A storied finance brand turned affiliate publisher: useful "best of" guides, but by its own disclosure a partner's payout can influence where it ranks.
What it's really for A personal-finance publisher; the rankings earn affiliate and advertiser compensation.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its 'best of' finance, insurance, and crypto rankings, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
Advertiser partners whose products it ranks pay it the most, and by its own disclosure their payout can influence placement and ordering on the site.
Source →- Operating since
- 1972 (54 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- It earns affiliate commissions and advertiser compensation when readers click partner links or sign up for products it ranks.
- What they do
- It publishes editorial guides and "best of" rankings across personal finance, insurance, and crypto, scoring companies that pass an initial quality screen.
- What to watch for
- By its own disclaimer, a partner's "performance and/or payout may influence their placement," so the order you see is not purely merit-based (except, it says, for home-lending partners).
- Composite score
- 1.70 / 5.00 → grade D+ (pay-to-rank cap applied)
- Last verified
- June 2, 2026 — when we last checked this entry's facts, links, and grade against the live site.
- Site confirmed live
- July 11, 2026 — our monthly automated check reached Money.com and got a normal response.
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- Money's own affiliate disclaimer states: "Our partners' performance and/or payout may influence their placement on our website," with a carve-out that "This does not apply to our mortgage, home equity or other home lending partners." It also says: "We earn a commission when you click on a link or make a purchase through the links on Money." Source: Money.com Affiliate Disclosures & Disclaimers →
- Money was founded in 1972 as a print magazine by Time Inc.; in October 2019 Meredith Corporation sold the Money brand and website to Money Group, formerly known as Ad Practitioners LLC. Source: Wikipedia: Money (financial website) →
- Ad Practitioners (which also owns ConsumersAdvocate.org and the Navchain ad-delivery platform) acquired Money.com from Meredith in 2019 and later rebranded as Money Group, reflecting its commercial/advertising focus. Source: PR Newswire: Ad Practitioners rebrands to Money Group →