Which are the top personal finance magazines of India? In fact, how many are there in total? Many of them shut down due internet boom but still many top personal finance magazines have faced the competition and emerged in today’s times.
I have updated this till May 2020.
I could not count beyond 5.. the serious ones. So I thought I might as well write an article on this.
Let me divide these for you:
Printed & Digital Magazines
Oultook Money: Available in both Printed & Digital.
Moneylife: Available in Printed + Digital format. They give access to all previous digital magazines if you take a subscription.
MF Insight: Available in Printed + Digital format by leading portal ValueResearch. Mostly on MFs.
Wealth Insight: Available in Printed + Digital format by leading portal ValueResearch. Mostly on Equity Research. Also publishes topics on economy & markets.
Money Today: Available in Printed + Digital format by leading business magazine Business Today. Covers most subjects on Personal Finance.
Dalal Street: Available in Printed + Digital format. Very old magazine for Equity Shares. Now comes with last 20-30 pages on MFs & Investing topics.
Newspaper Supplements
All Business Newspapers have articles on Personal Finance but I personally like ET Wealth (comes on Monday), Business Line Portfolio (Monday). Articles form MINT are also very simple & interesting.
The newspapers are – Economic Times, Business Standard, Business Line, Financial Express & MINT.
Please note that we are talking about magazines which talk about personal finance end to end, so magazines which talk solely on stocks and mutual funds will not qualify for this assessment. I consider these top personal finance magazines as the bible on all topics related to personal finance and financial planning.
Other Personal Finance Magazines you can refer:
- Capital Markets (mainly for Stocks)
- Forbes India
- Business Today
Anyone wanting to know about investments, insurance, retirement, taxation, spending, giving and current affairs on finance ought to subscribe to these. Here is my top 3.
Top personal finance magazines of India – review of top 3
Outlook Money – hard copy and digital edition
According to me, Outlook Money qualifies as being on the top of the list of top personal finance magazines of India. 
I find Outlook Money a simple yet very informative and powerful magazine. A fortnightly issue, it spreads its articles across basics and advanced personal finance topics. The areas it covers are stocks, mutual funds, fixed income investing, real estate, banking and insurance.
The current news on finance and economy are crisp, simple and easy to follow. Outlook Money does an annual ranking of best mutual funds and stocks. Recently, it has started ranking Unit Linked Insurance Products (ULIPs) which by no means is a small feat in itself.
With an extra dose on Spending, Giving, Consumer Protection and a practical financial plan for an ordinary investor thrown in, it has it all. Outlook Money is a must have for every beginner and advanced investor.
The articles from the staff writers are awesome. It even carries reviews of books and blogs. The “How to buy” section on consumer durables is very practical.
Look out for the detailed queries on insurance and banking. Their staff writers boast of famous names like Parag Parikh, Mohit Satyanand and Monica Halan among many others. Recommendations on stocks and mutual funds are a regular with Outlook Money.
Their round tables on topics on personal finance feed into the magazine to give a first hand information on what leaders in the financial space are thinking. A very appealing design of pages and lovable font makes it even more attractive. A strong recommendation for anyone starting out on learning personal finance.
Online Version : http://www.outlookmoney.com
Money Today
A monthly magazine, Money Today is a thick bundle of knowledge and joy. It contains practically everything that
Outlook Money has. In fact, some of the issues have been completely marvelous and it comes closer to Outlook Money on the quality of its content.
Like Outlook Money, it carries sections such as current affairs, mutual funds, stocks, banking, real estate, fixed income investing and insurance. It has a Q&A section, a section on careers, reviews of books and consumer durables.
The practical financial plan it carries compares with the ones from Outlook Money. Money Today also does an annual issue on best stocks and mutual funds. It even runs model mutual fund portfolios in every issue to showcase how they are performing against their benchmark indices.
I like the frequency being monthly, it comes with comprehensive content and you get enough time to read before the next issue lands at your doorstep. In that sense, Outlook Money is like a premature baby, arriving before you really want it.
One of the top personal finance magazines especially if you are a starter or a voracious reader in the personal finance space.
Online Version : http://www.moneytoday.in
Money Life
Another magazine that attempts to lead the pack among the top personal finance magazines and also empower investors on personal finance is Money Life magazine. This magazine is a fortnightly issue and covers almost the same 
areas as the above two magazines do.
The articles are very informative, meticulous and knowledgeable. Authors like Sucheta Dala and Debashis Basu pen the articles, so you can be rest assured that they will be very well written. Money Life also carries an annual review of best mutual funds and stocks which are a must read. Books and car reviews are a regular feature.
The Money Life Foundation workshops feature very frequently in the magazine.
But it does seem to me that its stock heavy – there are quite a few pages that get devoted to stocks. Sure, a lot of folks like the stock market but I wish those pages could get devoted to other areas of personal finance. Money Life does not carry a financial plan of an individual as the other two magazines do nor have I seen a Q&A section yet.
I also wish the design and font can go through an over lift to make it more attractive. I get to this magazine the last – for me it is at the bottom of the list of top personal finance magazines that hit the stands. It might be different for you readers.
Online Version : http://www.moneylife.in
Economic Times Wealth
ET Wealth comes out each week and has an amazing set of graphics and real life cases that go along with its issues. The presentation is mind blowing and so are the articles. I think this could potentially be one of the top personal finance magazines available in the market today.
The articles that come in the hard copy can be found online on Economic Times as well but I am not sure why they do not have a digital edition of this at one place – you cannot go to a particular week and find all articles of that week in one place – that’s a bit sad.
The data & graphics on this magazines are very good and worth collecting.
Take a shot with any of these top personal finance magazines of India. They are a treasure of knowledge and the sooner you get to it, the better you are off as an informed and intelligent investor. Which are your top personal finance magazines and why do you call them the best ?
I like Mutual Fund Insight and Outlook Profit. Why did not cover those ?
@PG, Well, because, Mutual Fund Insight is mutual fund specific and Outlook Profit is stock market specific. Maybe one for the future ?
mintmoney.com- personal finance site of livemint.com. good and easy to follow articles covering various topics
Another one added to my list now !
which one?
1. try business line sunday edition – investor world i it is extremely superb than all listed and for a damn cheap price of 4 a week
2. outlook money is available for a bargain price of 400 – mail and bargain with them before subscribing- its true
@gowri shanker, I did not know one could bargain for Outlook Money as well !!
@gowri shanker, .
Thanks Gowri shankar.I will try your advice.
Hi Radhey ,
I looked at Outlook money and it is really good.AS you said it comes very early before we complete one.
For subscription for a beginner like me , which one do you recommend Outlook money or Money Today?
@Ravi Shankar Kota, Outllook Money. Close your eyes and take it.
Money Today is far better than Outlook Money. Easy to read. Go ahead with it.
Business today, Intelligent Investor and money mantra are also in race….for personal finance sector magazine
Radhey,
I like moneylife.in. Sucheta Dalal and company are doing a very good job to educate investors. Also they are spilling the beans on various scams.
Rakesh
@Rakesh, Agree with this. Sucheta Dalal has been travelling all over the country and conducting free seminars to educate the common public like us with her educated and well researched fundas. Way to go!!
@Rakesh, Oh it is an awesome one. I like the website more than the magazine.
The magazine talks more about stocks and all often…
With so much info out there on the web in the form of articles, blogs and discussion forums, I really feel pressed for time to catch up with even my preferred ones. The “Wealth” supplement which comes every Monday (requires subscription) with Times of India looks good – but then it is not as comprehensive as some of the magazines listed out there in the article and the comments above.
@Jaswinder Singh, I find WEALTH one of the most stunning personal finance magazines. Comes at Rs 5 each Monday.
Not to be missed.
@Radhey Sharma, …and it carries a brief financial plan for a selected family every week 🙂
is it any magazine in India Specifically based on investment in Fixed Deposit & Bonds???
which magazine i prefer for financial planning at starting level??? becoz mostly magazines are mutual fund centric but i want fixed deposit & bonds based magazine only.
No, I am not aware of any that concentrates on bonds and FDs only. To start at level 0 for financial planning, use Outlook Money.
@Vikram,
Why do you want to invest in FDs & bonds? What is your time horizon.
If your investment horizon is for more than 5 years then MF is the way to go. You can expect returns between 12-15% returns. As for learning financial planning, you are at the right place. You can find many articles here and increase your knowledge.
Hi ,
I used to read outlookProfit , It was quite good. It seems to be discontinued. Anyone recommend any other magazine like that ?
Anyone has read , Dalal Street ? I need Fundamental advice on Stocks.
Thanks in advance.
Read ICICIdirect Money Manager – a monthly personal finance magazine by ICICIdirect.com. Its very good! Plus, its all free!
Thanks Nikita ,
Let me try.
Sure Hiren. Here’s the link:
http://content.icicidirect.com/newsiteContent/MoneyManagerMagazine/index.html
You can also download PDF copy at:
http://content.icicidirect.com/newsiteContent/MoneyManagerMagazine/Monthly_Issue.pdf
I’m Malaysian 46 years old i would like to invest my money in india bank which bank can give me good return on FD please advise me.
Thank you,
Best Regards,
R.Krishnan
@Krishnan,
So you are an NRI, you might have NRI accounts. You can open an online FD account.
ICICI Bank provide attractive rates on NRI FD.
Which magazine is better for covering current and formal financial awareness for Banking exams. Is Business line prove to be good if i will go with it?
Hi…. Radhey I want to be a Financial Analyst, which magazine is going to be productive for me, kindly suggest.
Nice Post ! can any one help me out for my investment i am first time investing in market can anyone guide me which share we have to invest and how much ?
wow, lots of articles with various information. Magazines are the best supporters to understand the basics of financial needs. For those who wants to be a financial analyst, it could be a helpful post.