Empower Review: The Free Net Worth Tracker Worth Adding
Genuinely free net-worth dashboard that doubles as a lead funnel for its paid advisor tier — use the free part, skip the upsell unless you're past $100K.
Short version: Empower (formerly Personal Capital) links every account you own into one net-worth view, completely free, no catch beyond the occasional nudge toward its paid wealth management arm. If you're not sitting on six figures of investable assets, use the free tools forever and ignore the upsell entirely — it costs you nothing to do so.
What Empower actually is
Empower runs two genuinely separate products under one roof. The first is a free financial dashboard: link your bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage, and investment accounts, and it tracks your net worth over time, categorizes spending, projects retirement readiness, and runs a "fee analyzer" that flags expensive mutual funds hiding in your 401(k). The second is Empower Personal Strategy, a paid wealth management service with human advisors, available only above a $100,000 investable-asset minimum.
This is a different category from anything else on this site — not a budgeting app like YNAB, not a beginner investing app like Acorns. It's the tool you add once budgeting is handled and you want to see the whole financial picture in one place.
Pricing, fact-checked today
| Tier | Cost | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free dashboard | $0 | Net worth tracking, spending categorization, retirement planner, 401(k) fee analyzer, cash flow view |
| Personal Strategy (advisor) | 0.89% AUM under $1M | Dedicated advisor team, tax-loss harvesting, personalized portfolio |
| Higher balances | 0.79% ($1-3M) → 0.49% ($10M+) | Same service, declining rate on larger tiers |
| Advisor minimum | $100,000 investable assets | Required to access any paid tier |
Prices verified July 6, 2026 against Empower's official pricing and advisory disclosures.
Empower gives away a genuinely excellent free dashboard because it functions as a lead-generation funnel for the paid advisory business — the company says as much itself. That's not a trick, just a fact worth knowing: your account data helps Empower identify who might convert to a paying wealth management client. If you're nowhere near the $100K minimum, you are, in the most literal sense, not the target customer for their business model — but you still get the full free product forever. There's no bait-and-switch here, just a funnel that doesn't apply to most users.
Is the paid tier worth it?
Empower's 0.89% starting fee is meaningfully higher than pure robo-advisors like Betterment (0.25%) or Wealthfront — you're paying for human advisor access, tax-loss harvesting, and personalized planning, not just algorithmic portfolio management. For clients between $100K-$250K, that gets a team of advisors rather than a dedicated one; north of $250K gets two dedicated advisors and deeper planning. If you specifically want a human to call, this is reasonably priced next to traditional financial advisors (who average close to 0.96%). If you just want low-cost automated investing, Empower's paid tier is the wrong tool — Robinhood or a pure robo-advisor will cost less.
Link your accounts, run the free 401(k) fee analyzer, and ignore everything else. It's common to discover funds quietly charging 1%+ in expense ratios that have gone unnoticed for years — a 1% fee difference on $200,000 compounds into roughly $170,000 of lost returns over 30 years. That single free tool can justify the five minutes of setup even if you never touch another Empower feature again.
Pros & cons
What works
- Genuinely free forever — no trial period, no forced upgrade
- Fee analyzer catches expensive funds most people never notice
- Links every account type: banking, credit, investment, mortgage, retirement
- Cash account: 4% APY, FDIC insured up to $5 million
What doesn't
- Advisory fee (0.89%+) is high next to pure robo-advisors
- $100,000 minimum locks most users out of the paid tier entirely
- Free dashboard exists to funnel users toward the paid service
- Not a budgeting tool — no envelope system, no bill negotiation
Who should use it
- Use the free dashboard if: you want one view of your entire financial picture — accounts, net worth, retirement readiness — regardless of balance size.
- Consider the paid tier if: you have $100K+ invested and specifically want human advisor access alongside digital tools.
- Skip the paid tier if: you're comfortable with a pure robo-advisor or DIY investing — you'll pay less elsewhere for similar automated management.
FAQ
Is Empower actually free?
Yes — the dashboard, net worth tracking, retirement planner, and fee analyzer are completely free. You only pay if you opt into wealth management, which requires $100,000 minimum.
How much does the paid tier cost?
Starting at 0.89% annually for assets under $1 million, stepping down to 0.49% above $10 million. A $100,000 minimum is required.
Is the free dashboard actually useful?
Yes — many people use it for years without upgrading. The fee analyzer alone often justifies signing up.
Do I need Empower and a budgeting app?
They solve different problems — budgeting apps handle day-to-day cash flow, Empower handles net worth and investment tracking. Many people use one of each.
Handling the day-to-day too?
Our $19 Personal Finance OS is the Notion dashboard we actually use — accounts, debts, sinking funds, one screen. Pairs well with Empower's net worth view.
Get the Personal Finance OS →