WealthFluent vs Empower (2026)

Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is a free dashboard for accounts and net worth, plus optional AUM if you want a firm to run the money. WealthFluent is for self-directed investors: balance sheet, Lifetime Wealth Planning, a cross-account optimizer, and Magpie.

This page is a comparison, not a verdict. Prices and plan names change. Check theirs, and check ours. WealthFluent is not a financial advisor. Nothing here is advice or a recommendation.

For the three-product sit-down (planner vs dashboard vs plan-plus-portfolio), see WealthFluent vs Boldin vs Empower. For the category map, see Best retirement planning software. Dedicated Boldin contrast: WealthFluent vs Boldin. Dedicated Monarch contrast: WealthFluent vs Monarch. Dedicated PortfolioPilot contrast: WealthFluent vs PortfolioPilot. Dedicated ProjectionLab contrast: WealthFluent vs ProjectionLab. Dedicated RIA (human firm) contrast: WealthFluent vs RIA. Dedicated CFP (credential) contrast: WealthFluent vs CFP. For the fee math against a percentage-of-assets advisor, see WealthFluent vs a 1% Advisor.

Who each is for

Choose Empower if…

You want a free place to see accounts, spending, and net worth, and you are fine with a dashboard that is also a front door to AUM advice. Empower is good at aggregation. That is a real job. It is not the same job as building a lifetime plan and then generating the trades that move the portfolio toward it, across every account you own, while you stay in control.

If you want someone else to manage the portfolio, Empower’s wealth-management offering is built for that. You will pay a percent of assets. On $500K, the 0.89% figure we show on our pricing page is about $4,450 a year. Confirm their current schedule and minimums before you treat that as a quote.

Choose WealthFluent if…

You are self-directed. You want to stay in control. You want assets and liabilities in one place, a lifetime plan that produces a personalized benchmark — not a risk bucket — and recommended trades across the 401(k), the old rollover, the IRAs, and taxable. And you want to ask an AI that already has that file.

We founded WealthFluent in 2020 in Edwards, Colorado. David J. Kon (CEO), Dr. Stanley J. Kon (Chairman), and Joshua P. Kon (CTO). Frank J. Fabozzi, PhD, sits on the advisory board.

On the optimizer and assist tools, Fabozzi has said: “Say goodbye to spreadsheets! WealthFluent’s unique product combines electronic access to fundamental security data with all your assets and liabilities and a set of tools for managing customized portfolios. Enormous productivity is achieved with its Optimizer and Assist tools for wealth portfolio management.”

Use both if…

Plenty of self-directed investors keep Empower’s free dashboard for balances and still need a system that plans, optimizes across accounts, and answers from the actual file. The free dashboard does not replace that. We do not need you to delete Empower. We need the job we actually do to be the one you came for.

At a glance

Web and the Apple App Store for WealthFluent. There is no Google Play listing to claim. App Store billing can differ from the web prices above — that is intentional, not a mismatch to “fix.”

Aggregation

Empower is good at this. Seeing accounts, spending, and net worth in one dashboard is the free product. That is why people still search “Personal Capital” years after the rename. Treat it as a real job, not a consolation prize.

WealthFluent also links accounts — assets and liabilities, read-only. Aggregation is not the end product. It is the file the lifetime plan, the optimizer, and Magpie already have.

A dashboard that shows the accounts is necessary. It is not sufficient if the next question is “what trades close the gap, across every account I already own.”

Planning depth

Empower’s free product is a dashboard, with planning and budget-style tools. Deeper planning typically sits on the wealth-management relationship — a human team, paid as a percent of assets. Check their current plan.

WealthFluent’s Lifetime Wealth Planning produces milestones, probability distributions, and a personalized, investable benchmark from your plan — not a risk bucket. The free When can I retire? calculator is the short front door to that question.

If you want someone else to own the plan and the portfolio, that is Empower’s paid path. If you want to own both, that is WealthFluent.

Portfolio action

On the free Empower dashboard, the job is tracking. On Empower wealth management, the firm can manage investments. You pay AUM. That is a different contract from software.

On WealthFluent, you simulate a change, then the AI Portfolio Optimizer recommends specific trades across accounts, with tax-aware placement. You approve, modify, or dismiss. No custody. No auto-trading. You stay in the accounts you already have.

Do not compare a DIY trade list to a discretionary manager and call one “better.” They are different jobs.

The Magpie wedge: your Roth, not a Roth

Generic AI can explain a Roth. Magpie can explain yours.

That is the difference versus ChatGPT, and it is the difference versus a dashboard chat that does not have your full WealthFluent plan.

Magpie is connected to the accounts, goals, liabilities, and personalized benchmark you already keep in WealthFluent. It answers with share counts, dollar amounts, and real allocations. It is hosted on Amazon Bedrock. Inputs are not used for training, not stored persistently, and do not leave Bedrock to reach the underlying model provider.

Magpie is not a financial advisor. It informs and educates. It does not trade.

The product URL is wealthfluent.com/financial-intelligence/. Do not use /meet-magpie/ — that is a stale beta announcement.

Empower’s dashboard is not Magpie. Check their current plan for any AI features they ship. If the question you care about is “given my accounts and my liabilities, what is true,” that is the Magpie job.

Price, without the slide-deck voice

AUM fees are not a moral failing. They are a different contract: someone else manages the money, and the fee scales with the pot. A subscription is a software contract. It does not scale with your net worth. The free dashboard is a third thing — tracking, at $0.

Using figures we publish on wealthfluent.com/pricing/ as of August 25, 2026, annual cost on a $500,000 portfolio:

WealthFluent Lifetime is $1,200 once, with a 60-day money-back guarantee. That is less than one year of the Empower AUM line we show on $500K. It is not an argument for Lifetime if what you wanted was a human manager. It is an argument for noticing that “dashboard + AUM” and “tools you run yourself” are not interchangeable.

Premium stays $144 a year as the portfolio grows. A 1% fee on $500K is $5,000. On $1M it is $10,000. The software does not get more expensive because you did the job.

Apple App Store in-app prices for WealthFluent can differ from these web prices. Disclose that if you shop on iOS; do not treat it as an error.

Do not call free “worse.” Call AUM a different contract. Confirm Empower’s current schedule and minimums, and our pricing page, before you decide.

When to choose which — or both

Stay self-directed. Start a 14-day trial, connect accounts, open Magpie. That is WealthFluent.

Want free tracking only. Use Empower’s dashboard. Do not confuse it with a lifetime plan or a cross-account optimizer.

Want a human manager. Use Empower’s wealth-management offering, or another AUM advisor. Confirm fees on their site. That is not a software decision.

Want both visibility and action. Keep the free Empower dashboard if you like it, and run WealthFluent for the plan, the optimizer, and Magpie. We don’t need you to pick a single logo.

What you actually get on WealthFluent

If you are comparing line items, this is the stack — not a feature dump.

1. Account aggregation — assets and liabilities, read-only.
2. Financial Wellness Score — plus debt-health and related scores on current plans.
3. Lifetime Wealth Planning — milestones, probability distributions, a personalized benchmark. The free When can I retire? calculator is the short front door to that question.
4. Portfolio Optimization — simulate, then recommended trades. The AI Portfolio Optimizer works across accounts, with tax-aware placement. You execute.
5. Magpie — on your actual file. Portfolio Optimization Engine and Market Analysis are Premium and Lifetime.

Essentials is $15/month or about $72/year: planning and scores, with Magpie listed on pricing. Premium adds the Portfolio Optimizer, Market Analysis, and spouse/partner login. Lifetime is Premium, paid once.

FAQ

Is WealthFluent cheaper than Empower?

The free Empower dashboard is $0. WealthFluent is not trying to beat free tracking. Empower wealth management is AUM. On $500K, the 0.89% line we publish is about $4,450 a year versus $144 for Premium. If you want them to manage the money, the AUM fee may be the right product. If you want to stay self-directed, do not compare our subscription to their free dashboard and call it a tie.

Does Empower’s free dashboard replace WealthFluent?

No. Aggregation is necessary and not sufficient. A dashboard that shows the accounts is not a lifetime plan with a personalized benchmark, and it is not a cross-account optimizer that outputs trades you can execute. Empower’s paid path is advice and management, not a DIY optimizer. Plenty of people keep the free dashboard and run WealthFluent.

Does WealthFluent replace Empower wealth management?

Only if you were going to do the work yourself anyway. We do not take discretion. We do not stand in a fiduciary relationship. Empower’s paid product is a firm running the money for a percent of assets. WealthFluent is software you run. If you need a human manager, hire one. If you don’t, don’t pay for one.

Can I use both WealthFluent and Empower?

Yes. A common stack is Empower (or similar) for balances and WealthFluent for the lifetime plan, the optimizer, and Magpie. We don’t need you to delete the dashboard. We need the job we actually do to be the one you came for.

What’s included in the 14-day trial?

A 14-day free trial of WealthFluent so you can connect accounts and use the tools before you pay. The default Premium trial includes the Portfolio Optimizer and Market Analysis. Confirm current trial terms on the site.

Is this financial advice?

No. WealthFluent is not a financial advisor. Magpie is not a financial advisor. Empower has its own disclosures; read them. This page is information for a buying decision about software, not about securities.

Start a 14-day free trial

If the job is stay self-directed — plan, books, and the trades that close the gap — start there. If the job is free tracking or a human manager, use Empower. Confirm their fees on their site.

Start your free trial · Pricing · Financial Intelligence / Magpie · vs Boldin vs Empower · vs Boldin · vs Monarch · vs ProjectionLab · Best retirement planning software · When can I retire? · vs a 1% Advisor

Disclosure

WealthFluent is not a financial advisor and does not provide investment advice. Magpie is not a financial advisor. Platform analytics and AI output are tools for informed decision-making. They are not recommendations. Competitor features and fees are summarized from publicly stated terms on each firm’s site and from the comparison on our pricing page, checked August 25, 2026. They change. Verify on each firm’s site before you buy. This page is for information only. Do your own research. Consider a qualified professional before you make financial decisions.

Page copy dated August 25, 2026.