The short answer
Choose WealthR if your question is "will my retirement plan work, and what should I do next?" — long-term forecasting, UK tax modelling, retirement income, sequence-of-returns stress testing, and FIRE planning. Free at the core tier, manual-entry, privacy-first.
Choose Moneyhub if your question is "where did my money go last month, across all my accounts?" — Open Banking aggregation, spending categorisation, transaction-level history, regulated Money Coach features. Paid subscription, requires bank linking.
Many UK users run both: Moneyhub for current-month visibility, WealthR for the retirement plan.
Quick comparison
Side by side
| Feature | WealthR | Moneyhub |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ✓ All core features free forever | ✕ Paid subscription (free trial only) |
| Bank linking required | ✕ Manual entry by design — no Open Banking | ✓ Open Banking is the core of the product |
| Primary focus | Future planning & retirement income | Past spending & account aggregation |
| UK income tax calculator | ✓ Full 2026/27 — HICBC, Marriage Allowance, Scottish bands, Student Loan | ✕ Not included |
| Retirement income modelling | ✓ 11 stream types with correct UK tax | ~ Pension balance view via OB; no income modelling |
| Sequence-of-returns stress test | ✓ SoRR scenario (−20%/−10% crash years 1–2 with 7yr recovery curve) | ✕ No |
| Tax-efficient withdrawal ordering | ✓ Yes (Cash → GIA → SIPP UFPLS → ISA → SIPP marginal) | ✕ No |
| Top-slicing relief calculator | ✓ Pro feature | ✕ No |
| Pro Tax Year Optimiser | ✓ HICBC escape plan · Marriage Allowance scanner with backdating · Move-into-ISA (Bed & ISA) candidates ranked against CGT allowance | ✕ No tax-optimisation tooling |
| Scenarios — what-if modelling | ✓ Income shock, cost of raising a child (CPAG-anchored), one-off shocks · runway / FIRE-date delay / lifetime cost · save and compare | ✕ No |
| Financial stress test | ✓ Job loss, mortgage rate rises, childcare, one-off costs · runway / 5yr net worth impact / monthly cash position | ✕ No |
| ISA allowance tracker | ✓ All 6 UK wrappers — S&S, Cash, LISA, JISA, IFISA, legacy Help to Buy · per-wrapper limits and remaining allowance | ✕ Account balances via OB · no per-wrapper allowance tracking |
| FIRE calculator | ✓ Full FIRE, Coast FIRE, depletion modelling · portfolio runway in years | ✕ No |
| Dividend income horizon | ✓ Reinvestment then income phases · UK £500 dividend allowance modelled | ✕ No |
| Property / mortgage tracking | ✓ Multi-property · joint ownership % · monthly mortgage amortisation · deal-expiry alerts · BTL cashflow + gross yield | ~ Property as account-level via OB / manual entry |
| JISA (Junior ISA) support | ✓ Per-child tracking · opt-in to net worth | ✕ Not a named category |
| Couples / household planning | ✓ Partner pensions tagged separately · joint property ownership % | ~ Shared / business tier features |
| Website-side calculator tools (separate from the app · no sign-up) | ✓ 19 free tools on wealthr.co.uk/tools/ — HICBC, marriage allowance, CGT calculator, stamp duty (SDLT), LBTT Scotland, LTT Wales, pension carry forward, Bed & ISA, CGT tracker, Coast FIRE, FIRE number, IHT on pensions, income shock, long-term care, Monte Carlo retirement, mortgage overpayment vs invest, salary sacrifice, cost of raising a child | ✕ None |
| Year Review with shareable card | ✓ Personalised end-of-year recap · social-safe (percentages-only) or with-amounts share image | ✕ No |
| Monthly debrief | ✓ Automatic debrief on each saved month · comparable-basis change · best-month flag | ✕ No |
| Transaction-level spending categorisation | ✕ No transaction view (manual monthly totals only) | ✓ Core feature — automatic from Open Banking |
| Budgeting tab | ✓ Built-in Budget tab — bill categories (housing, utilities, groceries, subscriptions etc.), take-home calc, savings-rate observations, FIRE-date link | ✓ Category-based budgeting via Open Banking aggregation |
| Subscription tracking | ~ Subscriptions as a budget category (Netflix, Spotify, gym etc.) — manual entry | ✓ Automatic recurring-payments detection |
| Automatic balance updates | ✕ Manual monthly entry (~2 minutes) | ✓ Via Open Banking |
| Regulated financial advice | ✕ Not regulated — planning aid only | ~ Money Coach features (verify FCA scope) |
| Privacy / data handling | ✓ No bank linking, no ads, no data selling | ~ Bank-linked via Open Banking infrastructure |
| Adviser share link (read-only) | ✓ Pro feature — share with your IFA / accountant | ~ Business-tier features exist for advisers |
| PDF report exports | ✓ Pro feature — IFA-style report | ~ Tier-dependent |
| Mobile app | ✓ iOS & Android (PWA) | ✓ Native iOS & Android |
| Pricing (consumer tier) | Free; Pro £4.99/mo or £39.99/yr | Paid — check moneyhub.com for current pricing |
| Built in | Edinburgh, UK | Bristol, UK |
Honest assessment
What each does well
Where WealthR is stronger
WealthR is built around future planning — particularly UK retirement income. The retirement income module models 11 stream types each with the correct UK tax treatment (State Pension, DB pension, SIPP UFPLS, SIPP drawdown, annuity, ISA withdrawal, GIA dividends, GIA interest, rental, offshore bond 5% withdrawal, other taxable, other tax-free). The Pension tab shows a recommended tax-efficient withdrawal sequence — the kind of plan you'd typically pay an IFA £500–£1,500 to lay out. The Forecast tab includes a sequence-of-returns stress test (a −20%/−10% crash in retirement years 1–2 with a 7-year recovery curve) — Moneyhub does not model this, nor do most paid IFA tools below the high-net-worth tier.
The full UK income tax calculator covers 2026/27 bands, HICBC with the higher-earner rule, Marriage Allowance with the £12,570 partner cap, Scottish rates (six bands), Student Loan Plans 1–5 plus Postgraduate, salary sacrifice relief, and the 60% personal allowance taper trap between £100k and £125,140. Moneyhub doesn't include a tax calculator at all.
Where Moneyhub is stronger
Moneyhub is genuinely excellent at aggregating past spending. If you have 4 current accounts, 3 credit cards, an ISA, a SIPP and a mortgage spread across multiple providers, Moneyhub will pull them into one view via Open Banking — automatically, every day. WealthR doesn't do automatic aggregation (its Budget tab covers the same bill categories but data is entered manually). For users who specifically want a unified spending dashboard pulled from their actual transactions, Moneyhub is the right tool.
Moneyhub is also FCA-regulated as an information provider and offers Money Coach-style features that go beyond categorisation. For users who genuinely want guided budgeting and behavioural nudges around spending, Moneyhub's product depth there is greater than WealthR's.
WealthR — pros
- Free at the core tier with no expiry — full planner, not a teaser
- 19 free standalone UK calculators on the website (no sign-up)
- Built specifically for UK retirement, FIRE and decumulation
- Full UK income tax calculator (2026/27, HICBC, Scottish bands, £100k trap)
- Pro Tax Year Optimiser — personalised HICBC / Marriage / Bed & ISA action plan
- 11-stream retirement income module with tax-efficient withdrawal ordering
- FIRE / Coast FIRE / depletion modelling with portfolio runway
- ISA tracker for all 6 UK wrappers (S&S, Cash, LISA, JISA, IFISA, Help to Buy)
- Sequence-of-returns stress test (FIRE community's biggest risk)
- Financial stress test — model job loss, rate rises, life events
- What-if Scenarios — income shock, child cost, runway delay
- Dividend income horizon planner with UK £500 allowance
- BTL cashflow + gross yield for landlords · multi-property + joint ownership
- Couples / household planning — partner pensions, joint property
- Year Review with shareable social card
- Adviser share links and IFA-style PDF reports (Pro)
- Privacy by design — no bank linking, no data sold
- One subscription covers your whole household
WealthR — cons
- Manual entry — about two minutes a month
- No automatic transaction categorisation
- No native iOS/Android app yet (works as PWA)
- Not regulated — planning aid, not advice
- Created 2026 — smaller team and user base than Moneyhub
Moneyhub — pros
- Comprehensive Open Banking aggregation
- Automatic transaction categorisation
- Detailed spending insights and budgeting tools
- FCA-regulated as an information provider
- Established product with long track record
Moneyhub — cons
- Paid subscription only — no permanent free tier (at consumer tier)
- No UK income tax calculator built in
- No retirement income modelling (balance view only)
- No sequence-of-returns stress test
- No Pro Tax Year Optimiser (HICBC escape, Marriage Allowance, Bed & ISA)
- No what-if Scenarios for life events (income shock, child cost)
- No financial stress test for job loss / mortgage rate shocks
- No ISA tracker across all 6 UK wrappers
- No FIRE / Coast FIRE / depletion modelling
- No dividend income horizon planner
- No multi-property with joint ownership or BTL cashflow modelling
- No couples / household planning view
- No JISA support as a named category
- No standalone calculator tools on the website
- Requires Open Banking — bank-link dependency
Decision framework
When to choose which
Choose WealthR if…
- You're approaching or already in UK retirement
- You want to model when your pot might run out
- You want an IFA-style report without the IFA fee
- You don't want to link your bank accounts
- You're planning FIRE / early retirement
- You're a UK couple modelling joint retirement
- You want a free UK income tax calculator built in
- You care about privacy and data minimisation
Choose Moneyhub if…
- Your priority is consolidating bank account views
- You want automatic transaction categorisation
- You want detailed monthly spending breakdowns
- You're comfortable with Open Banking access
- You want regulated Money Coach features
- You don't need retirement income modelling
- You're willing to pay a monthly subscription
Frequently asked
FAQ
Is WealthR a genuine free alternative to Moneyhub?
For different problems, yes. WealthR's core tier is free forever and covers UK retirement planning, FIRE, the income tax calculator, net worth tracking, ISA/SIPP/DB pension tracking and the sequence-of-returns stress test. Moneyhub is paid-only at the consumer tier. The caveat: WealthR doesn't aggregate bank accounts via Open Banking, so if that's specifically what you need, the two aren't substitutes.
Why doesn't WealthR use Open Banking like Moneyhub does?
Three reasons. First — privacy. Open Banking gives an aggregator continuous read access to your transactions; manual entry doesn't. Second — reliability. Open Banking connections break, expire, and require re-authentication; manual entry doesn't. Third — engagement. Spending two minutes a month entering your own numbers keeps you genuinely connected to your finances, which is the point of using a tracker. For users who really want automatic aggregation, Moneyhub does that well — they're complementary tools, not strict competitors.
Can I run my Moneyhub and WealthR setup at the same time?
Yes — many users do exactly this. Moneyhub handles current-month spending awareness via Open Banking; WealthR handles the retirement plan, FIRE projection, tax modelling and household net worth tracking. They sit in different parts of the financial workflow and don't conflict.
Does WealthR work for couples planning retirement together?
Yes — one WealthR subscription covers your whole household. There's no per-person tier. Pensions can be tagged as "Partner" so they show separately in the breakdown; property has an ownership percentage field for joint ownership. A dedicated Household mode with per-person tax calculations and side-by-side retirement scenarios is on the roadmap.
Which is better for someone already retired in the UK?
WealthR is built around exactly this use case. Toggle on retired mode at first launch (the onboarding asks "Are you working / approaching retirement / already retired?") and the entire app adapts — the Tax tab switches to retirement income, the Pension tab unlocks the retirement income module with 11 stream types, the Forecast tab shows portfolio runway and stress-tests sequence-of-returns risk. Moneyhub will give you a unified spending view but won't model the retirement income decisions.
Is the WealthR data actually accurate to the latest UK tax year?
Yes. WealthR's tax engine is keyed by tax year (2024/25, 2025/26, 2026/27 — and forward as HMRC announces). All current calculations use 2026/27 bands and thresholds. The State Pension figure auto-updates each April via the triple-lock-keyed rate table.
Try WealthR for free, see if it fits.
Free forever at the core tier. No bank linking. No credit card. The full retirement income module, FIRE calculator, UK tax calculator and sequence-of-returns stress test are all in the free tier.
Try WealthR free → Browse free UK toolsMore honest UK app comparisons
WealthR vs Snoop →
WealthR vs PensionBee →
WealthR vs WealthView →
WealthR vs Ledgi →
WealthR vs Emma →
Disclaimer. This comparison reflects publicly available information from moneyhub.com as of 23 May 2026. Features, pricing and plan tiers may have changed since — always verify current details on the official Moneyhub website before making a decision. WealthR is a planning aid, not regulated financial advice. Moneyhub is a third-party product and trademark of Moneyhub Financial Technology Ltd, referenced here under nominative fair use for objective comparison purposes only. WealthR is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with Moneyhub. Spotted something inaccurate? Email hello@wealthr.co.uk and we'll review and update promptly.