Richify vs
ASIC MoneySmart
MoneySmart teaches the rules of Australian personal finance. Richify applies them to your actual portfolio. Complementary, not competing — here's when to use which.
The honest framing
ASIC MoneySmart (moneysmart.gov.au) is Australia's canonical free personal-finance education resource. It's government-operated, regulator-vetted, ad-free, and the right starting point for learning what super is, how HECS-HELP works, what your Stage 3 marginal rate is, and what the FHSS scheme allows. It exists because ASIC's mandate as the corporate regulator includes consumer financial literacy — and they've been operating MoneySmart in some form since 2011.
Richify isn't trying to replace any of that. Richify can't — and shouldn't — substitute for an authoritative regulator source. What Richify CAN do that MoneySmart structurally can't is take YOUR specific numbers (your super balance, your salary, your HECS debt, your property equity) and apply the same Australian rules to project, compare, and recommend actions on your portfolio. That's what the Felix + 7 specialist agents AI agent team is built for.
If you're reading this and thinking “why not both?” — that's the right take. Most Australians benefit from using MoneySmart as a reference and Richify as the day-to-day portfolio tool. They sit on opposite sides of the same workflow: MoneySmart is the textbook, Richify is the practice notebook.
Feature comparison
Where each tool sits in the Australian personal-finance stack.
| Feature | Richify | ASIC MoneySmart |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Richify AI (private) | ASIC (government) |
| Purpose | Apply Australian finance rules to YOUR portfolio with AI agents | Teach Australian finance rules — generic, regulator-vetted |
| Cost | Free • Pro US$9.99/mo or US$99/yr (App Store local price) | Free (ASIC budget) |
| Portfolio tracking | ✓ Super, HECS, ASX, property, cash, debts in one view | ✗ No tracking — static calculators only |
| AI agents | ✓ Felix + 7 specialist agents | ✗ None |
| Personalised projections | ✓ Your numbers → your retirement, refinance, diversification | △ Calculators only; not connected to your portfolio |
| Coverage | Super, HECS, FHSS, neg gearing, FIRE, stamp duty (8 states), property analytics, retirement city cost-of-living, drawdown, super snapshot | Super, retirement, mortgage, budget, savings, insurance, debt, investing |
| Regulatory standing | Educational; not an AFS licensee | Authoritative ASIC content — the canonical regulator source |
| Distribution | iOS + Android app, web tools | Web only |
| Privacy | Manual entry — no bank credentials, no Plaid | No accounts — calculators run in browser |
When to use which
A practical guide — Australian personal finance situations and which tool fits each one.
The honest verdict
For most Australians, the workflow is: MoneySmart for the rules, Richify for the application. MoneySmart wins on regulatory authority and learning a new concept cold. Richify wins on tracking your actual portfolio over time, running AI-led analysis on your specific numbers, and surfacing actions (refinance opportunities, super top-up windows, concentration risk) that a generic calculator can't. They're not in the same category — they're two halves of the same workflow.
Related Australian content
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is ASIC MoneySmart?
MoneySmart (moneysmart.gov.au) is the financial-education website operated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). It is the canonical free Australian source for understanding rules around super, tax, investing, insurance, retirement, and debt. Content is generic and regulator-aligned — it explains how things work, what your rights are, and what to ask a licensed adviser. It does not store your portfolio, does not make personalised recommendations, and does not track changes in your numbers over time.
Is Richify a MoneySmart alternative or competitor?
Complementary, not competing. MoneySmart is the right starting point for understanding the rules of Australian personal finance — what a concessional contribution is, how the Stage 3 brackets work, what FHSS allows, what the HECS-HELP repayment schedule looks like. Richify is what you use to apply those rules to your own situation: enter your super balance, salary, HECS debt, property, and Richify's AI agents (Felix + 7 specialist agents) model what those rules mean for your projected retirement, refinance timing, diversification, and net worth growth. Most Australians benefit from using both.
Why does ASIC MoneySmart not give personalised advice?
ASIC is the regulator. Personalised financial advice in Australia requires an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and is subject to the Best Interests Duty under the Corporations Act. MoneySmart provides general financial information under section 921A exemptions for educational content but cannot model your specific portfolio because that would cross into personal financial advice. Richify is also not an AFS licensee and so similarly does not provide personalised financial product advice — but Richify CAN show you the maths on your own numbers, which is education applied at the individual level rather than generic.
When should I use MoneySmart vs Richify?
Use MoneySmart first when learning a concept for the first time — its content is concise, regulator-vetted, and free of any vendor bias. Use Richify when you want to apply that concept to your actual numbers. Example flow: read MoneySmart's article on superannuation salary sacrifice to understand the 15% concessional tax rate and the $30K cap. Then open Richify, enter your salary and current super balance, and have Sam model how much salary sacrifice saves you in tax this year and how much your retirement balance grows by age 67 under different sacrifice levels.
Does MoneySmart have calculators?
Yes — MoneySmart hosts about 15 free calculators covering super, mortgage, retirement, savings, budget planner, compound interest, and others. They are well-built, accurate, and updated for current ATO/APRA rules. Richify hosts 22+ free Australian calculators including some MoneySmart doesn't (FHSS projection, negative gearing tax modelling, stamp duty by state with first-home concessions, retirement city cost-of-living, suburb swap, super snapshot). For the calculators they both offer (compound interest, basic super, mortgage), the underlying maths is identical — the differences are in UI, projections beyond the base model, and whether the result is stored in a tracked portfolio context.
Is Richify free like MoneySmart?
Yes — Richify is free to download on iOS and Android. The free tier includes net worth tracking, AI chat with Felix (with monthly message cap), all 22+ Australian calculators, financial goals, and progress tracking. Pro (US$9.99/month or US$99/year — App Store and Google Play set the actual local AUD price per region) removes the message cap and unlocks the full specialist agent team: Morgan (refinance watchdog), Sam (What-If Strategist), Pepper (Financial Architect). MoneySmart is entirely free and ad-free, funded by ASIC's regulatory budget.
Is Richify regulated or endorsed by ASIC?
No. Richify is not an AFS licensee and is not endorsed, sponsored, or affiliated with ASIC or MoneySmart. Richify is a financial-education platform that maintains clear separation between general factual content (rules, formulas, benchmarks) and any portfolio-specific AI output. For personalised financial product advice an Australian should consult a licensed financial adviser (AFSL holder), the same recommendation MoneySmart itself makes.
Try Richify alongside MoneySmart
Free on iOS and Android. Apply the rules MoneySmart teaches you to your actual portfolio.
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