[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/charlie-app-review\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/charlie-app-review\/","headline":"More Than Just a Cute Penguin: Charlie Finance Review 2025","name":"More Than Just a Cute Penguin: Charlie Finance Review 2025","description":"Many of us are constantly on the hunt for the best financial management tools....","datePublished":"2020-05-24","dateModified":"2025-01-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/author\/stephanie-colestock\/#Person","name":"Stephanie Colestock","url":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/author\/stephanie-colestock\/","identifier":32,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/442d6c6189f0b39f0b5a2095037d8c576284f3705ffef7d6098f21fa4289967e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/442d6c6189f0b39f0b5a2095037d8c576284f3705ffef7d6098f21fa4289967e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Money Done Right","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Money-Done-Right-Personal-Finance-and-Investing-Blog.png","url":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Money-Done-Right-Personal-Finance-and-Investing-Blog.png","width":488,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/charlie-app-review.jpg","url":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/charlie-app-review.jpg","height":460,"width":1900},"url":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/charlie-app-review\/","commentCount":"1","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/charlie-app-review\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2023-06-10 18:29:18","description":"Give a AI app access to my Facebook account? What about the privacy policy of the AI app? Sorry but theres a limit on sharing of your personal information too me. Don't we give enough of our info away already. I'll pass.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Bobby","url":""}}],"about":["Saving Money"],"wordCount":2282,"keywords":["schema"],"articleBody":"Many of us are constantly on the hunt for the best financial management tools. These tools can help us to monitor our money, track unexpected (or erroneous) charges, stay on budget, and even meet certain savings goals.They typically come in the form of mobile apps or web platforms, and if you\u2019re anything like me, you probably employ more than one in your tech arsenal.Enter Charlie, a free AI financial assistant that offers message-based advice and monitoring of your important accounts. But while Charlie is one adorable little penguin, is it a safe assistant you can also trust?Table of ContentsToggleWhat is Charlie Finance?Opening an AccountLinking Accounts to CharliePricingCharlie Finance Frequently Asked QuestionsCharlie Finance: ProsCharlie Finance: ConsReviewsShould You Choose Charlie Financial?What is Charlie Finance?First, let\u2019s talk about what Charlie is not: a financial app. You won\u2019t be downloading software to your desktop or installing anything onto your phone or tablet.Instead, Charlie is an AI-based, interactive software that communicates with you on a personal level — and you\u2019ll link up with Charlie via Facebook Messenger.There, you can ask Charlie questions about a wide range of money topics. Your questions can be as specific or generic as you\u2019d like, making it easy to both get advice and transform your own financial situation with a little help.You can also link Charlie with your existing accounts to personalize those recommendations and get a truly accurate picture of your financial situation.What Charlie Can DoOnce you connect Charlie to your Facebook Messenger account, you\u2019ll have full access to Charlie anytime you need him. This means that you can sign in anytime (day or night) to:Get reminders \u2014 Charlie will keep you on-task, reminding you to save, make extra payments, and more according to the goals you\u2019ve established.Compare financial options \u2014 If you want to save for an upcoming vacation or are looking to trim your monthly household expenses, Charlie is there for you. Your waddly financial assistant can provide you with savings schedules, lucrative credit cards, and can even analyze your recurring bills to see where you could lower costs.Get recommendations for new products \u2014 Need to reduce your high-interest debt? Want to maximize your savings efforts? Charlie can recommend credit cards and other products that may be able to help.Analyze your current spending \u2014 Charlie can help you easily calculate what you\u2019re spending in certain categories each month (like gas, groceries, or even that daily latte at the coffee shop). If desired, Charlie can also set up a monthly budget for you.Keep you in the loop \u2014 Charlie can send you alerts about your accounts as needed, such as if you go over your fast food budget one month or have a surprise fee pop up in your checking account.Charlie is always learning and improving, based on your interactions and feedback. There are so many ways that you can use this cute little penguin in your own financial analysis and management.Opening an AccountYou won\u2019t need to download any apps with Charlie or install anything on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. In fact, all you\u2019ll need to do is click to link your Facebook account with Charlie via Messenger, and you\u2019re on your way!Using Charlie\u2019s expertise for your own money management is easy, and takes just a few seconds to set up. Simply click the big blue Chat on Messenger button on Charlie\u2019s homepage to link your Facebook account with Charlie.If you\u2019re not already logged in from your computer, you\u2019ll be asked to enter your credentials on Facebook\u2019s website (not Charlie\u2019s) to log in. Then, you\u2019ll automatically be directed to Messenger, where you can say hello and begin chatting with Charlie directly.How Charlie WorksAs soon as you\u2019re ready to begin asking questions and getting advise, you can. You don\u2019t even need to link Charlie with your existing bank accounts, credit cards, or loans just yet — you can just ping Charlie for strategies and insight on a variety of situations and topics.For instance, I asked Charlie to help me save a little extra cash before my upcoming trip to Italy. Charlie wanted to know why I was saving, and when I needed to save it by.I told him I wanted to put aside $2,000 before May, and Charlie both calculated my required savings rate and offered to send me weekly reminders.I also tested Charlie out by asking how I could best get out of some hypothetical debt. I told Charlie that I had a $3,000 balance at a 5.5% interest rate, and I could only budget to put $50 toward this debt each month.Charlie then calculated when I would be out of debt, given this information, and how much it would cost me in the end. Then, Charlie asked if I would like some recommendations for paying that balance down faster and for less money.I said I would.It was recommended that I open a Citi\u00ae Diamond Preferred Card and take advantage of the card\u2019s 0% balance transfer offer. This would, according to Charlie, save me $129 in interest and get me out of debt three months faster.Charlie\u2019s LimitationsWithout connecting a bank or credit card account, Charlie was a bit limited in what he could help me with, as far as my financial situation. This was to be expected; after all, analyzing spending and offering personalized recommendations is where Charlie seems to shine.If I wanted Charlie to really help me, I would need to add one or more accounts. Without doing so, though, Charlie was unable to do things likeAnalyze my interest ratesFind sneaky expenses for me to avoidHelp me dodge overdraft feesWarn me when I overspendOffer budget suggestionsLook over my monthly spendingSend me account updatesSave me money on services I already useAdditionally, Charlie cannot actually touch customers\u2019 money \u2014 it can only analyze data. This means that you\u2019ll need to open your own account if you want to begin saving, transfer your own funds to meet specific goals, etc.Charlie will not automatically transfer funds for you and cannot open new accounts on your behalf.Linking Accounts to CharlieI wanted to see just how helpful Charlie could be, so I went ahead and linked one of my checking accounts through our Messenger conversation. Charlie made it easy by providing a link, and I simply needed to enter my bank credentials to complete the login process.I was quickly shown a preview of my dashboard, which analyzed my current checking account balance, my bank\u2019s linked credit card account, and even my last few transactions. Charlie also let me know that if I ever wanted to see this dashboard in the future, I simply needed to type Dashboard into our chat and I could be immediately taken to this quick summary page.In the next step, I was able to set a few notification preferences for Charlie, based on what I wanted him to contact me about. This included things like:Bank feesPotential account overdrafts (which would lead to more fees)Restaurant tipsUpcoming credit card due datesCredit limit usageNext, I was asked to choose some goals. I was given a few options to choose from, which included goals to stay on budget, save for something special (like a vacation), pay off debt, cut my expenses, and even compare my spending.After making some selections, my account was officially linked. However, it took Charlie about two hours to finish loading everything, which was quite a bit longer than I expected.I found that especially interesting as the account I linked is not my everyday checking account; it\u2019s only used for bill-pay a couple times a month. Since there weren\u2019t many transactions to sift through, I\u2019m not sure why the process was so lengthy.PricingThere is no fee to use Charlie. You won\u2019t pay for access or services, regardless of how often (or infrequently) you use the service.Charlie doesn\u2019t really specify how it makes its money, but the answer is likely through affiliate accounts and commissions for the products it recommends (like that credit card I mentioned above). While this does raise the question of a potential bias, it does mean that using Charlie doesn\u2019t cost you, the consumer, a penny.Charlie Finance Frequently Asked Questions.accordion-list .accordion-title:hover{color: #4db848;}Do I really need to link my account(s) to Charlie?If you want to really use our cute little friend to his fullest potential, you will definitely need to link at least one account. This allows you to set notifications about spending and fees, watch your budget, track progress toward goals, and even analyze your money.Yes, you can use Charlie without linking a thing. However, you\u2019ll be limited to generic advice and reminders, rather than personalized features.Is it safe to link my accounts?According to the website, Charlie uses bank-level security and 256-bit SSL encryption to keep your information safe. Your account login will not be saved, and your data will never be sold.Is Charlie available outside the U.S.?Currently, Charlie is only available for US-based users. This is likely to change in the future, however.How do I cancel?If you decide that Charlie isn\u2019t for you, it\u2019s quick and easy to cancel. You simply need to type DELETE into your Messenger chat with Charlie.After confirming your intent to delete, Charlie will go ahead and process your account. That\u2019s it \u2014 you\u2019re done.Charlie Finance: Pros1. It\u2019s freeThere is no fee to use Charlie and, according to their website, there never will be.2. It\u2019s easyYou don\u2019t have to learn how to navigate a new platform or worry about where to find the information you need. With Charlie\u2019s text-based platform, you can simply ask whichever questions you may have and get quick responses to your requests.3. There are no apps to downloadYou don\u2019t have to worry about downloading a new app, updating it often, or keeping track of new credentials. With Charlie, you only need to link up with your existing Facebook Messenger account, and you\u2019re good to go.4. It\u2019s as interactive (and helpful) as you want it to beIf you only want to use Charlie to help you plan savings targets, set reminders, or get product recommendations to save you money, you can. If you want Charlie to monitor your spending, alert you to fees and due dates, set a budget, and nudge you toward your goals, you can do that, too.5. Link everything\u2026 or nothingYou can link as many accounts and balances as you\u2019d like, so Charlie can get a more comprehensive idea of your situation. If you don\u2019t want to link any of your accounts, though, that\u2019s perfectly fine \u2014 Charlie will just be a bit limited in what he can do for you.Charlie Finance: Cons1. Only Available on Facebook MessengerCurrently, Charlie is only available through Facebook Messenger. There is no online platform to utilize, nor can you download a smartphone app.You\u2019ll need to log in via your Facebook account in order to use the service.If you don\u2019t have a Facebook account or are wary of linking up with third-parties on your existing account, Charlie might not be right for you.2. Charlie Cannot Touch Your FundsIf you\u2019re looking for a system that will analyze your situation, make recommendations, and allow you to automate your efforts, Charlie isn\u2019t quite there. While Charlie is happy to send you reminders each week \u2014 such as setting aside $45 to meet that holiday savings goal \u2014 you\u2019ll need to actually complete them manually.Charlie cannot touch your money, even to transfer funds for you.If you want a savings platform that can automate the process a bit more, you may want to look into apps like Digit or Chime.3. No weekly budgetsCharlie can help you set monthly budgets and monitor your spending over those weeks. However, you are (as of yet) unable to set weekly targets or alerts.If you prefer to take a more active approach to your budgeting and money monitoring, this might be a problem.However, if you set specific savings goals, Charlie can send you weekly reminders so you can set funds aside.ReviewsCurrently, Charlie Finance has a TrustPilot score of 4.8 out of 5 (Excellent). Much of the praise from users involves Charlie being very easy to use, not be annoying or overwhelming, and being quite helpful in tracking and monitoring accounts.Plus, many users also praise Charlie for being able to combine data from various accounts (such as checking and a credit card) to properly analyze spending without needing to log into multiple platforms.Should You Choose Charlie Financial?If you\u2019re looking for a tech-savvy, easy-to-use financial assistant, Charlie is probably worth a look. Not only is it free, but it quickly links with an existing Facebook Messenger account that you (likely) already have.With Charlie, you can monitor your spending, set alerts and goals for yourself, and even analyze your current progress. Charlie doesn\u2019t require you to download a new app or even visit a new website\u2026 plus, it\u2019s entirely free and safe to use.Want to transform your finances in 2025? Start using Charlie now and you\u2019ll have an excellent tool already in place come January 1st.After all, who doesn\u2019t want to get financial alerts from an adorable little penguin?"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Personal Finance","item":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Saving And Budgeting","item":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/\/saving-and-budgeting\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"More Than Just a Cute Penguin: Charlie Finance Review 2025","item":"https:\/\/moneydoneright.com\/personal-finance\/saving-and-budgeting\/charlie-app-review\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]