Empower vs Monarch Money pits a free wealth tracker against a paid all-in-one finance app. Both aggregate your accounts and shine at net worth and investment tracking — but they make money in opposite ways, which changes who each one is for.
Quick Verdict
- Choose Empower if you want a powerful, free net worth and investment tracker and don’t mind upsells.
- Choose Monarch Money if you want a paid, ad-free all-in-one hub with strong budgeting and couples features.
Pricing Compared
| Empower | Monarch Money | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr |
| Business model | Free tool, sells advisory services | Subscription, no upsells |
| Budgeting | Basic | ★ Strong |
| Net worth / investments | ★ Excellent | Strong |
Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is free because it markets paid wealth-management services to higher-net-worth users. Monarch charges a flat subscription and doesn’t sell your data or pitch advisors. See our Personal Capital / Empower review for background.
What Each App Is Best At
Empower is a wealth and investment tracker first. Its retirement planner, fee analyzer, and portfolio tools are genuinely excellent and free. The trade-off: expect calls and emails about its advisory services if your linked assets are sizable, and the budgeting tools are basic.
Monarch Money is a balanced all-in-one app. Budgeting, net worth, investments, and couples collaboration are all strong, wrapped in a clean, ad-free experience. You pay for it, but there are no upsells. Read our Monarch Money review for details.
Features Head-to-Head
| Feature | Empower | Monarch Money |
|---|---|---|
| Net worth tracking | ★ Excellent | Strong |
| Investment / retirement tools | ★ Best in class | Good |
| Budgeting | Basic | ★ Strong |
| Couples / sharing | Limited | ★ Yes |
| Ads / upsells | Advisory pitches | None |
| Price | ★ Free | Paid |
Who Should Pick Which?
- Tracking investments and net worth for free → Empower. The portfolio tools are unbeatable at $0.
- Active budgeting and couples → Monarch. The all-in-one experience is cleaner.
- Hate upsells → Monarch. Hate subscriptions → Empower.
Verdict
If your priority is investment and net worth tracking, Empower delivers premium tools for free — just tolerate the advisory pitches. If you want a complete, ad-free money hub with real budgeting and couples support, Monarch Money is worth the subscription. Many people even use Empower for investments and a dedicated budgeting app for day-to-day spending.
Comparing the budgeting leaders too? See our YNAB vs Monarch Money guide and the best budgeting apps of 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Empower really free?
Yes. Empower’s financial dashboard and investment tools are free; the company earns money by offering paid wealth-management services to qualifying users.
Is Monarch or Empower better for budgeting?
Monarch. Empower’s budgeting is basic, while Monarch offers full category budgeting, rollover, and couples collaboration.
Which is better for tracking investments?
Empower. Its portfolio analyzer, fee checker, and retirement planner are best in class — and free.