Monarch Money vs Empower (Personal Capital): Which Should You Pick in 2026?

Empower (formerly Personal Capital) and Monarch Money are the two most-recommended apps in different halves of the personal-finance category. Empower is free, investment-focused, and best-in-class for net-worth tracking and retirement modeling. Monarch is paid ($99.99/yr list, $49.99 with SMARTMONEY), budget-focused, and best-in-class for household cash flow + couples + the Sankey diagram.

They don’t really compete head-to-head. Most serious users we’ve talked to use both — Empower for the investment dashboard and retirement projection, Monarch for the budget and household. Here’s the verified breakdown.

Side-by-side comparison

How Empower makes money (the catch with “free”)

Empower’s free dashboard isn’t a teaser for a paid SaaS subscription — there isn’t one. The catch is that Empower is a wealth management firm, and the free dashboard is lead-gen for their advisory services.

Per Empower’s own pricing: if you have $100K+ in investable assets, an Empower advisor will reach out (via phone, email, or both) within days of signing up. They’ll pitch portfolio management at 0.49–0.89% of AUM annually — comparable pricing to other robo-advisors but more expensive than DIY index investing.

For users who want investment management, Empower’s advisory service is legitimate (they manage ~$1 trillion in assets). For users who just want the free dashboard, the sales pressure is real and ongoing. Most users handle this by:

1. Signing up for Empower’s free dashboard
2. Using it freely for net-worth and investment tracking
3. Politely declining advisor calls until they stop (usually 6-12 months)

This dynamic doesn’t exist with Monarch. Monarch is purely a SaaS subscription — there’s no advisor sales motion, no upsell beyond Core → Plus.

Round 1: Investment tracking (Empower wins)

Empower’s investment dashboard is the gold standard in the personal-finance app category. Specifically:

Empower’s investment features:

• Holdings-level breakdown across all accounts
• Asset allocation analysis (vs target allocation)
• Investment Checkup tool (analyzes fees, diversification, risk)
• Retirement Planner (Monte Carlo simulations of retirement outcomes)
• 401(k) Fee Analyzer (compares your 401(k) plan’s fees to market average)
• Tax-loss harvesting opportunities (basic identification)

All of this is free.

Monarch’s investment features:

• Holdings-level breakdown (Plus tier adds Morningstar fund analysis)
• Asset allocation visualization (Plus tier)
• Gains & Losses with tax lots (Plus tier)
• Goal-based retirement modeling (Goals 3.0, Core tier)

Monarch Plus’s Morningstar-powered Fund Analysis ($299/yr) is genuinely competitive with Empower’s free tools — but at the price point, Empower wins on free.

Verdict on investment tracking: If investment tracking is your primary need, use Empower’s free dashboard. Don’t pay for Monarch Plus just for investment features unless you need it bundled with budgeting.

Round 2: Budgeting (Monarch wins decisively)

Empower has budget tools, but they’re an afterthought. The product is investment-first.

Monarch’s budget features:

• Flex Budgeting (cash flow approach, default)
• Category Budgeting (traditional zero-based-adjacent)
• Custom categories with the three-tier hierarchy
• Rollovers (carry surplus forward)
• Budget walkthrough wizard
• Auto-populated defaults from 6-month historical averages
• Per-category budget targets
• Budget Settings with reset/recalculate options

Empower’s budget features:

• Spending tracker by category (basic)
• Monthly spending limits
• Cash flow chart
• Bill alerts (limited)

If you want a real budget tool, Monarch is the better choice. Empower’s “budget” is closer to a passive expense tracker.

Round 3: Couples and households (Monarch wins decisively)

This is the largest delta between the two products.

Monarch’s couples support:

• Both partners under one subscription
• Each partner has their own login
• Shared Views with ownership filtering (yours/theirs/joint)
• Joint and individual goals
• Shared budget that both can edit
• Filter Cash Flow / Reports / Sankey by partner

Empower’s couples support:

• Each partner needs separate Empower accounts (free, but separate)
• No native joint household
• No ownership filtering at the data layer
• Some users share login credentials (security concerns)

For couples specifically, Monarch is the only real option of the two. Empower is fine if one partner manages all the finances and the other doesn’t engage; for couples actively budgeting together, Monarch’s Shared Views is critical.

For more on the couples experience, see How to Share Finances With a Partner in Monarch and Best Budgeting Apps for Couples in 2026.

Round 4: Retirement planning (close call)

Both have meaningful retirement features, with different strengths.

Empower’s Retirement Planner:

• Free, robust Monte Carlo simulations
• Models multiple scenarios (retire early, side income, market downturn)
• Built-in 401(k) fee analysis
• Suggests retirement target based on current spending
• Investment-focused (assumes you’ll keep investing)

Monarch Plus’s Forecasting + Goals 3.0:

• Plus tier ($299/yr) — paid feature
• Models major life events (kid, home purchase, job change)
• Integrates with budget for spending-based projections
• Trust & Will estate plan included
• Less Monte Carlo, more “current trajectory” forecasting

Verdict: Empower wins on free retirement planning. Monarch Plus’s Forecasting is comparable but at $299/yr, hard to justify just for the projection feature. The Trust & Will benefit makes Plus worth it if estate planning is on your list.

For retirees specifically, see Monarch for Retirees & 401(k) Tracking — most retirees end up using both Monarch + Empower.

Round 5: User experience (Monarch wins)

Honest assessment of UX:

Monarch:

• Modern, clean web + mobile interface
• Sankey diagram (visually unique)
• AI Assistant (chat-based)
• Best-in-class category in 2026
• Mobile experience is full-featured

Empower:

• Functional but dated interface
• Strong on charts, weaker on day-to-day feel
• Mobile app is decent but desktop is the primary experience
• Investment dashboard is excellent; budget views feel bolted-on

Verdict: Monarch’s UX is meaningfully better for daily use. Empower is a tool you check weekly; Monarch is a tool you’d check daily.

Privacy: read this carefully

A meaningful distinction that doesn’t show up in feature comparisons:

Monarch’s privacy posture:

• Subscription-funded business
• Doesn’t sell data to advertisers or lead-gen partners
• No outbound sales calls
• SOC 2 Type 2 certified

Empower’s privacy posture:

• Free-tier dashboard funded by lead-gen for advisory services
• Will use your data to qualify you for advisor outreach
• Outbound calls and emails are part of the model
• SOC 2 Type 2 certified
• Data isn’t “sold” externally but is used internally for advisor matching

For users who specifically want to avoid sales pressure, Monarch is the cleaner choice. For users who want a free dashboard and don’t mind politely declining advisor calls, Empower is fine.

For deeper coverage of Monarch’s security and privacy posture specifically, see Is Monarch Money Safe?.

Who should pick which?

Pick Monarch if:

• You’re actively budgeting (Flex, Category, or zero-based)
• You’re a couple or household with shared finances
• You value the Sankey diagram and AI Assistant
• You want a modern UX for daily use
• You don’t want sales calls
• You’re a Mint refugee looking for the most modern equivalent

Pick Empower if:

• You’re investment-focused and don’t actively budget
• You want a free comprehensive net-worth tracker
• You don’t have a partner sharing finances
• You’re comfortable receiving (and politely declining) occasional advisor outreach
• You want a robust free retirement planner

Use both if (most serious users):

• You want best-of-both-worlds: Monarch for budget + Empower for investments
• You’re a household where one partner handles budgeting and one handles investing
• You’re a retiree wanting deep investment tracking + simple monthly budget review
• You’re cost-conscious — Empower’s free tier covers investment depth that Monarch Plus would charge $299 for

Common questions

Can I use both Monarch and Empower simultaneously?

Yes — they’re separate products, both connecting to the same banks via Plaid (or Empower’s Yodlee). Connecting your accounts to both creates two separate views; no integration between them. Many users do this.

Will my bank disconnect from one if I add the other?

No. Banks support multiple aggregator connections per user. Connecting to Empower won’t break your Monarch connection or vice versa.

Is Empower’s “Personal Capital” branding still around?

Empower acquired Personal Capital in 2020 and rebranded the consumer product to “Empower Personal Dashboard” in 2023. The functionality is the same; the name is now Empower. Some legacy mentions of “Personal Capital” still appear in documentation and reviews.

Does Empower charge for the dashboard if my balance grows past $100K?

No — the dashboard is free regardless of asset size. The 0.49-0.89% fee only applies if you opt into Empower’s advisory services. The free dashboard works the same for $50K and $5M users.

What about Empower’s 401(k) services?

Separate from the consumer dashboard. “Empower Retirement” is the 401(k) administrator (used by many employers). If your employer’s 401(k) plan is through Empower Retirement, you can connect that 401(k) account to either Monarch or Empower’s consumer dashboard — they’re different products.

Which is more secure?

Both are SOC 2 Type 2 certified with bank-level encryption. Monarch uses Plaid + Finicity + MX (3 providers); Empower uses Yodlee. Connection reliability is comparable. Neither has had a publicly-reported breach.

If I’m a Mint refugee, which should I pick?

For most Mint users, Monarch is the closer replacement — Mint was budget-focused with investment tracking as a secondary feature. Empower flips that priority. Mint refugees who used the budget heavily should pick Monarch; Mint refugees who mostly looked at net worth should consider Empower.

Can I migrate from Empower to Monarch?

Yes, via CSV export. Same workflow as Mint to Monarch Migration — export from Empower, import into Monarch.

What about Empower’s investment management service vs hiring my own advisor?

Outside this article’s scope. Briefly: Empower’s 0.49-0.89% AUM is comparable to other robo-advisors. For DIY index investors, it’s expensive vs Vanguard / Schwab / Fidelity directly. For users who want managed portfolio + financial planning, Empower is competitive. Talk to a fee-only fiduciary advisor if you’re seriously considering managed services.

Related reading:

• Monarch Money Review 2026
• Is Monarch Money Worth It?
• Monarch Money Promo Code 2026
• Monarch Plus vs Core
• Monarch for Retirees & 401(k) Tracking
• Empower vs Mint vs Rocket Money vs Monarch
• Monarch vs YNAB
• Monarch vs Quicken Classic vs Simplifi
• Best Budgeting Apps for Couples in 2026
• How to Share Finances With a Partner in Monarch

Not financial, legal, or tax advice. We earn a commission if you sign up for Monarch through a link on this page; the price is the same. Empower pricing verified against empower.com pricing pages as of May 2026. Pricing can change — check each brand’s current pricing page if exact numbers matter.