issues with some accounts not refreshing for days or weeks.
- The site does not allow you to create a budget. However, this shouldn’t be a deal breaker as many budget apps are online.
NerdWallet's Premium Servies
NerdWallet offers premium services and partnerships with financial institutions. Although NerdWallet offers free financial resources and tools, premium services and partnerships (e.g., insurance products) may incur fees. I suggest you review the specifics of the services you want to see if they’re worth it.
Are they free? A NerdWallet review of their pricing found that many of NerdWallet’s services are free to users. These include free articles, guides, and calculators, as well as free tools for budgeting, credit score monitoring, and tax preparation.
Should I be concerned about how they make their money? In case you didn’t know, NerdWallet generates revenue by promoting financial products to its users and earning fees from its financial services partners.
Are They Biased?
We found in this NerdWallet review that their primary focus is advertising revenue. Therefore, everything on the site gears towards getting traffic, showing ads, and improving click-through. That doesn’t mean all their info is bad. It just means it’s biased. The platform may recommend and promote certain financial products, which may not always be the best fit for a user’s unique financial situation.
However, even though they have some paid ads, they provide thorough breakdowns of each organization, credit union, bank, etc., which are spot on. Of course, each article may be biased based on the writer’s preferences, but that’ll be the same as any third-party advice you receive.
Caution: NerdWallet does not replace the need for a financial advisor.
Although NerdWallet provides a wealth of financial education and resources, these materials may not be as detailed or up-
Are They Safe?
NerdWallet takes data security seriously and uses industry-standard encryption. Moreover, the site uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption when handling sensitive data, as evidenced by the “https” in its website URL. Additionally, NerdWallet conducts periodic security audits to ensure the safety of its users’ data.
That said, it is important to note in this NerdWallet review, like any other website, they’re not completely immune to cyber attacks. Hence, users should protect their sensitive information by using unique passwords, closing their accounts after use, and avoiding public Wi-Fi when accessing NerdWallet’s site.
NerdWallet can be considered safe for users seeking financial advice and services. However, as always, users must take precautions to ensure the security of their data.
NerdWallet Review of Competitors
If you read this NerdWallet review and thought they may not be for you, that’s okay! NerdWallet has numerous competitors with similar financial tools, information, and resources. Let’s take a peek at some of the competitors:
1. Money Under 30
Money Under 30 is a website that helps young adults with financial decisions. They offer advice on credit, debt, investing, and budgeting. The website was founded in 2006 to help people build wealth, even with minimal financial knowledge and experience.
Like NerdWallet, Money Under 30 provides tools, calculators, and educational resources to help you make smart money decisions. As a result, check them out if this NerdWallet review isn’t for you.
2. Mint
In 2009, Intuit got hold of Mint, a free online tool that helps individuals monitor their spending, budget, and credit score and get personalized financial insights. Mint connects to all financial accounts to give users a comprehensive understanding of their financial situation and customized recommendations on managing their funds.
Furthermore, they provide features like transaction categorization, budget tracking, bill reminders, and goal setting. Mint is a dependable and secure platform using Intuit’s financial software and services expertise.
It helps users understand their spending patterns, identify areas for improvement, and make informed financial decisions. Mint has become increasingly popular due to a few reasons, namely:
- its user-friendly interface,
- ability to use on multiple devices, and its
- capacity to consolidate financial information in one location.
That said, it’s a great resource to monitor your expenses, establish budgets, and better your financial well-being. Additionally, Mint is known for its free budgeting apps. Because of this, Mint is a competitor to NerdWallet. Let’s continue with the last one in this NerdWallet review.
3. Chime
Chime Financial, Inc. is a company that provides fee-free mobile banking services. It partners with regional banks. The company is in San Francisco.
Chime is known for being the largest digital bank in America. It offers free checking accounts and doesn’t charge any overdraft fees. Chime positions itself as a user-friendly and accessible banking option for consumers.
Chime offers many banking products and services. They aim to make basic banking services helpful, easy, and free.
Some of the services provided by Chime include:
- early access to paychecks,
- no overdraft fees for negative account balances,
- high-yield savings accounts,
- peer-to-peer payments, and
- an interest-free secured credit card.
For clarity, Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. It collaborates with banks, such as The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. Chime’s partner banks provide banking services, while Chime focuses on creating innovative products, features, and benefits for its members and developing convenient technology tools.
Chime Financial is a financial technology company that collaborates with partner banks to offer fee-free mobile banking services, presenting a competitive option to NerdWallet.
Final Thoughts: NerdWallet Review
We hope you enjoyed our NerdWallet review. NerdWallet provides a wealth of resources focused on personal finance education. And it’s free. However, they make their money off advertising and referral fees from the financial products they recommend.
Keep that in mind. Also, make sure to use other sites to find the true reviews of those companies you want to deal with so you can compare them and make an informed decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rest assured, data security is NerdWallet's top priority. The website utilizes standard encryption methods and implements Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption to safeguard sensitive data, as indicated by the "https" in the web address. You can trust NerdWallet to keep your information safe.
Yes, NerdWallet is available in Canada and focuses on products specific to Canadians, such as TFSAs and RRSPs.
Sort of. NerdWallet provides a wide range of financial services and resources to its users, many of which are free. However, users can choose NerdWallet's premium services, which offer access to enhanced services and products.
There are several alternatives to NerdWallet, such as Mint, The Points Guy, and Chime.
