Should I Build It Should I Build It
06 Aug 2025
Personal Finance Fintech Money

A financial app to track net worth, spending habits, retirement, etc

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space with your financial tracking app idea. Our analysis shows 25 similar products already launched, indicating high competition. This puts your idea squarely in what we call the 'Swamp' category, where many mediocre solutions exist. The average engagement for these products is low, with an average of only 2 comments per product launch. No buy or use signals were detected. To be blunt, many have tried and few have truly broken through. To succeed, you'll need a fundamentally different approach, not just another iteration of existing features.

Recommendations

  1. Start by deeply researching why existing financial tracking solutions haven't fully satisfied users. Analyze their shortcomings and identify unmet needs. Don't just look at features; consider usability, privacy, and integration with other financial tools. Many users complain about lack of import features or usability issues.
  2. If you decide to proceed, focus on a specific niche or demographic that's currently underserved by existing apps. Perhaps target freelancers, students, or a particular age group with unique financial needs. This will allow you to tailor your app and marketing efforts for maximum impact.
  3. Instead of directly competing with established players, explore the possibility of building tools or integrations for them. For example, create a plugin for existing accounting software or develop a data analysis tool that complements other financial apps.
  4. Consider exploring adjacent problems that might be more promising. For instance, could you focus on financial education, automated investing, or tools for managing debt? These areas might offer less direct competition and greater potential for growth.
  5. Carefully assess the market's appetite for another general-purpose financial tracking app. Given the high competition and low engagement, it might be wise to save your energy and resources for a different opportunity with better prospects. The similar products' discussion summaries point towards the criticality of UX/UI; make sure to hire a solid designer.
  6. Given the feedback on similar apps regarding privacy concerns and data security, heavily emphasize these aspects in your marketing and app design. Consider incorporating end-to-end encryption and transparent data handling policies.
  7. Since many similar products are missing in some countries, research these market gaps and consider focusing on making the app available to everyone, if you decide to move forward.
  8. Before committing to full development, create a detailed prototype and gather feedback from your target audience. This will help you validate your assumptions and identify potential usability issues early on. Make sure to focus on the onboarding and user experience. From the discussion and criticism summaries, people struggle with this.

Questions

  1. What unique problem are you solving that existing financial tracking apps don't address adequately, and how will you validate that this problem is significant enough to attract a dedicated user base?
  2. Given the low engagement observed in similar products, what specific strategies will you employ to foster a loyal and active user community around your app?
  3. How will you differentiate your app's user experience to overcome the perception that it's 'just another spreadsheet,' and what specific features will you prioritize to drive genuine user value?

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space with your financial tracking app idea. Our analysis shows 25 similar products already launched, indicating high competition. This puts your idea squarely in what we call the 'Swamp' category, where many mediocre solutions exist. The average engagement for these products is low, with an average of only 2 comments per product launch. No buy or use signals were detected. To be blunt, many have tried and few have truly broken through. To succeed, you'll need a fundamentally different approach, not just another iteration of existing features.

Recommendations

  1. Start by deeply researching why existing financial tracking solutions haven't fully satisfied users. Analyze their shortcomings and identify unmet needs. Don't just look at features; consider usability, privacy, and integration with other financial tools. Many users complain about lack of import features or usability issues.
  2. If you decide to proceed, focus on a specific niche or demographic that's currently underserved by existing apps. Perhaps target freelancers, students, or a particular age group with unique financial needs. This will allow you to tailor your app and marketing efforts for maximum impact.
  3. Instead of directly competing with established players, explore the possibility of building tools or integrations for them. For example, create a plugin for existing accounting software or develop a data analysis tool that complements other financial apps.
  4. Consider exploring adjacent problems that might be more promising. For instance, could you focus on financial education, automated investing, or tools for managing debt? These areas might offer less direct competition and greater potential for growth.
  5. Carefully assess the market's appetite for another general-purpose financial tracking app. Given the high competition and low engagement, it might be wise to save your energy and resources for a different opportunity with better prospects. The similar products' discussion summaries point towards the criticality of UX/UI; make sure to hire a solid designer.
  6. Given the feedback on similar apps regarding privacy concerns and data security, heavily emphasize these aspects in your marketing and app design. Consider incorporating end-to-end encryption and transparent data handling policies.
  7. Since many similar products are missing in some countries, research these market gaps and consider focusing on making the app available to everyone, if you decide to move forward.
  8. Before committing to full development, create a detailed prototype and gather feedback from your target audience. This will help you validate your assumptions and identify potential usability issues early on. Make sure to focus on the onboarding and user experience. From the discussion and criticism summaries, people struggle with this.

Questions

  1. What unique problem are you solving that existing financial tracking apps don't address adequately, and how will you validate that this problem is significant enough to attract a dedicated user base?
  2. Given the low engagement observed in similar products, what specific strategies will you employ to foster a loyal and active user community around your app?
  3. How will you differentiate your app's user experience to overcome the perception that it's 'just another spreadsheet,' and what specific features will you prioritize to drive genuine user value?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 25
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 2
  • Net use signal: 22.9%
    • Positive use signal: 22.9%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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