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Plum App review: Saving and investing made easy?

Do you find it a struggle to put money away every month? What if there was a way to save money automatically in such small amounts that you would hardly notice? Say hello to Plum. This clever app uses artificial intelligence to make saving easier and could even open the doors to investing. Let’s see how it works and whether it’s worthwhile.

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Plum summary

A money management app with lots of options to help you start putting some extra money away. The cash savings rate is more generous than a lot of high-street banks. You can also make your money work harder with investments, although you will have to pay for the privilege.

– Pete Chatfield

Plum logo
Ease of use
Functionality
Features
Interest rates
Value for money

Pros and cons:

✅ Basic functions are free
✅ This can be an easy way to get into investing
✅ Educational content available
✅ Cash interest rates that beat many high-street banks

❌ The auto-saving feature can have a mind of its own and needs adjusting
❌ Limited features with the free account
❌ You will need to pay a subscription if you want to invest

Visit Plum

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What is Plum?

Plum is a UK-based fintech app that automates savings and simplifies financial management. It uses AI to analyse the spending habits of your current account and automatically sets aside small amounts of money to be placed into your Plum account every week. This money can then be put into savings or an investment account. Additionally, Plum includes budgeting tools and educational content to enhance financial literacy.

It’s available from the App Store and Google Play. Or, you can visit the Plum website and follow the link from there.

Does it cost?

The basic Plum account is completely free. However, there are several subscription offers which come with added benefits. I’ll go over those a little further in.

Is the Plum app safe?

Plum uses quite a few features to make sure that your data is safe.

  • They never store (or have access to) your bank login details
  • They only have read-only access to transaction data, so in the unlikely event of a breach no money can be transferred out of your bank account
  • They use symmetric cryptography (AES) to store any sensitive data
  • They use state-of-the-art password algorithms
  • They use 256-bit TLS encryption to communicate between the browser and their servers
  • They are a registered data controller and act in compliance with the Data Protection Act
  • Their servers run on Amazon’s cloud, trusted by some of the biggest financial institutions in the world

But what about your money?

Money moved into your Plum account is held as e-Money with Barclays bank. The money is safeguarded and cannot be lent out (which is why it doesn’t earn interest). However, because this money is ring-fenced, if Plum or Barclays should go bankrupt, their creditors cannot claim your money.

Plum and PayrNet are both regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

If your money is moved into the Plum Easy Access account, it is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). That means that if anything should happen to the account, your money is covered by up to £85,000 from the UK government.

If you opt for an investment, your money buys a share of a fund, which is safeguarded by a regulated custodian whose job is to keep your shares safe. The FSCS also covers these custodians.

How does Plum work?

Once you’ve downloaded the app, you’ll need to fill out personal details and connect your current account through open banking. This is an officially recognised way to connect accounts and allows Plum to see how much money you have and your banking habits.

It’s a simple process; if you already have your bank’s app downloaded to your phone, it will take less than a minute.

Once connected, Plum analyses the money going in and out of your account and uses artificial intelligence to determine how much you can afford to save.

You’re not limited to connecting just one current account; you can add as many as you like. However, you will need to choose one to act as your main account, where Plum will debit money from.

Then, once a week, Plum will take money from your current account by direct debit and pay it into your Plum account.

You’ll get a notification several days before the money is due to be taken.

And don’t worry; Plum guarantees that you will never go into your overdraft when the money is transferred. However, if that did happen, they promise to refund any fees.


Although Plum uses AI, you can still have quite an input about how much money it taken from your bank. There are several features for you to tweak, including

  • Round-ups – with this activated, every time you make a purchase from your current account, the app will round this amount up to the nearest pound and transfer it to Plum each week.
  • Weekly depositor – set aside a certain amount each week.
  • Pay Days – set money aside after you’re paid.

And if that isn’t enough, with a click of a button (or a push of a finger), you can tell Plum whether you want to increase or decrease the amount you’re willing to save by AI. You have a choice of modes:

  • Beast Mode – 75% more savings
  • Ambitious – 50% more savings
  • Eager – around 25% more
  • Normal
  • Chilled – around 25% less
  • Shy – 50% less in savings

And if you want to take a break completely, you can turn off autosaves for a set period.


Also worth reading


Your Plum account


Once the money reaches your Plum account, you can use the ‘Splitter’ option to decide where it goes.

So, you might want most of your money to head to your Primary Pocket, splitting the rest between your investments.

By simply changing the percentages, it’s all done for you. This saves you from having to move your money around each week…

However, it’s important to note the Primary Pocket doesn’t pay interest. If you want to put your money into cash savings, you’ll have to do that manually. A little frustrating.


Plum investment and savings accounts

So, what kind of savings and investment accounts does Plum offer?

Plum Easy Access Account

If you’re not feeling adventurous with your savings, you can put your money into easy-access interest pockets for a fairly competitive interest rate. But this rate increases if you take out one of Plum’s subscription offers.

Plum Interest

This is an account paying a variable interest rate. Although the returns should be higher than the Easy Access Account, it’s important to note that they’re not guaranteed. The money is invested in a fund that holds government-backed assets, so you may get back less than you invested.

SIPP

This is a tax-efficient way of putting your money away for the future. For example, a basic rate taxpayer can reclaim 20% in income tax when they place money into a pension. So £80 invested in a Plum SIPP could actually mean £100.

Your pension savings can be invested into a risk-managed fund based on your current age and target retirement date, or you can choose from a range of diversified global funds.

Investing

But if you want your money to work a little harder for you, Plum offers you the chance to invest in stocks and bonds through Plum’s subscription offers. You can either invest in individual stocks and shares or choose from a range of funds to invest in.

A fund means that you’re investing in a range of assets and are generally far less risky than investing in individual companies.

Plum has several core funds with different risk levels. Although riskier funds mean a possibility of losing money, they also come with higher potential rewards.

There are also sector funds where your money can be invested in specific industries.

GIA or ISA?

You can use either a General Investment Account (GIA) or a stocks and shares ISA when you invest. Although the money is invested in the same funds, an ISA means you do not have to pay any tax on your earnings. However, you can only invest a maximum of £20,000 per year.


Any other features of note?

Plum does have its own bill tracker. This is a basic budgeting tool which shows how much you have spent that month and any expected bills due.

You can also see a list of regular payments that come out of your accounts.

Remember, Plum only connects to certain accounts, so if you spend using a credit card, a lot of bills could be missing.


The final feature is Lost Money. This section suggests how to save money by changing suppliers or finding new financial providers.


Also worth reading

If you want to use Plum as a Direct Debit for bank account switching, take a look at other cheap Direct Debits.


Plum upgrade options

As I mentioned above, the standard Plum account is free.

But there are three chargeable options – Plum Pro, Plum Ultra and Plum Premium. Subscribing will give you access to:

  • Higher savings interest rates.
  • Increased number of Pockets – separate money into different savings pots.
  • 52-Week Challenge – the first week, you will save £1 with Plum, which will increase by a further £1 every following week. Keep this up and in one year, you could save £1,378.
  • Plum Card – access to your own Visa debit card
  • Goals – set yourself a target amount when saving.
  • Exclusive deposit rules – allows you to create different saving rules.
  • Money Maximiser – Plum calculates how much spare money you have each month and sends it from your bank to an interest pocket. Plum then releases this money to you as a weekly allowance.
  • Access to mutual funds and individual stocks and shares.

Plum features at a glance

Plum BasicPlum ProPlum UltraPlum Premium
Cost (per month)Free£2.99£4.99£9.99
Automatic savings
Investing
Choice of stocks01001003,000
No. of managed funds0121221
Management feeN/A0.45%0.45%0.15%
Savings interest rate 3.51%3.72%3.72%4.21%
Pockets1151515
Goals
Rainy Days
52 Week Challenges
Plum Card
Lost money
Money Maximiser


Is it worth paying for Plum’s extra features?

Of course, this is a personal choice. The basic account will be enough if you want to use Plum as an ad-hoc account to help you put a bit of money aside.

But if you want a better savings rate or to use the app for investing, a subscription is the only way to go. But those two features aside, I don’t think the paid subscriptions offer anything particularly exciting.

What other people say

Plum has over 5,000 reviews on Trustpilot and scores 4.3 stars out of 5 and is rated as ‘excellent’. Over on the Apple Store, it scores 4.7 from over 50,000 reviews.

My experience with Plum

I’ve been an avid user of the app since 2018, although my usage has changed over time. In the first couple of years, I used it purely as a savings app and put the money towards Christmas.

As time went on, it became more of an investment app. My auto-savings went into the Tech Fund, which saw a rise of well over 30%. But as my investment climbed above £3,000, I realised that tax could soon become an issue, so I withdrew it and placed the money into my Fidelity ISA. Find out more about my Plum investment journey.

I still use the app regularly, but it’s back to a basic savings app for me.

My Plum app review conclusion

Plum really is an excellent method to use if you struggle to save and it’s very easy to use. It’s also a great way for novice investors to get started… although the monthly fee means you can find better value elsewhere.

Some of the extra features are a little hit-and-miss, but it’s certainly worth signing up for, even if you don’t want to invest. The auto-savings feature can be a game changer if you struggle to put money away.

Click the sign-up button below to find out more. It’s free to join, so you have nothing to lose!


Visit Plum


Alternatives to Plum

There are plenty of finance and budgeting apps currently available on the market. But the app most similar to plum is Chip. This also offers autosaves, investments and instant access savings. You can find out how these apps compare and which one you should choose in my Chip vs Plum review.

If you’re more interested in the investment part of Plum, then Moneybox is another app worth checking out. You can see how they compare in my Plum vs Moneybox post.

FAQs

How do I cancel my Plum account?

Simply open the app and click the icon in the top left corner. Scroll down and select ‘close account’.

How do I change my auto-save level?

In the app, click the Plum icon (found close to the top right). Then select ‘brain’ and choose your new savings level, listed underneath ‘Rules’.

Why has my bank lost connection to my bank?

Don’t worry, this can happen. Click the Plum icon in the app and select ‘Help’. Then choose the Chat to a Human option and they will give you some advice.

Can I close an investment fund?

If you decide one of the investment funds isn’t for you, you can withdraw the balance to 0. However, the fund will still appear in your Plum account.

Why won’t Plum let me withdraw my money?

This occurs if you haven’t completed the Know Your Customer (KYC) process. These are guidelines that all financial institutions need to follow to ensure against money laundering. To comply with the policy, you must send an official photo ID.