Empower (Personal Capital)
Robinhood
| Feature | Empower (Personal Capital) | Robinhood |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $0.89/mo | Free / from $5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 |
| Best For | investors, high-net-worth-individuals, retirement-planners, wealth-builders | beginner-investors, mobile-traders, young-adults, casual-investors |
| Founded | 2009 | 2013 |
| Net Worth Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Investment Checkup | ✓ | ✗ |
| Retirement Planner | ✓ | ✗ |
| Fee Analyzer | ✓ | ✗ |
| Budgeting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cash Flow | ✓ | ✗ |
| Wealth Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Stock Trading | ✗ | ✓ |
| Options Trading | ✗ | ✓ |
| Crypto Trading | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fractional Shares | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cash Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ipo Access | ✗ | ✓ |
| Recurring Investments | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Empower (Personal Capital) Pros
- Excellent free investment tracking and net worth dashboard
- Retirement planning calculator (Retirement Planner)
- Fee analyzer identifies hidden investment fees
- Comprehensive portfolio analysis tools
✗ Empower (Personal Capital) Cons
- Wealth management requires $100K minimum
- Sales calls after signing up for free tools
- Advisory fees higher than robo-advisors
✓ Robinhood Pros
- Commission-free trading on stocks and ETFs
- Intuitive and beginner-friendly mobile app
- Fractional shares available starting at $1
- Cryptocurrency trading integrated
- Cash management with competitive APY
✗ Robinhood Cons
- Limited research and analysis tools
- No mutual funds or bonds available
- Past controversies around payment for order flow
The Verdict
Empower (Personal Capital) is built for investors and high net worth individuals, with a focus on net-worth-tracking and investment-checkup. Robinhood targets beginner investors and mobile traders and leads with stock-trading and options-trading.
Pricing is close: Empower (Personal Capital) starts at $0.89/mo versus $5/mo for Robinhood — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.