Methodology
Dimensions evaluated: Net worth tracking · Investment analysis · Budgeting depth · Bank sync reliability · Sales pressure from wealth management arm
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Empower (formerly Personal Capital before Empower Retirement acquired it) is the only app in this category that offers genuine investment portfolio analysis alongside budgeting — and keeps both free. This is a meaningful differentiator. Monarch offers investment tracking, but Monarch costs $99.99/yr. Empower’s equivalent net worth and investment dashboard is permanently free.
The tradeoff is the business model: Empower makes money by upselling wealth management services to users with investable assets above $100,000. If you have significant investments, expect outreach from their advisory team. This is disclosed, not hidden — but it is worth knowing before connecting a brokerage account.
What Empower’s Free Dashboard Includes
- Net worth tracking across all connected accounts (checking, savings, investments, credit cards, loans, mortgages)
- Investment portfolio analysis — allocation, performance, fee analysis (the “Fee Analyzer” tool has caught hidden fees for many users)
- Basic cash flow tracking — income vs expenses by month
- Basic budgeting categories — not ZBB, not envelope, just category buckets
- Retirement planner — a goal projection tool for retirement savings
What Empower Does Not Do Well
Empower’s budgeting features are basic. There is no zero-based method, no envelope system, no rollover, no couples mode, no goal-setting at the transaction level. For serious budgeting, YNAB or Monarch are substantially better tools.
The mobile app is functional but not in the same design tier as Copilot or Monarch. The budget screens feel like they were built to support the wealth management pitch, not to help you manage day-to-day spending.
Bank Sync
Empower uses multiple aggregators. US sync reliability is in the Plaid range — expect the same 94% baseline with the same silent failure risk.
"Empower is the best free net worth tracker. I use it alongside YNAB — Empower for the big picture, YNAB for day-to-day budgeting."
r/personalfinance, April 2026
"The fee analyzer found 0.4% in hidden fund fees I had been paying for 3 years. That alone justified connecting my accounts."
r/financialindependence, February 2026
The Wealth Management Upsell
Empower offers a paid wealth management service starting at 0.89% AUM annually for accounts over $100,000. If you connect investment accounts, their advisors may reach out. This is how the free dashboard is monetised. The calls are not aggressive but they are persistent for high-AUM users.
If you have under $100,000 in investable assets, you will likely never receive an outreach call. The service is targeted at users who can make the economics work for Empower.
Verdict
Empower is the best free tool for net worth tracking and investment analysis. For serious day-to-day budgeting, pair it with YNAB or use Monarch for an all-in-one paid solution.
Our Verdict
Price
Free (budgeting dashboard permanently free)
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Honest Expectation
Honest expectation: Empower will not help you build a budget. It will show you your complete financial picture in one place, for free. That visibility alone can shift behaviour — seeing your net worth decline in a bad month is motivating in ways that abstract 'you spent too much' messaging is not.