Ease of Use/Install:  

The main page of Moneydance is visually simple, which is one of its strengths.  The navigation bar and buttons can get you to any section, and the main content area neatly summarizes your accounts, even displaying bill reminders and a tidy calendar.  Adding new accounts is a snap as well, and Moneydance 2008 connects to a large number of banks and credit unions the world over.

Banking/Bills:  

Like Quicken Starter Edition, Moneydance 2008 offers online banking, allowing you to automatically synchronize your accounts with Moneydance, with minimal to no data entry.  Unlike Quicken Starter Edition and Microsoft Money Essentials, bill paying is free of charge.  Not every financial institution which Moneydance supports for online banking will allow application-based online bill payment, but it shows foresight and that Moneydance is a serious competitor.

Reporting:  

Reporting has been continually improved with each new version of Moneydance. Favorite reports can be saved, or memorized, so you can generate them with one click, which is a nice feature.

Financial Calculators:  

Moneydance has handy calculators for loans, mortgages, and refinancing your home, so you can figure out if that loan or extra room will be financially feasible. 

One of Moneydance's biggest strengths is its library of extensions, and include a credit card payoff calculator, debt payoff calculator, an investment profit calculator, and more.  All can help you plan your financial future and integrate seamlessly into the application itself.

Support / Documentation:  

Support is always fast at hand with Moneydance:  You can email support and receive a fast response, and you'll find their community forums equally responsive from Moneydance employees and users alike.  They also have a nice blog that helps keep users informed, which is a great feature not offered by any other finance software company.

The only place we found slightly lacking was the application help, but it's not what we consider a major drawback, considering the online support is so helpful.

Archiving/Security:  

Moneydance 2008 allows you to archive, backup, restore, and password-protect your financial information, and the process for each is easy and painless.

Personal Investing:  

Moneydance can import files from your brokerage house, so long as you can export your investment data to QIF, OFX, or OFC format.  Once imported, Moneydance can summarize and report on your investment portfolio, just like it does with your other accounts.  Like Moneydance's online bill pay, this service is also free!

Moneydance 2008 has a lot going for it:  Online banking and bill paying are as automatic as they can be, investment information can be imported easily, budgets can be made and tracked, checks can be written and printed, and the list goes on.  To top it off, Moneydance has numerous extensions that bring even more functionality to bare, including stock price updaters, debt payoff calculators, and more.  As mentioned previously, Moneydance is the only software that works on Windows, Mac, and the Linux operating system.

Finally, Moneydance's website has an active community of users, where Moneydance employees routinely contribute there and to the Moneydance blog, which keeps users updated on the latest development and financial news.