Snoop Review

Want a bird’s-eye view of your finances to see where you’re going wrong? Budgeting apps are brilliant for this. In this Snoop review, we thoroughly investigate whether Snoop can help you get a grip on your money.

Effective budget planning is the crucial first step to building a bright financial future, but it can be challenging – especially if, like up to a quarter of UK consumers (myself included), you hold more than one current account.

Add your credit cards to the mix, and keeping track of your spending moves from challenging to being a nightmare.

All those transactions to note down on a spreadsheet or cashbook, and how do you figure out where you’re overspending? One forgotten addition, and all your effort is for nothing.

Fear not – the best budgeting apps are here to rescue you. Among them is Snoop – an app that certainly doesn’t disappoint. Here’s why.

What Is Snoop?

Launched in 2020 by ex-Virgin Money executives, Snoop uses open banking technology to integrate your financial accounts in one place.

It’s a user-friendly app that will appeal to all, but especially if you are starting out with budgeting and taking control of your money.

Snoop tracks what you’re spending through your bank accounts and credit cards. That’s a great start, but Snoop goes further by providing insights that can help you improve your financial health.

If you’re looking to get a clear picture of your day-to-day finances, learn where and how you’re spending, or keep a tab on your financial position, Snoop is a tremendous and comprehensive tool that you can access on your mobile device or desktop (if you are a Snoop Plus subscriber).

How Does Snoop Work?

Once you have downloaded the Snoop app, you’ll need to create an account. This is easy to do, only requiring a few basic personal details and a few minutes of your time.

Once you have created a secure login, you can connect your various bank accounts and credit cards through its open banking interface. Once you’ve done this, Snoop starts its behind-the-scenes work to:

Snoop’s Key Features

When I say that Snoop is user-friendly, I really mean it. Managing your money and staying on top of your finances has never felt easier.

Its suite of features is designed to simplify your budgeting, and to help you reduce your expenditure.

There are two plans: the Standard plan and Snoop Plus. Whichever plan you choose, you’ll be able to see all your bank accounts in one place, receive daily balance updates, and benefit from automatic product categorisation.

Other features that you get with both plans include:

Spending Analysis

The core of Snoop is the detailed overview it provides on your spending habits. You can see how you’re spending your money across a range of categories, with graphs that bring your finances to life.

Ideal to help you identify where you are overspending, compare the current month’s spending versus previous months, and adjust your budget proactively.

Weekly Reminder Of Upcoming Bills

Never forget a bill again with Snoop’s weekly review of upcoming bills. This feature helps you keep on top of bill payments and ensure that your account balances do not go into the red needlessly.

It’s going to save you money and help keep your credit score healthy.

Spending Alerts

Do you have a spending category that you find particularly hard to keep under control? Set up a spending alert, and you’ll be automatically warned when you’re getting near your chosen limit (as well as monitoring for refunds).

This is a wonderful way to keep your budget on track.

Exclusive Partner Deals & Personalised Deals

Snoop has partnered with dozens of retailers to provide its users with exclusive deals. You could receive news of direct sales, cashback deals, discount codes, and more.

Not only does Snoop help you to stick to your budget – it helps you do more with less, too!

Regular Payment Tracking & Product Switching Deals

Here’s another feature that I think you’ll love. We all have a list of regular bills – from broadband to mobile phones; car, home, and life insurances to mortgage payments; loans to credit cards; and more.

Snoop’s intelligent program automatically suggests cheaper providers, and reminds you of upcoming contract renewals.

I don’t immediately switch, but knowing there are potential money-saving switches available prompts me to do my research – it’s the push that we all need sometimes.

Money Insight & Guidance

You also receive personalised advice based on your spending patterns and financial goals. This includes finance tips, improving credit scores, and enhancing pension contributions, as well as actionable insights to help you save for a rainy day, reduce your debts, and maximise your investments.

It’s like having a financial advisor in the palm of your hand!

Extra Power Of Snoop Plus

That’s a pretty comprehensive list of features, but sign up for Snoop Plus and you get even more budgeting power. You can:

• Create an unlimited number of custom spending categories
• Add accounts manually
• Track your total net worth
• Export your transaction data
• Access unlimited custom spending reports
• Receive unlimited spending and refund alerts

The ability to manually add accounts isn’t as good as having them update automatically, but it does help you if you have an account that Snoop doesn’t support with open banking (I have one such account).

On top of these extra features, as a Snoop Plus subscriber, you’ll also benefit from payday-to-payday spending tracking, and tracking your bills by pay cycle.

Instead of tracking your spending monthly, you can adjust your budget window to align with your pay cycle – weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

Personally, I think this is a much better way of budgeting – it removes the hassle of manually allowing for income/expenditure during the few days when a monthly budget cycle doesn’t quite marry up with your payday.

Snoop Features At A Glance

Is The Snoop App User-Friendly?

As you might expect, having been envisioned by ex-Virgin Money execs the Snoop app has been designed with the user experience in mind – whether you’re new to budgeting apps or a budgeting pro.

If you’re a novice, or you find traditional budgeting methods daunting, you’ll find the visual aspects demystify the entire process. If you’re an experienced budgeter, the extra tools and features in Snoop Plus will help you to be more detailed with personalised budget management.

The interface is clean, sleek, and easy to navigate – the app design intuitively guides you through all your important financial information. With its graphs and visual categorisations, it’s easy to spot spending trends.

You can start by adding one financial account, and add others when you need to – which is great to evaluate the app before going all in.

Is Snoop Safe To Use?

Safety and security are always a concern when managing finances online. Snoop doesn’t take this issue lightly, and employs a range of robust measures to make sure your data is safe.

For a start, Snoop includes two-factor authentication (2FA), meaning you’ll need more than a username and password to access and use your account.

All data transmitted to and from the app is encrypted using the latest encryption protocols, which means it cannot be read by anyone without the key to do so while it is in transmission.

Snoop is also authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and adheres to the UK’s Open Banking regulations. It also undertakes regular, independent security audits and penetration testing (to assess the security of its IT infrastructure against hackers).

The combination of all these measures should give you the confidence to use the Snoop platform, knowing that your personal information, banking data, and online security is being managed to the highest standards.

How Much Does Snoop Cost?

The standard version of Snoop is free, and will be free forever. You’ll have access to all the standard features, including spending categorisation and alerts, budgeting tools, and account linking.

It’s great if you want straightforward budgeting help (such as tracking your spending) and advice without additional cost.

If you want more advanced features – such as unlimited custom categories and alerts, enhanced spending analysis tools, payday-to-payday tracking, and the ability to track your total net worth – Snoop Plus is for you.

This costs £4.99 per month, or £39.99 if you pay annually.

Snoop: The Pros & Cons

If you’re considering using Snoop, you’ll want to weigh up the pros and cons before making your decision. Here’s a brief breakdown of Snoop’s advantages and disadvantages.

Pros

Comprehensive Account Integration

You can connect to more than 60 of the UK’s major banks and credit cards, giving you a comprehensive view of your day-to-day finances.

User-Friendly Interface

The Snoop app is easy to use, which is great for everyone, especially if you’re new to budgeting apps.

Free Core Services

The basic version of Snoop includes all the standard features at no cost – perfect for novices and to allow you to get used to the system.

Advanced Budgeting Tools

There are several advanced budgeting tools included as standard, but move up to Snoop Plus and you get a suite of even more advanced features to help take your finance management and knowledge up a notch.

Proactive Savings Opportunities

Snoop sends personalised money-savings suggestions daily, as well as opportunities to switch regular payments to cheaper providers.

Cons

Advanced Features Require Subscription

If you want to access the more advanced features of Snoop, you’ll need to become a Snoop Plus subscriber.

Geographic Limitations

You can only link to UK financial institutions, which makes it more difficult for those with foreign accounts (like Wise, for example) to keep track of your full financial situation.

Snoop gets over this by allowing you to manually add an account, but this can be cumbersome.

Limited Investment Features

Some of Snoop’s competitors offer investment tracking or direct access to investments – Snoop doesn’t. If you want to manage your investments alongside your spending, this could be a drawback.

Potential Overload Of Information

With a wealth of features and daily advice and tips, Snoop can be overwhelming, especially for those new to budgeting.

Alternatives To Snoop

Snoop’s a great budgeting app, but will it give you all you need? There are several competitors to Snoop that you might consider. These include:

Plum

Plum uses AI tech to work out your spending habits, and to work out how much you can save. It will help you automate your savings, setting up rules to help you grow your money – often without realising it!

If your budgeting goals include passive saving and investing alongside budgeting, this might be the better option.

Chip

Chip is more focused on saving and investment, offering features such as high-interest savings accounts and other investment options. Better if your primary goal is to build your savings rather than track your expenses.

Emma

Emma includes many of the advanced budgeting features that Snoop offers, and like Snoop is an excellent budgeting tool. However, Emma provides more financial planning tools, and includes access to investment options including a cryptocurrency fund.

How To Get The Most From Snoop

When you sign up for a Snoop account, it’s a big step to taking real control of your finances. However, like they say, a tool is only as good as the one using it.

Here are my tips to help you get the most from Snoop, whether you open a basic account or Snoop Plus.

Connect All Your Accounts

The whole idea is to keep track of your finances. Connecting all your accounts to Snoop will give you more accurate insights.

Customise Your Categories

Take time to customise spending categories. Snoop assigns categorisation automatically, but tailoring them will help you track your spending more accurately.

Set Up Spending Alerts

They’re a fantastic way of keeping your spending in check, and really do help you to see where you can cut back on unnecessary expenditure.

Review, Monitor, & Adjust Budgets

Get into the habit of reviewing your spending regularly, using Snoop’s monthly spending summaries. Spot the trends, and adjust your budgets and spending habits accordingly.

Engage With Snoop Of The Day

Watch out for the tips provided by Snoop’s daily insights – they can help to save money, manage your credit, and improve spending habits.

Check Offers, Discounts, & Switch Suggestions

Check the app for new discounts and promotional offers, vouchers and more. The switch-and-save feature could help you to always pay the lowest prices for your regular bills like energy, broadband, insurances, and mobile phone.

Snoop – Is It For You?

There’s no doubt that Snoop is a robust budgeting app. It takes the hassle out of managing and tracking your budget, and has a user-friendly interface that is ideal for both beginners and budgeting pros.

Whether you just want to track your spending more effectively, reduce your outgoings, or monitor your net worth accurately, you’ll find that Snoop is more than a simple budgeting app – it’s a comprehensive tool to help anyone who is serious about improving their financial health.