Are you revamping your website? Maybe you are looking to generate more qualified mortgage applications or open more accounts online?
Tools that guide people through the buying process and help connect them with the right products is a great place to start.
So now you're trying to decide between Fintactix and Chimney? We've unpacked many of the key differences so you know exactly what to expect.
Some of the things we’ll cover:
Who is Fintactix
Fintactix is a one-person company founded in 2011 by a former LeadFusion employee.
Fintactix is one of the oldest companies making financial calculators, the product offering has evolved over the years and now Fintactix offers a suite of products aimed at “financial experience management”. Their calculators check some boxes in the design category and are used by many of the largest banks and credit unions, however the technology hasn’t been updated in years and is built on iframes which makes connecting to existing systems and updating a challenge for today’s digital team.
Who is Chimney
Founded two years ago from former SEO and Content Marketers, Chimney is building the next generation of financial calculators. A digital native, born in the era of digital transformation where the customer experience and customer journey sit atop the list of strategic priorities.
Chimney was built out of frustration with the lack of easy-to-use financial calculators on the internet. We started by evaluating the UX/UI of design-first companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Apple. We talked to product designers, attended conferences, researched user behavior, and held interviews to understand what makes best-in-class tools so easy to use and simple to understand.
Chimney is the fastest-growing company in the space with the highest reviewed calculators on the internet.
This one is very straightforward, if you care about SEO you should not use iFrames. Fintactix implements their calculators via iFrames – Google's own webmaster says it best "you should not be using iFrames for display content on your website."
In order for you to rank for keywords, Google needs to be able to crawl and index your calculators. With iFrames, they essentially cannot see anything – they’re a black box. Your tools should be built and published using JavaScript to help optimize the experience and increase SEO traffic.
Fintactix – One of the biggest drawbacks to Fintactix is iFrames. You wouldn’t put flash on your website the same way you wouldn’t put iFrames on a modern website.
Chimney – We don’t believe in iFrames for calculators - we automatically generate a javascript snippet that is easily embedded on any page you want the calculators to live. This means we provide real SEO value with calculators that are easily placed on your website via Javascript – no coding or dev team required.
How Chimney increases top of the funnel website traffic via SEO.
Can I measure the results of the calculators?
Fintactix – Fintactix does not provide any analytics to clients.
Chimney – Chimney provides a real-time dashboard of calculators – that modern technology also means that you can plug into Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager or other existing analytics systems.
What analytics come included with the calculators?
Fintactix – Fintactix does not provide any analytics to clients.
Chimney – Chimney provides real-time analytics dashboards for each calculator. Views, Engagement, and Conversions for every calculator. In one place. You can also set events and use UTM parameters to track alongside Google Analytics. You'll be able to track Applications, Click-through CTAs, Appointment Bookings, and Account Openings so you know exactly how these interactive calculators are driving action through your funnel.
Is it easy to get the designs customized for my brand?
Fintactix – Fintactix will help you style the initial calculator and send over the code which needs to be deployed on the website. In order to make updates to Fintactix calculators, marketers need a deep understanding of JavaScript and CSS to make changes. If you do not have the skills to make these code updates on your own – ticketing requests to internal IT teams are often met with delays due to “limited resources”.
Chimney – Chimney enables marketers to whitelabel with your branding, colors, font, and logo on all of your calculators, without IT requests or learning how to code. Our flexible Calculator Editor makes it easy for marketers to make updates, edits, and changes to their calculators — all from a single platform.
“It was really easy for me to get started and get the information I needed. Unlike some other experiences, this felt more personalized — less of a sales pitch.”
Kassandra Martin
Brand and Digital Strategy Manager at Direct Federal Credit Union
How easy is it to make edits, updates, and changes once we're live?
Fintactix – Typically requires an Application Administrator or an IT project owner who is responsible for the initial install, coding updates, consistently testing for bugs, and then fixing any bugs. This Admin is also responsible for finding any calculators that are broken or not functioning properly. If there is an issue, you will have to file a ticket and pay for the additional hours with your agency.
Chimney – We provide a dashboard where you can manage every calculator through a no-code platform - you can make edits or updates in minutes to your entire library without having to get a technical resource involved. We consistently QA test all live calculators for our clients proactively, identify any issues, and get them fixed with standard SLAs free of charge and automatically.
Do I need to have custom development work done?
Fintactix – Yes you will need to work with your IT team or web development agency to launch and make changes. This can add on costly development hours in addition to the initial costs of the calculators.
Chimney – You can choose templates, style the tools, and publish easily using a snippet that we auto-generate for you. That means you will have calculators live in minutes by using a simple no-code platform.
Is it easy for me to get these calculators live anywhere on my website?
Fintactix – You need to work with your IT team or web development agency to launch and make changes. This creates problems with speed to market and building out custom integrations on each page.
Chimney – Calculators will easily embed on any page of your website, see our publishing FAQ for any questions.
If I’m currently working with Fintactix, is it easy for me to swtich?
We make switching incredibly easy – we’ll work with you to identify the calculators you want to switch and help you build out your calculator library so everything looks great. Most of our teams are live within 2 weeks of signing on with Chimney.
How does pricing work? Am I locked into a big long-term contract?
Fintactix – Fintactix requires long-term contracts - either 1, 2, or 3 years with pricing based on asset size. With Fintactix you have to pay for an entire category of calculators, whether those calculators are performing or not.
Chimney – With Chimney, you only pay for the calculators you use and have full flexibility to swap calculators anytime. You choose from a bundle of 10, 20, or 40 calculators that you can publish on as many website pages as you want. The data is clear, you don't need 100+ calculators to be successful, we recommend you focus on the top 10-20 highest performing calculators across your business instead of publishing 100+ across your website just because you can.
Fintactix – If you are looking to check the box with financial calculators, save money, and you have access to a lot of development resources, Fintactix might be a good choice for you. Fintactix tools look OK but they don't allow you to measure success or ROI. Fintactix clients should be careful to ensure they do not go out of scope, budget, and miss deadlines during implementation and for any ongoing maintenance/updates.
Chimney – If you are looking to grow deposits, increase applications online, and provide a great customer experience online, Chimney is likely a wise choice. Chimney delivers on the promise with tools that are beautifully designed, easy to use, and simple to understand.
Other tools don’t help win more customers and they’re a pain to manage. Our tools are built to match people where they are on the customer journey – at every stage of the funnel.
That means you get more people to your website with SEO-optimized tools, you engage the people on your site with tools that are beautifully designed and easy to use, and you generate more leads with compelling CTAs to increase applications.
We’re the only company on the market that doesn’t use iFrames, a completely outdated web technology that was built in the 1990s and provides no SEO value whatsoever.
As a financial institution – your job is made simpler with easy-to-use templates designed to help you increase conversions, faster. Adding and updating calculators is a breeze with the ability to easily edit the copy, font, colors, calls-to-action – all in one place.
As a human – people have questions and the answers shouldn’t be complicated. Our tools are professionally designed, have fewer inputs to increase completion rates, more accurate assumptions, faster loading times, and provide an overall better buying experience. People are looking to find personalized answers in the right place, at the right time.
Curious to see how Chimney makes it all happen?
Start a No Risk 30-day Free Trial here and customize your first calculator in the next 10 minutes.
Best case, you may find your next favorite technology partner to make your life easier.
Worst case, you’ll learn why so many companies are making the switch.
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