Comparison

TIAA vs Northwestern Mutual

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

Head to head
About

TIAA

Manage your retirement and brokerage accounts securely with this app. Monitor investments, track fund performance, and trade equities, ETFs, and mutual funds. Set financial goals and access support tools.

Highlights
  • Secure login (password, Touch ID, Face ID)
  • Investment and retirement plan management
  • Brokerage trading (equities, ETFs, mutual funds)
  • Financial goal monitoring
  • Peek View for portfolio balances
  • Access to support and statements
  • Apple Watch integration
Features
Read full description

Manage your retirement and brokerage accounts using the TIAA mobile app. The app provides quick and secure access to all your TIAA finances and puts 100 years of top money management into the palm of your hand. The TIAA mobile app includes: • Security: Use your password, Touch ID, or Face ID to log in • Investment and retirement plan management: Monitor your account activity, contributions, and asset allocation; transfer money between funds in your retirement plan, fund a new brokerage account and track fund performance. • Brokerage trading: Buy and sell equities, ETFs, and mutual funds. • Goals: Monitor savings to achieve your financial goals. • Peek View: View your total portfolio and balances without logging in. • Contact TIAA & Support: Contact a professional or have quick access to all of our support tools and services, view tax forms and other statements. • Apple Watch: View your total portfolio and balances from your wrist. TIAA Brokerage, a division of TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC, distributes securities. Brokerage accounts are carried by Pershing, LLC, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Member FINRA, NYSE, SIPC. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA, distributes securities products. Annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY. Each is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations.

About

Northwestern Mutual

Manage your investment and insurance accounts, make payments, and track your net worth. Consolidate all your financial accounts in one place to monitor spending and view your overall financial health.

Highlights
  • View investment performance and transactions
  • Access insurance policy details
  • Make premium payments
  • Enroll in autopay
  • Consolidate all financial accounts
  • Categorize and monitor transactions
  • Track net worth
Read full description

Access Northwestern Mutual accounts and stay on top of your finances on the go. The Northwestern Mutual app allows you to: • See historical performance and transactions of your Northwestern Mutual investment accounts • See details of your Northwestern Mutual insurance policies • Make premium payments for NM Life, Disability & Long-Term Care plans • Enroll in autopay and never miss another premium payment • Get contact information for your NM financial team • Link all your accounts, such as banking, credit cards, retirement, investment and loans into one centralized location • Categorize and monitor your financial transactions to see where your money is going • View and track your total net worth • Securely and quickly access your account with Touch ID or Face ID We will continue to improve our app and add new features that will make managing your finances even easier. As we expand our mobile offerings, we look forward to hearing your feedback. With your help, we can ensure the best possible customer experience. -- Copyright © 2026 The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. All Rights Reserved. Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries.

Screenshots

TIAA4 screens
Northwestern Mutual4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Northwestern Mutual at 4.8 against TIAA's 4.6. Northwestern Mutual also leads on review sentiment (48% vs 35%). TIAA's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Northwestern Mutual holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8.3K and 12K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of TIAA's written reviews are positive against 48% of Northwestern Mutual's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TIAA ships an update monthly, Northwestern Mutual fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
TIAA versus Northwestern Mutual: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTIAANorthwestern Mutual
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (8.3K ratings)4.8 (12K ratings) — better
Positive reviews35.0% of reviews47.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.3K12K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB119 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperTIAANorthwestern Mutual

Customer experience

TIAA

All ratings8,315 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews320 reviews
Positive35.0%
Neutral18.1%
Negative46.9%

Northwestern Mutual

All ratings11,796 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews121 reviews
Positive47.9%
Neutral11.6%
Negative40.5%

User reviews

TIAA

From 8.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient access to accounts
  • 🔒 Secure with Face ID/Touch ID
  • 💡 Helpful for tracking investments

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate
  • 🔍 Missing key features from website
  • 🔍 Cluttered and unintuitive UI

Northwestern Mutual

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple interface
  • 👍 User-friendly
  • 🚀 Helps track finances
  • 🚀 Consolidates financial information
  • 🔒 Secure app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Limited functionality
  • 🐛 Unreliable account linking
  • 🐛 Frequent login issues
  • 🐛 Outdated or inaccurate data
  • 🐛 Buggy and crashes often

Bugs and requests

TIAA

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues and session expiration
  • Inconsistent display of account information
  • Unreliable check deposit functionality
  • Compatibility problems on certain devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve performance and stability
  • Provide more customization options
  • Streamline navigation and information access
  • Integrate more advanced investment tools

Northwestern Mutual

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login verification issues
  • Disconnected accounts
  • Unreliable data synchronization
  • Enrollment in autopay not working

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to arrange accounts
  • More customization options
  • Improved charting and analytics
  • Cryptocurrency account integration
  • Enhanced document access

In-app purchases

None

TIAA

No in-app purchases

None

Northwestern Mutual

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TIAA free?
TIAA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Northwestern Mutual free?
Northwestern Mutual is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TIAA or Northwestern Mutual?
Northwestern Mutual is rated higher. TIAA averages 4.6 out of 5 from 8.3K ratings, while Northwestern Mutual averages 4.8 from 12K ratings.
Do TIAA or Northwestern Mutual have ads?
Neither TIAA nor Northwestern Mutual shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TIAA or Northwestern Mutual?
TIAA ships an update monthly, and Northwestern Mutual fortnightly. Most recently, TIAA was updated on October 29, 2026 and Northwestern Mutual on October 31, 2026.

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