There is a plethora of finance management software in the market to help you manage your business and home budgets. But, which finance management software would suit your requirements most perfectly is the question. Before choosing the right finance management software, you need to compare the features and benefits of the various money management software available in the market and then make an intelligent choice.

Let's first look at the various finance management software available in the market. Some business and personal finance management software in the market are as follows:

Moneydance
Quicken
AceMoney
BankTree
ManageME
Rich or Poor
Budget Express
Account Express
iCash

Let's compare the features offered by the above-mentioned accounting software. You can then judge for yourself, which accounting software would be the best for you.

Cost - The first and foremost factor that comes to mind while purchasing an accounting software is its cost. The software should be affordable and within your home budget. Let's have a comparative look at the cost of various money management software available in the market today.

Microsoft Money is available for $19.99.
Quicken is priced slightly higher at $29.95, while Moneydance is also available at a similar price of $29.99 as is AceMoney for $30.
BankTree is pegged slightly higher at $51, while you can buy Rich or Poor at a comparatively lower price of $29.95.
However, ManageME is available completely free of cost.
Budget Express, Account Express, and iCash are available for $34.95, $39.98, and $39.90 respectively.

So, ManageME definitely scores above all these software as far as cost is concerned.

Easy to operate - Does your accounting software have an easy to understand, user-friendly interface? Do you find the software easy to operate or do the multiple menus and convoluted instructions leave you frustrated and angry? Well, how easy the money management software is to operate is definitely a major factor in its success. Let's compare the ease of use of various money management software.

Microsoft Money is easy to install and use. It offers a more convenient interface as compared to Quicken and Moneydance.
AceMoney is also easy to install and the interface is easy to understand as is BankTree with its large navigation buttons that enable the user to navigate through the various screens easily.
ManageME is also an incredibly easy to use software. It has a logical and easy to understand interface and intuitive features that make using it a breeze.
However, Rich or Poor doesn't have a setup wizard to help you in setting up the software initially. It's also a little tiresome to connect to your bank accounts using Rich or Poor. Budget Express focuses mainly on budgeting and is easy to use. However, Account Express doesn't offer a wizard to help you in the initial installation and the users have to face considerable difficulty in entering their financial information.

Managing bank accounts and bill payments - One of the primary uses of finance management software is managing bank accounts and bills. Let's compare how the various finance management software fare on this criteria.

You can manage multiple accounts in different banks using Microsoft Money. You can also connect directly to the banks and transfer and withdraw money.
Quicken also has an excellent bank account management feature. It provides you instant access to 4,000 banks and credit cards. It enables you to pay your bills, write checks, and transfer money from the comforts of your home.
Moneydance also enables you to connect automatically to multiple banks and additionally it allows you to pay your bills for free.
Though AceMoney enables you to connect online to multiple banks, however only a few banks support AceMoney. This significantly limits your online banking using AceMoney. BankTree does not allow you to connect directly to your bank.
With ManageME, you can manage accounts in multiple banks. It also allows you to manage cash expenditures under multiple heads. In fact, there is no limit to the number of accounts you can manage with ManageME. Another delightful feature is that ManageME enables you to set reminders for your bills, so that you never miss an important bill date and manage your home budget successfully!!!
Rich or Poor also allows you to set up multiple accounts, but you cannot download data from the Internet.
Budget Express also has an extremely proficient bill management system, which provides you reminders for your due bills.
Although the account entering process for Account Express is a little difficult, once that is done, you are able to manage your accounts easily.
iCash also allows you to manage your accounts easily.

Reporting - The number and variety of reports provided by finance management software determine how useful it's to the user. Let's learn about the reporting feature of various money management software.

Microsoft Money offers a large variety of helpful reports, charts, and graphs.
Quicken also offers a variety of reports, which enable you to easily keep track of your finances.
Intelligent reporting is a useful feature of Moneydance too. What's more, you can save your favorite reports and retrieve them later.
However, the reporting feature of AceMoney could do with some improvement, since it offers only nine reports.
BankTree also offers about eight different types of reports to enable you to keep track of your money.
Let's check out the reporting feature of ManageME. The reports provided by ManageME provide you with a comprehensive view of your finances. You can keep track of account wise expenditures, overall expenses, and whether you have exceeded your home budget limits or not.
Rich or Poor also has a detailed reporting system that gives the users a clear idea of their finances.
Budget Express, as the name suggests, provides you with reports only about your budgeting.
Account Express also has a decent reporting system, which provides you with a clear picture of your finances.
iCash provides you with only five reports, which limits your ability to get a clear picture of your finances.

So, these are some of the comparative features of some business and personal finance management software available in the market today. This comparative study will enable you to decide, which is the best and most useful finance management software for your requirements.