Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Empower vs Vena Solutions

Empower logo

Empower

Accounting

All your finances. One app.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vena Solutions logo

Vena Solutions

Accounting

FP&A planning that keeps Excel as the front end and puts a database and workflow behind it

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Empower specific advisory fees not published; Form ADV consultation required; Vena Solutions vena publishes no pricing and contracts are modular, so two organisations of similar size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark without going through procurement.
  • They diverge on capability: Empower covers Net worth tracking, Vena Solutions covers Excel add-in interface.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Empower and Vena Solutions actually diverge.

Attributes where Empower and Vena Solutions differ
AttributeEmpowerVena Solutions
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Windows, Excel add-in
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Empower

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

Only in Vena Solutions

  • Excel add-in interface
  • Central multidimensional database
  • Workflow and approvals
  • Audit trail
  • Rolling forecasts
  • Close management
  • Power BI integration
  • ERP connectors

What people use each for

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

Empower

  • Wealth trackingnot Vena Solutions
  • Retirement planningnot Vena Solutions
  • Investment analysisnot Vena Solutions

Vena Solutions

  • A finance team that wants governance and audit over budgeting but refuses to give up Excel formulasnot Empower
  • Replacing a shared drive full of departmental budget workbooks with routed templates and tracked submissionnot Empower
  • Consolidating actuals from more than one ERP into a single reporting set without a data warehouse projectnot Empower
  • Running monthly rolling forecasts where the model is complex enough to need real spreadsheet logicnot 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

Vena Solutions

  • Vena publishes no pricing and contracts are modular, so two organisations of similar size can pay very different amounts and neither can benchmark without going through procurement.
  • Implementation services for data integration and template configuration typically make up a large part of first-year cost, often exceeding the licence, and that figure only appears in the proposal.
  • Excel dependency is structural: organisations on Google Workspace, or staff working only in a browser or on Chromebooks, cannot use the primary interface as intended.
  • Because it accepts existing spreadsheets, it can preserve years of undocumented logic and circular workarounds rather than forcing the clean-up that a rebuild on a purpose-built modelling tool would require.
  • Model performance degrades with very large dimensional models, so organisations that grow into genuinely large planning problems eventually hit the limits of the spreadsheet-first design and face a second migration.

Pricing, plan by plan

Empower

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Empower review.

Vena Solutions

On request
  • Vena Professional$undefined/year
    • Core planning platform and Excel add-in
    • Workflow, audit trail and version control
    • Standard support
  • Vena Complete$undefined/year
    • Everything in Professional
    • Power BI integration
    • Premium support and a customer success manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Empower if

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

Choose Vena Solutions if

  • You need excel add-in interface.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Excel add-in.
  • You also want central multidimensional database.
Vena Solutions review

Questions people ask

Is Empower or Vena Solutions better?
Neither clearly leads. Empower starts at On request and Vena Solutions at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Empower or Vena Solutions?
Empower starts at On request and Vena Solutions at On request.
Does Empower or Vena Solutions run on more platforms?
Empower runs on Web, Ios, Android. Vena Solutions runs on Web, Windows, Excel add-in.
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 Vena Solutions is typically brought in for.
What can Empower do that Vena Solutions cannot?
Empower covers Net worth tracking, Investment tracking, Retirement planner, Cash flow. Vena Solutions covers Excel add-in interface, Central multidimensional database, Workflow and approvals, Audit trail.

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
Vena Solutions: Do we have to give up Excel?

No, that is the point of the product. Excel is the interface, backed by a central database and workflow.

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
Vena Solutions: Is pricing published?

No. Vena quotes per organisation based on users, modules and services.

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
Vena Solutions: How much is implementation?

It is quoted separately and commonly forms a large share of first-year cost. Get it itemised before comparing against Anaplan or Adaptive.

Empower: Are there fees for stock and ETF trading?

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

Source
Vena Solutions: Does it work without Microsoft Office?

Not properly. The Excel add-in is the main working surface.

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