Honest Comparison · 2026
EnoughMoney vs Empower(Empower is the new name for Personal Capital)
Empower (formerly Personal Capital, rebranded after the 2020 acquisition by Empower Retirement) offers free portfolio-aggregation dashboards as a funnel to their wealth-management advisory service.
Bottom Line
Use both: Empower for aggregation, EnoughMoney for planning. They solve different problems and don't compete directly if you're not buying Empower Wealth Management.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | EnoughMoney | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement Math | ||
| Safe Withdrawal Rate Calculator | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Monte Carlo simulation | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Historical returns backtest | ✓Yes | ✗No |
| Dynamic / variable withdrawal (Guyton-Klinger, VPW) | ✓Yes | ✗No |
| Sequence-of-returns risk modeling | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Tax Planning | ||
| US federal tax engine | ✓Yes | Basic |
| US state tax (all 50 states) | ✓Yes | ✗No |
| International tax (86 countries) | ✓Yes | ✗No |
| Roth conversion modeling | ✓Yes | Basic |
| Tax-optimized withdrawal sequencing | ✓Yes | Basic |
| Geographic Intelligence | ||
| City cost-of-living comparison | ✓Yes | ✗No |
| Cities covered | 307 | None |
| Geo-arbitrage FIRE modeling | ✓Yes | ✗No |
| Lifestyle-tier simulator | ✓Yes | ✗No |
| Planning & Experience | ||
| Multi-account portfolio tracking | ✓Yes | Best-in-class |
| What-if scenarios | ✓Yes | Basic |
| AI-powered coaching | ✓Yes | ✗No |
| Public calculators (no login) | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Mobile access | Web-responsive | Native iOS + Android |
Based on publicly available feature documentation as of 2026-04-17. Corrections and updates welcome.
Pricing: Empower vs EnoughMoney
Empower
Free: Full dashboard + basic planner (aggregation funnel)
- Wealth Management: 0.49–0.89% of AUM annually — Full advisor relationship
EnoughMoney
Free: All public calculators (FIRE, SWR, Roth, tax, city comparison) — no signup.
- Navigator: $19/mo or $15/mo annual ($179/yr)the money dimension — personal CFO: FIRE planning, tax, withdrawal, lifestyle simulator
- Architect: $29/mo or $23/mo annual ($279/yr)all 10 dimensions of a wealthy life — adds Studio, Thread, life-events planning, emotional resilience
What Empower Does Well
- ✓Best-in-class portfolio aggregation — connects to thousands of institutions, shows asset allocation across accounts
- ✓Excellent dashboards: fees, cash flow, net worth tracking
- ✓Free to use at the dashboard level; no subscription required
- ✓Retirement Planner module included free with a long-accurate Monte Carlo
- ✓Mobile app is genuinely excellent
Where EnoughMoney Goes Further
- →Primary business is Wealth Management Advisory (0.49-0.89% AUM fee) — expect sales calls if you're above ~$100K in connected assets
- →Planning tools are secondary to aggregation and AUM sales; no FIRE-specific features
- →US-only; no international tax or cost-of-living data
- →Tax modeling is limited to US federal, state ignored
- →Roth conversion modeling is basic compared to Boldin / RightCapital
Which Should You Pick?
Pick Empower if…
Use Empower for free portfolio aggregation and net-worth tracking — it's genuinely best-in-class. Use their Wealth Management service if you want a traditional low-cost AUM advisory relationship (0.49-0.89% for a mostly-passive portfolio plus basic planning).
Visit Empower →Pick EnoughMoney if…
Use EnoughMoney for the actual planning and calculator work. Empower's planner exists to generate leads, not to be your primary tool. Enough has deeper tax modeling, FIRE-specific calculators, international intelligence, and no AUM sales funnel.
Try our FIRE Calculator →FAQs
Is Empower the same as Personal Capital?
Yes. Personal Capital rebranded as Empower Personal Wealth after the 2020 acquisition. The free tools are the same; the advisory service is the same; the name is new.
Will Empower call me?
Probably yes, if you have ~$100K+ in connected accounts. Their Wealth Management service is an AUM sales motion. You can mark yourself as 'not interested' to reduce the calls.
Is Empower's retirement planner good?
It's fine for ballpark Monte Carlo analysis, not deep enough for serious FIRE / tax planning. For that, use EnoughMoney, Boldin, or ProjectionLab.
Try EnoughMoney — free, no credit card
Run our FIRE calculator, compare cities, model your tax drag across 86 countries, or explore the lifestyle simulator. All core planning is free; Navigator ($19/mo) unlocks AI coaching and the full personal plan.
Other EnoughMoney Comparisons
See all comparisons at /vs or visit our 2026 FIRE Planning Tools roundup.
This comparison is an independent editorial analysis. EnoughMoney has no affiliate or financial relationship with Empower. Feature descriptions reflect publicly-available documentation as of April 2026 — things change; verify current features before subscribing.