Comparison

Principal® vs Accelerate by AWM

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • View account balances
  • Roll over funds
  • Change contributions
  • Adjust investments
  • Financial education resources
  • Retirement Wellness Score
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • Personalized financial plan creation
  • Goal setting and tracking
  • Financial wellness assessment
  • Account linking for personalization
  • Weekly financial guidance
Features
Read full description

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

Principal®4 screens
Accelerate by AWM4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Principal® versus Accelerate by AWM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrincipal®Accelerate by AWM
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (239K ratings)5.0 (13 ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings239K — better13
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#129 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB143 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPrincipal Financial GroupThe Accel Group LLC

Customer experience

Principal®

All ratings238,897 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews325 reviews
Positive32.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative59.4%

Accelerate by AWM

All ratings13 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

None

Principal®

No in-app purchases

None

Accelerate by AWM

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Principal® free?
Principal® is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Accelerate by AWM free?
Accelerate by AWM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Principal® or Accelerate by AWM?
Accelerate by AWM is rated higher. Principal® averages 4.8 out of 5 from 239K ratings, while Accelerate by AWM averages 5.0 from 13 ratings.
Do Principal® or Accelerate by AWM have ads?
Neither Principal® nor Accelerate by AWM shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Principal® or Accelerate by AWM?
Principal® ships an update every 2 weeks, and Accelerate by AWM every 6 weeks. Most recently, Principal® was updated on October 28, 2026 and Accelerate by AWM on October 24, 2026.

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