Principal® vs Accelerate by AWM
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Principal®
Manage your retirement savings and financial goals from your mobile device. Track account balances, adjust contributions, and access educational resources to improve your financial confidence. Tools are available to help you assess your progress towards retirement.
- View account balances
- Roll over funds
- Change contributions
- Adjust investments
- Financial education resources
- Retirement Wellness Score
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Keep up with your financial goals on the go. The updated Principal® app makes it easy to keep on top of your retirement savings and gain insights to help you reach your financial goals. Download and use the app to: • Complete simple transactions and quick check-ins: view account balances, roll over funds, change contributions, adjust investments, and more • Discover financial education to help build your confidence and make progress in budgeting, saving, debt payoff, and more • Learn from tools like our personalized Retirement Wellness Score to see how you’re tracking toward your retirement goals • Find your insurance information The availability of information and functionality will vary depending on your plan type(s). To make changes not available on the app, visit principal.com. Some screens may contain more information than is illustrated in the samples. This document is intended to be educational in nature and is not intended to be taken as a recommendation. Insurance products and plan administrative services provided through Principal Life Insurance Co., a member of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, IA 50392. Visit our online privacy policy at https://www.principal.com/privacy-policies © 2025 Principal Financial Services, Inc. 3729939-072024
Accelerate by AWM
This app guides users to create and maintain a personalized financial plan. It helps identify financial gaps, set goals, and map out a path to achieve them, all within a few minutes each week. Link accounts for a more tailored experience.
- Personalized financial plan creation
- Goal setting and tracking
- Financial wellness assessment
- Account linking for personalization
- Weekly financial guidance
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Accelerate, powered by Pocketnest, will coach you to create and stick to a comprehensive financial plan—that’s unique to you, your lifestyle and your goals. Link your accounts to get an even more complete and personalized plan. Gone are the days of sweating over spreadsheets. Use Accelerate to achieve financial wellness in just 3 minutes a week. We’ll walk you through all 10 themes of financial wellness, while identifying gaps in your plan, guiding you to set meaningful goals, and mapping a pathway to achieve them. Let's do this!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Accelerate by AWM at free against Principal®'s free with in-app purchases. Principal®'s advantage is ratings volume (239K vs 13) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Accelerate by AWM holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Principal® has 239K ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Principal® ships an update every 2 weeks, Accelerate by AWM every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Principal® | Accelerate by AWM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (239K ratings) | 5.0 (13 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 32.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 239K — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #129 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 105 MB | 143 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Principal Financial Group | The Accel Group LLC |
Customer experience
Principal®
Accelerate by AWM
Bugs and requests
Principal®
Reported bugs
4 issues- Unable to change contribution rates
- Inconsistent login and logout functionality
- Rollover check deposit not working as advertised
- Certain account details not displaying properly
Requested features
4 requests- Improved transaction history and reporting
- Ability to deposit checks via the app
- More customization options for the dashboard
- Seamless integration with other financial accounts
Accelerate by AWM
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Principal®
No in-app purchases
Accelerate by AWM
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Principal® free?
Is Accelerate by AWM free?
Which has better reviews, Principal® or Accelerate by AWM?
Do Principal® or Accelerate by AWM have ads?
Which is updated more often, Principal® or Accelerate by AWM?
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