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Accounting · head to head

Empower vs Personal Capital

Empower logo

Empower

Accounting

All your finances. One app.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Personal Capital logo

Personal Capital

Personal Finance

Invest wisely, retire confidently

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Personal Capital has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Empower specific advisory fees not published; Form ADV consultation required; Personal Capital wealth management requires a 100,000 USD minimum for Investment Services, 250,000 USD for Wealth Management and 1,000,000 USD for Private Client
  • They diverge on capability: Empower covers Retirement planner, Personal Capital covers Retirement calculator.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Empower and Personal Capital actually diverge.

Attributes where Empower and Personal Capital differ
AttributeEmpowerPersonal Capital
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
CategoryAccountingPersonal Finance
Founded20092010

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Empower

  • Retirement planner
  • Cash flow
  • 401k fee analyzer
  • Bank connections
  • Brokerage accounts
  • SOC 2
  • Bank-level encryption
  • Ios support

Only in Personal Capital

  • Retirement calculator
  • Fee analyzer
  • Bank accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • Real estate
  • IOS support

Both cover

  • Net worth tracking
  • Investment tracking
  • Web support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Empower

  • Wealth trackingnot Personal Capital
  • Retirement planningnot Personal Capital
  • Investment analysisnot Personal Capital

Personal Capital

  • Tracking net worth and investment accounts in one dashboardnot Empower
  • Managed portfolio construction with tax loss harvesting for high balance investorsnot Empower
  • Retirement planning projections across linked accountsnot Empower

Where each one falls short

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

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

Personal Capital

  • Wealth management requires a 100,000 USD minimum for Investment Services, 250,000 USD for Wealth Management and 1,000,000 USD for Private Client
  • The annual advisory fee is charged as a percentage of assets under management on a tiered structure rather than a flat subscription
  • Assets are custodied at Pershing Advisor Solutions rather than by the provider itself

Pricing, plan by plan

Empower

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Empower review.

Personal Capital

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Account tracking
    • Net worth monitoring
    • Investment analysis
  • Premium$undefined/month
    • Financial advisor access
    • Personalized advice

Which should you pick?

Choose Empower if

  • You need retirement planner.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want cash flow.
Empower review

Choose Personal Capital if

  • You need retirement calculator.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want fee analyzer.
Personal Capital review

Questions people ask

Is Empower or Personal Capital better?
Neither clearly leads. Empower starts at On request and Personal Capital at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Empower or Personal Capital?
Personal Capital has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Empower and Free for Personal Capital.
Does Empower or Personal Capital run on more platforms?
Empower runs on Web, Ios, Android. Personal Capital runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use Personal Capital for free?
Yes. Personal Capital has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Empower starts at On request.
What is Empower best used for?
Empower is most often used for wealth tracking, retirement planning, investment analysis. Of those, wealth tracking and retirement planning are not what Personal Capital is typically brought in for.
What can Empower do that Personal Capital cannot?
Empower covers Retirement planner, Cash flow, 401k fee analyzer, Bank connections. Personal Capital covers Retirement calculator, Fee analyzer, Bank accounts, Investment accounts. Both handle Net worth tracking, Investment tracking, Web support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Personal Capital: How are advisory fees calculated at Personal Capital?

Advisory fees are calculated based on the amount of assets under management (AUM). Specific percentage rates are available in their Form ADV filing but not detailed on the homepage.

Source
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
Personal Capital: Does Personal Capital charge account fees for its high-yield cash account?

The high-yield cash account has no account fees and no minimum balance requirement.

Source
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
Personal Capital: What is the difference between Personal Strategy and Private Client tiers?

Personal Strategy ($100k minimum) includes 1:1 advisor support and personalized planning. Private Client ($1M minimum) offers premium planning with access to private equity, tax optimization, and legacy planning services.

Source
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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