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For NZ households who've outgrown bank apps and spreadsheets, PocketSmith vs SortMe is often the comparison that comes next. Both are NZ-built and both go well beyond basic budgeting — but they're two different categories of product.
- PocketSmith is a powerful software tool for the "home CFO".
- SortMe is an AI financial assistant in your pocket, designed to take the workload off you.
I'm Carl Thompson, founder and CEO of SortMe — so let me declare my interest upfront, and be honest with you. PocketSmith has been the NZ personal finance app since 2008, and we have a lot of respect for what they've built. They aren't trying to be us, and we aren't trying to be them. Most households only need one — this piece is here to help you work out which.
Here's the honest comparison: where PocketSmith wins, where SortMe wins, and the main question to help you pick one.
The bigger difference: software tool vs AI financial assistant
The feature comparisons matter, but the deeper difference between PocketSmith and SortMe is what kind of product each one is trying to be.
PocketSmith positions itself, in their own words, "for the home CFO" — the person in the household with a good level of financial knowledge who enjoys running the numbers, building the financial framework, and owning the categorisation. It's a powerful software tool designed to give that person every lever. If that's you, you'll get a lot out of it.
SortMe is built to be an AI financial assistant in your pocket. We designed it to take the workload off you — to handle the categorisation, spot the patterns, flag the decision moments, and tell you what's actually worth your attention. An assistant guiding you to better money management rather than a tool you have to know how to wield. The software should do that work for you.
We call this next-gen software: AI-powered, automated, and hyper-personalised to your specific situation.
Both approaches are legitimate — but they're built for very different households.
What PocketSmith is strong at
Long-range cashflow forecasting. This is PocketSmith's signature. On the Fortune plan, you can project your daily bank balance up to 60 years ahead. For households who want to model "what if we pay off the mortgage five years faster" scenarios in granular detail, nothing on the NZ market matches it.
Flexible categorisation and budgets. PocketSmith lets you bend the categorisation and budgeting structure in ways that power users love. If you want to run 30 categories with custom rules, PocketSmith gives you the room.
International bank connections. PocketSmith connects to 12,000+ institutions globally, which matters if you have overseas accounts (common for New Zealanders who've worked abroad).
Long tenure and stable product. Launched in 2008 with a mature feature set. Low risk of the product changing underneath you.
Where we built SortMe differently
Cashflow-centric, not budget-centric. We lead with a focus on cashflow management — the "can I actually afford this on a Tuesday" view. Cycle Reviews give you an AI-powered personalised overview of your cashflow: the good, the bad, and the one main thing you could do that would make a meaningful difference.
Cleaner day-to-day interface. We built SortMe on modern design principles, which is why we get many comments on how intuitive and easy it is to use. SortMe is intentionally designed to have personality and not feel like old-school software. Intuitive, modern, and fun.
AI-powered insights. No generic data. SortMe uses AI to drive hyper-personalised insights to give you more meaningful feedback.
Surfacing risks and opportunities. When SortMe spots a pattern worth flagging — a KiwiSaver fund mismatch, cashflow drift, an upcoming mortgage refix date — the app surfaces opportunities where a financial product might be of benefit to you. We can also match you with one of our licensed financial advisor partners.
Subscription and recurring-charge audit. Our Subscription Tracker is a dedicated feature designed to help you identify and cancel unused subscriptions. On average, users cancel $2,371 in annual charges they'd forgotten.
The question to help you decide
Question: Do you want a tool you operate, or an assistant that operates for you?
If you enjoy building forecast models, owning the categorisation process, and want every lever at your fingertips, the more complex PocketSmith is your product. If you'd rather have an automated AI assistant guiding you to better money management, SortMe's your product.
Both are legitimate answers. Different households, different products.
Pricing
PocketSmith:
- Free tier (limited)
- Foundation: around $9.95/month (limited bank feeds)
- Flourish: around $19.95/month (live feeds, more accounts)
- Fortune: around $34.95/month (full forecasting, unlimited accounts)
SortMe:
- Boost: $99/year or $29/month — full Cashflow Health Score, forecasting, rollover budgets, proactive AI insights, advisor/broker pathway
- SortMe's heavy discount for an annual subscription works out to be $8.25 a month. Being the best deal.
Switching between them
Neither app locks you in. Bank and KiwiSaver connections are via Akahu in both cases(1), which means your underlying open-banking consent is portable. If you're on PocketSmith and want to try us, there's no migration pain — connect your accounts to SortMe in parallel and see which view is more useful to you after a fortnight.
Once you've connected your accounts to SortMe, it will automatically categorise all transactions, which can go back 12 months or more, depending on your bank. Categorisation takes a few minutes, and after that, you'll have full insights into your historical spend as well as forecasts. Easy as that.
Other NZ options briefly
BudgetBuddie. Newer NZ app, connects to 25+ NZ banks and KiwiSaver providers. Similar profile to SortMe on multi-bank support; we differentiate on the advisor pathway and risk analysis.
MyBudgetPal (Booster). Free, cleaner-entry NZ budgeting app. Lighter-weight than both SortMe and PocketSmith.
Bank apps. ANZ goMoney, ASB Track my Spending, BNZ's dashboard. Single-bank by design.
Spreadsheets. Still the most common NZ tool. Free, flexible, a Sunday a month.
The practical next step
Try both out and compare for yourself. Start your SortMe trial at sortme.com
Sources
- Akahu — New Zealand's Open Banking Platform, Akahu — akahu.nz
