Quicken vs. Money 2006

Still, we rated the setup and the interface of Quicken higher than that of Money. To start, Money 2006 works only with Windows, but Quicken 2006 works with Windows and Macs. We aren't thrilled that Microsoft requests that you log in to Money with your .Net Passport account, nor are we happy that it stores your personal financial data on its servers. Yes, these servers are secure, but we'd prefer to keep our finances tucked away on our own computer, as Quicken allows.

Quicken also offers a few more features than its contender, such as the ability to attach images of, say, a canceled check to your transactions. And the new mini reports let you view a pop-up window within a ledger to see the latest activity on certain expenses.

We've received many irate comments from CNET users who are upset that their bank now charges to download data in Quicken's new file format, OFX, which replaced the QIF format in version 2005. While Intuit charges financial institutions to use OFX, it has no control over how much a bank might pass along to the consumer. Microsoft doesn't charge financial institutions to download to Money, but some financial institutions nevertheless demand a fee from you to download data for Money. You may be able to ask your bank, credit card company, or investment firm to waive such a fee.