Personal Capital (Empower) vs Optionality: Which Net Worth Tracker Is Better in 2026?

Personal Capital was the gold standard for free net worth tracking for nearly a decade. Then Empower acquired it in 2022, and the product has been on a slow drift toward advisory services ever since. Meanwhile, a new wave of tools built specifically for the FIRE community has emerged. Optionality is one of them.

This is an honest comparison. We built Optionality, so we are obviously biased. But we also know exactly where Empower is better and where we still have work to do. Here is the real picture so you can decide which tool fits your financial life.

Quick Comparison

Empower (Personal Capital): What It Does Well

Credit where it is due. Empower built some excellent free tools that millions of people rely on:

• Investment Checkup: Compares your actual asset allocation against a recommended target based on your age and risk tolerance. Shows you where you are overweight or underweight. This is genuinely one of the best free investment analysis tools available.
• Fee Analyzer: Scans your investment accounts and calculates the total fees you are paying across all funds, including expense ratios, 12b-1 fees, and wrap fees. Many people discover they are paying thousands in hidden fees they did not know about.
• Retirement Planner: Monte Carlo simulation that models your retirement readiness across different market scenarios. Shows a probability of success for your current savings and spending plan. Solid for traditional age-65 retirement planning.
• Account aggregation: Connects to thousands of financial institutions. The aggregation engine is mature and generally reliable, though connection issues have increased since the Empower acquisition.
• Brand trust: Empower manages over $1.4 trillion in assets. The platform has been around since 2009. For people who value established brands, this matters.

Empower: Where It Falls Short

The number one complaint about Empower, by far, is the sales calls. And it is not an exaggeration.

• Aggressive advisory sales: Once you link accounts with more than $100,000, expect calls from Empower financial advisors. Many users report receiving calls within days of signing up, and the calls continue for weeks. You can ask to be removed from the call list, but many users report it takes multiple requests.
• Data sharing: Your financial data feeds Empower's advisory business. When you link your accounts, that information is used to assess whether you are a good candidate for their wealth management services. This is the business model — the free tools are the funnel.
• No multi-currency support: If you hold assets in multiple currencies, have foreign bank accounts, or live abroad, Empower cannot show you an accurate net worth. Everything is converted to USD using a single, often delayed exchange rate. For expats and cross-border investors, this is a dealbreaker.
• No FIRE-specific features: The retirement planner assumes a traditional retirement at 60-67. There is no Coast FIRE calculator, no FatFIRE number, no savings rate tracker, no withdrawal rate modeler for early retirees. If you are planning to retire at 40, the tool does not really support your use case.
• Stagnant development: Since the Empower acquisition, feature development has slowed. The UI feels dated compared to newer tools. Many features that users have requested for years (better tax-loss harvesting analysis, Roth conversion planning) have not been built.
• No crypto or alternative asset tracking: Limited support for cryptocurrency wallets, DeFi positions, private equity, or other alternative investments that are increasingly common in high-net-worth portfolios.

Optionality: What It Does Well

• Built for FIRE: 19+ financial calculators specifically designed for the FIRE community, including FIRE, Coast FIRE, FatFIRE, withdrawal rate, savings rate, investment growth, and more. These are not afterthoughts — they are core features.
• Multi-currency net worth tracking: See your true net worth across multiple currencies with real-time exchange rates. If you have a USD brokerage account, a EUR savings account, and a GBP pension, Optionality shows you the complete picture. Use the Currency Impact Calculator to understand how exchange rate movements affect your wealth.
• AI financial assistant: Ask questions about your financial situation and get personalized analysis. Not generic chatbot answers — the AI understands your actual accounts, balances, and goals.
• Tax optimization tools: Dedicated calculators for tax-loss harvesting, Roth conversions, mega backdoor Roth, asset location, and RSU tax planning. These are the strategies high-net-worth FIRE seekers actually use.
• Privacy first: No advisory business. No sales calls. Your financial data is not used to market services to you. The business model is the product itself, not selling your data.
• Cross-border planning: Purpose-built for people with financial lives that span multiple countries. Expat tax calculator, multi-currency tracking, and content specifically for Americans living abroad.

Optionality: Where It Falls Short

We believe in being honest about our limitations:

• Newer platform: Optionality does not have a decade of history behind it. Empower has been aggregating accounts since 2009 and has processed billions of transactions. We are newer, which means some edge cases in account connections may not be as polished.
• Smaller community: Empower has millions of users. Our community is growing but smaller. If you value being on the platform that everyone else uses, Empower has the network effect advantage.
• No advisory services: If you actually want professional wealth management alongside your tracking tool, Empower offers that and we do not. We are built for self-directed investors. If you want someone to manage your money, Empower's advisory service is a legitimate option.
• Feature roadmap in progress: We are still building. Some features that Empower has had for years (like their investment checkup tool) are on our roadmap but not yet live. We ship fast, but we are not feature-complete with a 15-year-old platform.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Who Should Use Empower (Personal Capital)

Empower is the right choice if:

• You are planning a traditional retirement at age 60-67 and want a solid retirement planner.
• You are interested in professional wealth management and want to try the free tools before committing to advisory services.
• You have a US-only, single-currency financial life with no international accounts.
• You value brand maturity and a large user community over cutting-edge features.
• You do not mind the sales calls (or you have less than $100K in linked accounts, which typically avoids the most aggressive outreach).

Who Should Use Optionality

Optionality is the right choice if:

• You are pursuing FIRE (any variant: LeanFIRE, FatFIRE, Coast FIRE, Barista FIRE) and want tools designed for early retirement planning.
• You have assets in multiple currencies or live abroad as an expat.
• You are a self-directed investor who does not want advisory services or sales calls.
• You want purpose-built tax optimization calculators for strategies like Roth conversions, tax-loss harvesting, and mega backdoor Roth.
• Privacy matters to you and you do not want your financial data used to market services.
• You want an AI assistant that can analyze your actual financial situation.

The Bottom Line

Empower is a good product with a business model that not everyone is comfortable with. Optionality is a newer product built specifically for the audience that Empower underserves: FIRE seekers, expats, multi-currency households, and privacy-conscious DIY investors.

If you fit into that second category, you should at least try Optionality. The free tier lets you see your full net worth across all accounts and currencies with no commitment and no sales calls.