• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Good Financial Cents®
Content is based on in-depth research & analysis. Opinions are our own. We may earn a commission when you click or make a purchase from links on our site. Learn more.
  • Make Money
    • Get Money Now
      • Ultimate Guide to Making Money
      • Need Money Now
      • Get Free Money Fast
      • Make Money Fast
      • Make $1K Per Month
      • Make $100 Per Day
    • Control Your Destiny
      • Self Employed Jobs
      • Make Money from Home
      • Hobbies That Make Money
      • How to Become a Freelance Writer
      • Small Business Ideas to Start
      • How to Become an Independent Contractor
      • Best Online Jobs
    • Passive Income
      • Passive Income Ideas
      • Multiple Streams of Income
      • Extra Income
      • Residual Income Ideas
      • Learn to Sell e-Books
      • Make Money on Facebook
      • Make Money on Tiktok
      • Best Online Survey Sites to Make Money
    • Explore More
      • Best Side Hustle Ideas
      • Make Money for Teens
      • Best Online Colleges
      • Best Jobs No College Degree
      • Become a Millionaire
      • Careers for the Future
  • Manage Money
    • Best Of
      • Budgeting Tools
      • Personal Finance Software
      • Best Cashback Cards
    • Company Reviews
      • Personal Capital vs Mint
      • Personal Capital Review
      • SmartAsset Review
    • Guides
      • Buy or Lease a Car
      • What is Liquid Net Worth?
      • Setting Financial Goals
      • How to Budget
      • Ways to Save Money
    • Explore More
      • How Much Car Can I Afford?
      • Best Auto Refinance Companies
  • Invest
    • Best Of
      • Best Short and Long-Term Investments
      • Best Low Risk Investments
      • Best Online Stock Brokers
      • Best Crypto Exchanges
      • Best Short Term Investments
      • Best Long Term Investments
      • Best Trading Platforms
      • Best Investment Apps
    • Company Reviews
      • Lending Club
      • Robinhood
      • M1 Finance
      • Ally
      • TD Ameritrade
      • Fundrise
      • Betterment
      • Etrade
      • Wealthfront
    • Guides
      • Investing for Beginners
      • Investing Small Amounts of Money
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • No Money Down Real Estate
      • Bonds vs Stocks
      • Peer to Peer Lending
      • Best Hedges Against Inflation
      • Safe Bitcoin Investing in 2023
    • Explore More
      • Bitcoin vs. Real Estate
      • Betterment vs Wealthfront
      • Investing for College Students
      • Stock Market Alternatives
    • By Investment Amount
      • How to Invest $100
      • How to Invest $1K
      • How to Invest $2k-$3k
      • How to Invest $5K
      • How to Invest $10K
      • How to Invest $15k
      • How to Invest $20K
      • How to Invest $30k
      • How to Invest $50K
      • How to Invest $100K
      • How to Invest $200K
      • How to Invest $500K
      • How to Invest $1M
  • Taxes
    • Best Of
      • Best Tax Relief Companies
      • Best Tax Software
    • Guides
      • Federal Income Tax Guide 2023
      • Taxes and Cryptocurrency
      • How to Do Your Own Taxes
      • How to Invest Your Tax Refund
      • Hiring a Professional Tax Preparer
      • Tax Tips for Freelancers
    • Company Reviews
      • TurboTax Review
      • H&R Block Review
      • Taxslayer
      • Tax Act
  • Insurance
    • Best Of
      • Best Life Insurance
      • Best Home Insurance
      • Best Auto Insurance
      • Cheap Term Life Insurance
      • Car Insurance For Young Adults
    • Guides
      • Term vs Whole Life
      • Different Types of Car Insurance
      • Average Cost of Car Insurance
    • Explore More
      • Life Insurance Over 50
      • Life Insurance Over 80
      • $1 Million Life Insurance
      • $2 Million Life Insurance
      • $3 Million Life Insurance
    • Company Reviews
      • Banner Life Insurance
      • Ladder Life Insurance
      • Health IQ
      • Haven Life
      • Policygenius
      • State Farm Auto Insurance Review
  • Retirement
    • Roth IRA
      • Best Places to Open a Roth IRA
      • Best Investments for Roth IRA
      • 7 Roth IRA Secrets
      • Roth IRA Conversion Guide
      • Roth IRA Rules
      • Roth IRA vs Roth 401k
      • Are Roth IRA Contributions Tax Deductible?
    • 401(k)
      • 401(k) Limits
      • 401(k) to Roth Rollover
      • Is 401(k) Enough for Retirement?
      • Maxed Out 401(k): What's next?
    • Traditional IRA
      • Traditional IRA Rules and Limits
      • Traditional IRA vs. 401(k)
      • Simple IRA Rules
      • SEP IRA Rules
      • How Much Do You Need to Start an IRA?
    • Explore More
      • SEP IRA vs. Roth IRA
      • 457 Plan for Successful Retirement
      • 401a Rollover Rules
      • How to Retire at 50
      • How to Retire at 55
  • Banking
    • Best Of
      • Best National Banks
      • Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
      • Best Checking Accounts
      • Best Savings Accounts
      • Best CD Rates
      • Best Money Market Accounts
    • Company Reviews
      • BBVA
      • Synchrony
      • Wells Fargo
    • Explore More
      • 9 Banking Alternatives for 2023
      • What is a Credit Union?
  • Home
    • Best Of
      • Best Mortgage Lenders
      • Best Mortgage Refinance Companies
      • Best Home Warranties
      • Best Homeowners Insurance
      • Best VA Loans
      • Best Mortgage Rates
      • Best Moving Companies
      • Best Home Security
    • Guides
      • Home Buying Checklist
      • Online Home Appraisal
      • How Much House Can I Afford?
      • First-time Homebuyer Programs
      • How to Get Approved for a Home Loan
      • Save Money When Building a House
      • How to Save for a Downpayment
      • When to Refinance Your Mortgage
    • Explore More
      • 15 vs. 30-year Mortgage
      • Home Warranty vs. Home Insurance
      • Veterans United Home Loan Review
      • Quicken Loans Review
      • HELOC vs Second Mortgage
      • DCU Mortgage Review
      • Costco Mortgage Program Review
      • USAA Mortgage Loan Review
  • Credit
    • Best Of
      • Best Credit Repair Companies
      • Best ID Theft Protection Services
      • Best Credit Report Options
      • Best Bad Credit Loans
    • Guides
      • How to Build Your Credit Score
      • How to Raise Your Credit Score in 5 Months
      • How to Dispute Your Credit Report
      • Hot to Remove Collections from Your Credit Reports
      • How Identity Theft Destroys Your Credit Score
    • Explore More
      • What is a Good Credit Score?
      • What is a Bad Credit Score?
  • Debt
    • Best Of
      • Best Debt Consolidation Loans
      • Best Personal Loans
      • Best Student Loans
      • Best Student Loan Refinance
    • Guides
      • What is Debt Consolidation?
      • How to Get Out of Debt
      • How to Get a Personal Loan Approved
      • How to Pay Off Student Loans Faster
      • Should I Consolidate My Debts?
      • Should I File for Bankruptcy?
    • Company Reviews
      • Credible
      • Sofi
Advertiser Disclosure (How We Make Money)
GoodFinancialCents.com has an advertising relationship with the companies included on this page. All of our content is based on objective analysis, and the opinions are our own. For more information, please check out our full disclaimer and complete list of partners.

SmartAsset Review

Jeff Rose, CFP® | May 23, 2022

Deciding what to do with your retirement payout when it comes is difficult for most retirees.

Thinking about which financial advisor to trust with that function can be intimidating—nobody likes the thought of losing their life savings to an ill-considered investment. In short, financial literacy is a widespread and growing problem.

Well, the smart people at SmartAsset thought it was about time someone did something about this. In this review, we lift the lid on how their product accomplishes that aim.

What is SmartAsset?

SmartAsset is a financial technology company with personalized financial modeling software.

It helps people make informed decisions about their finances. The company’s website is a treasure trove of tools and guides to help you decide what to do with your money.

Besides that, SmartAsset uses its software to link users with financial advisors, in their area or online, to help them with specific needs. 

Get Started with SmartAsset

How Does SmartAsset Work?

It is straightforward. You have an issue of a financial nature that confuses you. After typing a question into Google, you land on their site through one of their many financial guides.

smart asset review

Perhaps you want actual figures on:

  • the total monthly payment breakdown on your mortgage, 
  • the federal taxes you owe, or
  • the amount of money you must save every month if you want to be comfortable in your retirement. 

We are talking about the sort of personal financial information regular folks don’t always have at their disposal. So directly, or through their guides or their smartreads, you will land on one of their calculators.

All you do is fill in your personal information and location, and the calculators will tell you precisely what you can afford, what you owe, or what you must save now to have your goal amount saved upon your retirement.

As you will see below, SmartAsset helps users with a lot more than just mortgage and tax calculations. 

Ads by Money. We may be compensated if you click this ad.AdAds by Money disclaimer
Need to straighten up your finances but don't know where to start?
Let a financial advisor pave the way. SmartAsset offers one-on-one personalized financial planning that adjusts to your budgets and needs. Click your state to get started!
HawaiiAlaskaFloridaSouth CarolinaGeorgiaAlabamaNorth CarolinaTennesseeRIRhode IslandCTConnecticutMAMassachusettsMaineNHNew HampshireVTVermontNew YorkNJNew JerseyDEDelawareMDMarylandWest VirginiaOhioMichiganArizonaNevadaUtahColoradoNew MexicoSouth DakotaIowaIndianaIllinoisMinnesotaWisconsinMissouriLouisianaVirginiaDCWashington DCIdahoCaliforniaNorth DakotaWashingtonOregonMontanaWyomingNebraskaKansasOklahomaPennsylvaniaKentuckyMississippiArkansasTexas
Get Personalized Advice

Features of SmartAsset

The SmartAsset suite of calculators and guides are offered under different branches of personal finance. Below we break these down and expand on how they deliver on the platform’s core promise.

Financial Advisor Search

Smart Asset has a great platform for finding a financial planner in your area. Not only do the vet all the financial planners in their network, they also take you through a short questionnaire to match you with an advisor that meets your needs.

The process is quick, the questions are easy, and the results are instant. You don’t even have to get bombarded by phone calls because the information for each advisor in your area is displayed on the screen.

If you are looking for a financial planner, but aren’t sure where to start or who to trust, the SmartAsset financial advisor service will jump-start your search.

Find a Financial Advisor

Home Buying

SmartAsset has several tools to help prospective homeowners make the right decisions.

From which house you can afford on your current income, to the mortgage you will pay on the property, and the costs for closing the lease, to even whether you should buy a home or should instead be considering renting.

So, all the tools you need to qualify your choices and options when buying property are right there at your fingertips. You don’t have to do anything beyond filling in the fields on your income and where you intend to buy a property.

There are comprehensive guides on purchasing a home also on the website. Comparisons on the different mortgage rates currently obtainable in the market are included, and there are reviews for the leading mortgage providers.

Taxes

Nobody likes to attract the scrutiny tax authorities, because tax evasion penalties can be ruinous. So, come tax season, the average person wants to make sure they are up to date with their tax obligations.

However, taxes are just too complicated for regular folks like you and me. So, the SmartAsset calculators on the different taxes we must pay are a great help. The calculators on the platform include income tax, property tax, tax returns, paycheck, and retirement tax, calculators.

There is also an in-depth tax guide, as well as reviews of tax software like TurboTax, Credit Karma Tax, and TaxSlayer. There is even a guide on how to fill out your W-4.

Retirement

Are you planning your retirement? It is always best to get that sorted early. SmartAsset has the tools to help you validate the many options you may be considering—one of which could be what Robo-Advisors to use.

A selection of the retirement calculators SmartAsset provides under ‘Retirement’ includes social security, 401(k), and retirement calculators. There are also guides on retirement planning, financial advisor selection, and estate planning.

Banking

Planning for your retirement is a good thing to do. So is making sure your current financial matters are in order, and for that, you need the right bank.

SmartAsset has calculators to help you calculate your savings and comparisons and reviews of the best savings, checking, money market, and CD accounts.

If you are a little green as to how the different banking accounts operate, it may help to first read through the checking and savings guide provided.

When you are now familiar with how the various accounts are structured and what they offer, you may use the bank reviews provided to help you decide which bank is the right fit for you.

Credit Cards

Here there are no calculators, just reviews and comparisons of the different credit cards options. The best travel cards, the best balance transfer cards, the best cashback credit cards, the best rewards credit cards, and a few others are compared here.

If you are new to credit cards and would prefer to read up on them first, SmartAsset has got you covered with guides on rewards credit cards, balance transfer credit cards, and credit cards in general.

Investing

When investing your hard-earned money, you want to make sure you are making the right choices. You want up to date information on where to invest your money.

Should you go with Mutual or Index funds? Does the stock market perhaps offer better returns? How about bonds?

SmartAsset has guides that give you more qualified advice and answers to the above questions. The website also compares brokerage accounts and has different calculators for investment returns, capital gains tax, asset allocation, and inflation.

Life Insurance

What happens to your loved ones after you are gone? Will they be comfortable?

SmartAsset covers those worries somewhat with a calculator that shows you how much life insurance you need. It also advises on life insurance providers and benefits, as well as guiding you on how to go about buying life insurance.

Refinance

Think you can get better terms for your current loan under a new credit facility? SmartAsset has a refinance calculator and guide.

It also has a tool to compare the different rates, so you can decide if this is the right option for you.

Personal Loans

Some emergencies cannot be covered with your savings and current income, so you may have no option but to take out a personal loan.

You may still have questions on whether you can afford the loan repayments, however. There is a SmartAsset calculator to help you with this, as well as helpful guides and rate comparisons.

Student Loans

A good education will open many doors in your future and set you up for financial prosperity and professional fulfillment. But a college education is expensive, which explains the huge student debt albatross hanging America’s neck.

SmartAsset has a student loan calculator and other resources to guide your choice of provider. If your current loan obligations are draining the life out of your finances, the platform provides useful information on the different student loan refinancing options available to you.

Ads by Money. We may be compensated if you click this ad.AdAds by Money disclaimer
Online Financial Advisors are ready to provide you with quality economic planning and investment management.
Have your finances undergone a big change? An advisor can put crucial information within your reach for better financial health. Click below today!
Get Started

SmartAsset Plan

For users of its software – people looking for help with their financial decisions, SmartAsset is free. So, you might ask:

How Does SmartAsset Make Money?

The SmartAsset website isn’t crawling with all manner of ads. You get the feeling the last thing they want is for people using their calculators to be distracted by pop-ups and display ads.

So, if they are not charging the users for using their tools, they have got to be monetizing all that traffic somehow. They have two main ways of converting traffic to revenue.

Advertisers

On any article that contains advertising SmartAsset clearly states they are compensated. This compensation does not affect the recommendations made and, in most cases, you are given a list of several advertisers where you can choose the right one for you.

This means SmartAsset is pointing you to top level companies without making single recommendations about which one to choose.

Financial Planners

As a part of their placement tool with financial advisors, SmartAsset receives a compensation for the leads they send out. As we mentioned before, these CFPs are all carefully vetted to meet SmartAsset’s standards.

This arrangement works for everyone if you look at it. Users get connected with qualified providers who are better placed to help with advice SmartAsset’s automated tools can’t provide.

Financial advisors, in turn, who host expensive seminars and buy free meals for people who may never convert as customers, receive warm leads with high chances of conversion.

SmartAsset for its part can make an income without charging the very same users they depend for the leads they sell. That’s how they keep their tools free to use.

Should you use SmartAsset?

Other than your time, using SmartAsset does not place any financing cost or obligation on users of its automated calculators. Also, there is a ton of resources on personal finance matters of any kind. We don’t see why you shouldn’t at least give the platform a try.

There are murmurs of disgruntlement from a few current and former employees of the company anonymously posted on employer review site, Glassdoor. The reviews, though, are mostly positive.

It’s a growing startup, after all, so a bit of disorder and growing pains are to be expected.

After trying the different calculators, we can testify that the software works without glitches. The platform gets our recommendation.

Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

About the Author

Jeff Rose, CFP® is a Certified Financial Planner™, founder of Good Financial Cents, and author of the personal finance book Soldier of Finance. He was a financial planner for 16+ years having founded, Alliance Wealth Management, a SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm, before selling it to focus on his passion - educating the masses on the importance of financial freedom through this blog, his podcast, and YouTube channel.


Jeff holds a Bachelors in Science in Finance and minor in Accounting from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. In addition to his CFP® designation, he also earned the marks of AAMS® - Accredited Asset Management Specialist - and CRPC® - Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor.

While a practicing financial advisor, Jeff was named to Investopedia's distinguished list of Top 100 advisors (as high as #6) multiple times and CNBC's Digital Advisory Council.

Jeff is an Iraqi combat veteran and served 9 years in the Army National Guard. His work is regularly featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc.com and Entrepreneur.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn


You Might Also Enjoy

10 Best Paying Jobs in Life Insurance in 2023

10 Best Paying Jobs in Life Insurance in 2023

The 8 Highest-Paying Jobs in Major Banks for 2023

The 8 Highest-Paying Jobs in Major Banks for 2023

12 Best Paying Jobs in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) for 2023

12 Best Paying Jobs in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) for 2023

12 Best Paying Jobs in Finance in 2023

12 Best Paying Jobs in Finance in 2023

$35K a Year Is How Much an Hour?

$35K a Year Is How Much an Hour?

$55K a Year Is How Much an Hour?

$55K a Year Is How Much an Hour?

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

  • Make Money
  • Manage Money
  • Invest
  • Taxes
  • Insurance
  • Retirement
  • Banking
  • Home
  • Credit
  • Debt
  • About
  • Contact
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

© 2023 Good Financial Cents®. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Licenses & Disclosures

All written content on this site is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of AWM, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.

All third party trademarks, including logos and icons, referenced in this website, are the property of their respective owners. Unless otherwise indicated, the use of third party trademarks herein does not imply or indicate any relationship, sponsorship, or endorsement between Good Financial Cents® and the owners of those trademarks. Any reference in this website to third party trademarks is to identify the corresponding third party goods and/or services.