Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Cledara vs Empower

Cledara logo

Cledara

Accounting

Software subscription management with a virtual card per application, priced from £100 a month

From
£100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Empower logo

Empower

Accounting

All your finances. One app.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cledara control only extends to subscriptions paid on a Cledara card, so anything billed by invoice, bank transfer or a legacy company card is invisible to the system and undermines the inventory it promises.; Empower specific advisory fees not published; Form ADV consultation required
  • They diverge on capability: Cledara covers Virtual card per subscription, Empower covers Net worth tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cledara and Empower actually diverge.

Attributes where Cledara and Empower differ
AttributeCledaraEmpower
Starting price£100/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer month by number of applicationsquote
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
FoundedUnknown2009

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cledara

  • Virtual card per subscription
  • Cancel by card
  • Application inventory
  • Approval workflow
  • Invoice collection
  • Accounting export
  • Spend optimisation module
  • IT management and compliance modules

Only in Empower

  • Net worth tracking
  • Investment tracking
  • Retirement planner
  • Cash flow
  • 401k fee analyzer
  • Bank connections
  • Brokerage accounts
  • SOC 2

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cledara

  • A finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cardsnot Empower
  • A company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellationnot Empower
  • A startup wanting approval on new software purchases before the first charge rather than at the auditnot Empower
  • A finance function that spends days each month chasing SaaS invoices for the accountantnot Empower

Empower

  • Wealth trackingnot Cledara
  • Retirement planningnot Cledara
  • Investment analysisnot Cledara

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cledara

  • Control only extends to subscriptions paid on a Cledara card, so anything billed by invoice, bank transfer or a legacy company card is invisible to the system and undermines the inventory it promises.
  • Tier limits are set by number of applications rather than headcount, and twenty applications on the Basic plan is fewer than most companies of fifty actually run, so buyers often land on a higher tier than the entry price suggests.
  • The modules that turn it from a payment layer into a management platform, spend optimisation, IT management and compliance, are each priced at £150 to £200 a month, comparable to the base plan itself.
  • Usage data is inferred from payment and integration signals rather than deep application telemetry, so its judgement of whether a tool is underused is weaker than a discovery product built on single sign-on and API usage.
  • It is a card issuer as well as a software vendor, which adds financial counterparty considerations and means a change in its banking arrangements would affect how the company pays every one of its suppliers.

Empower

  • Specific advisory fees not published; Form ADV consultation required
  • High minimum investment thresholds ($100,000 for Personal Strategy)
  • Detailed fee structure available only in Form ADV documents

Pricing, plan by plan

Cledara

£100/month
  • Basic$100/month
    • Up to 20 software applications
    • Virtual card per subscription
    • Application inventory and approvals
  • Premium$undefined/month
    • Up to 75 software applications
    • Typically 51 to 150 staff
    • 1% cashback in the first year, capped at the subscription cost
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • For organisations above roughly 150 staff
    • Scoped individually
    • 1% cashback in the first year, capped at plan cost
  • Add-on modules$200/month
    • Spend Optimization £200 a month or £1,500 a year
    • IT Management £150 a month or £1,500 a year
    • Software Compliance £150 a month or £1,500 a year

Empower

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Empower review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cledara if

  • You need virtual card per subscription.
  • You also want cancel by card.
Cledara review

Choose Empower if

  • You need net worth tracking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want investment tracking.
Empower review

Questions people ask

Is Cledara or Empower better?
Neither clearly leads. Cledara starts at £100/month and Empower at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cledara or Empower?
Cledara starts at £100/month and Empower at On request.
Does Cledara or Empower run on more platforms?
Cledara runs on Web. Empower runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Cledara best used for?
Cledara is most often used for a finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cards, a company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellation, a startup wanting approval on new software purchases before the first charge rather than at the audit, a finance function that spends days each month chasing saas invoices for the accountant. Of those, a finance team that cannot say what software the company pays for because everything is on three people's company cards and a company that keeps paying for tools nobody uses and cannot get the vendor to process a cancellation are not what Empower is typically brought in for.
What can Cledara do that Empower cannot?
Cledara covers Virtual card per subscription, Cancel by card, Application inventory, Approval workflow. Empower covers Net worth tracking, Investment tracking, Retirement planner, Cash flow.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cledara: What does it cost?

Basic is £100 a month for up to 20 applications, with Premium covering up to 75 and Pro above that. Add-on modules are £150 to £200 a month each, and annual payment saves 16%.

Empower: Does Empower have a minimum investment requirement?

Empower's advisory services require different minimums based on service level. Personal Strategy advisory requires a minimum of $100,000 in investable assets. Private Client services require $1,000,000 or more.

Source
Cledara: Does it find software we did not tell it about?

Only what passes through its cards or connected integrations. Subscriptions paid by invoice or another card stay hidden, which is the main limitation of the model.

Empower: How are Empower's advisory fees calculated?

Advisory fees are calculated based on the amount of assets being managed under advice. Specific fee rates are not disclosed on the homepage.

Source
Cledara: How does cancelling work?

You cancel the virtual card for that subscription, which stops the payment. It does not remove your contractual obligation, so check notice periods.

Empower: Is the high-yield cash account free?

Yes. Empower's high-yield cash account has no account fees and no minimum balance required.

Source
Cledara: Is the application limit by users or by tools?

By tools. Twenty on Basic, seventy-five on Premium. Count your actual subscriptions before assuming the entry price applies to you.

Empower: Are there fees for stock and ETF trading?

Empower offers commission-free trading for stocks and ETFs with low fees.

Source
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