Clarity vs Empower (Personal Capital)
Last updated: February 2026
Empower (formerly Personal Capital) pairs free financial tracking tools with a paid wealth management advisory service that charges AUM fees. Clarity focuses purely on self-directed tracking across banks, brokerages, and crypto without advisory upsells.
Who Should Choose What
Choose Clarity if...
Self-directed investors who want transparent, flat-fee tracking across traditional and crypto assets without advisory pressure.
- Hybrid investors with both traditional and crypto assets
- People who want automated categorization over manual budgeting
- Users who need a single net worth view across all accounts
- Crypto holders who need cost basis tracking for taxes
Choose Empower (Personal Capital) if...
Users who want free financial dashboards and may be interested in professional retirement planning and wealth management services.
- Pre-retirees and retirees focused on retirement planning
- High-net-worth individuals who want human advisory
- Users who want free investment tracking without budgeting
Rubric Comparison
Each criterion scored 0-5 with evidence sources. Hover over badges for details.
| Criterion | Clarity | Empower (Personal Capital) |
|---|---|---|
Account Coverage Range of financial accounts and asset types supported. | 5/5 Banks, brokerages, crypto exchanges, and on-chain wallets all supported. Internal | |
Sync Reliability How consistently account data syncs without errors or manual intervention. | 4/5 Queue-based sync with automatic retries. Plaid-backed for traditional accounts. Internal | 4/5 Mature platform with reliable Plaid and Yodlee connections. Occasional sync delays reported for smaller institutions. Docs |
Setup Time Time from sign-up to a fully connected, useful dashboard. | 4/5 Web-based onboarding with Plaid Link. Crypto setup requires API keys. Internal | 3/5 Account linking works well but onboarding includes advisory service prompts that slow down the pure tracking setup. Docs |
Pricing Predictability How transparent and stable the pricing is over time. | 4/5 Flat subscription fee regardless of account count or asset value. Internal | 2/5 Free dashboard tools, but advisory service charges 0.49%-0.89% AUM. The free tier exists to funnel users toward paid advisory. Pricing |
Data Freshness How quickly new transactions and price changes appear. | 4/5 On-demand and scheduled syncs. Crypto prices update in near real-time. Internal | 3/5 Daily sync for most accounts. Investment prices update with market hours but can lag for less common holdings. Docs |
Historical Depth How far back transaction and portfolio history extends. | 3/5 Daily net worth snapshots and full transaction history from connected accounts. Internal | 4/5 Years of net worth history with detailed investment performance charts. One of the stronger legacy tracking platforms for historical data. Docs |
Export & Reporting Ability to export data and generate financial reports. | 4/5 CSV and PDF exports. Crypto cost-basis tracking included. Internal | 3/5 Investment performance reports and spending summaries available. CSV export options are limited compared to dedicated tools. Docs |
Privacy & Security Data protection practices, encryption, and privacy controls. | 4/5 Read-only connections, encrypted at rest, no data selling. Internal | 4/5 SEC-registered advisor with institutional-grade security. Data is used to personalize advisory recommendations. Docs |
Developer Experience API access, webhooks, and extensibility for power users. | N/A Consumer product. No public API. Internal |
Detailed Breakdown
Account Coverage
Your net worth is only accurate if every account is included — banks, brokerages, crypto exchanges, and wallets.
Clarity connects traditional banks and brokerages via Plaid, crypto exchanges through CCXT, and on-chain wallets via Alchemy. This unified approach means your entire financial picture lives in one place regardless of asset type.
Empower covers banks, brokerages, and retirement accounts well through its aggregation partners. However, it has no native support for crypto exchanges or blockchain wallets, leaving a gap for users with digital asset holdings.
Clarity is the better fit for users with mixed traditional and crypto portfolios. Empower excels for retirement-focused investors who stay within traditional markets.
Pricing Predictability
Hidden fees, usage tiers, and surprise price hikes erode trust.
Clarity uses a flat subscription model where you pay the same amount regardless of how many accounts you connect or how much you have invested. There are no asset-based fees or advisory upsells.
Empower offers free dashboard tools, which is genuinely valuable. However, its business model centers on converting free users into wealth management clients paying 0.49% to 0.89% of assets under management annually, which can add up to thousands of dollars per year.
If you only use Empower's free tools, it is hard to beat free. But Clarity's flat fee is far more predictable than Empower's AUM-based advisory pricing for users who might upgrade.
Data Freshness
Delayed data leads to budgeting mistakes and missed market movements.
Clarity syncs accounts on demand and on a schedule, with crypto prices updating in near real-time from exchange APIs. Users can trigger a manual refresh at any time to see the latest balances.
Empower typically syncs accounts daily. Investment prices update during market hours, but real-time pricing is not a priority since the platform is oriented toward long-term planning rather than active trading.
Clarity offers more responsive data updates, particularly for crypto assets. Empower's daily cadence is adequate for retirement-focused users who check in less frequently.
Historical Depth
Shallow history limits tax reporting, trend analysis, and cost basis calculations.
Clarity tracks daily net worth snapshots and stores full transaction history from the moment accounts are connected. Historical data depth depends on what Plaid and exchange APIs provide at connection time.
Empower has been operating for over a decade, and long-term users benefit from years of accumulated net worth and investment performance history. Its historical charts are among the most comprehensive in the consumer finance space.
Empower has a clear edge for users who value long-term historical trends. Clarity's history grows over time but starts fresh at account connection.
How to Switch
Switching from Empower (Personal Capital)
- 1Sign up for Clarity and connect your bank and brokerage accounts via Plaid Link.
- 2Add crypto exchanges using read-only API keys if applicable.
- 3Compare net worth totals between Clarity and Empower to verify accuracy.
- 4Keep Empower's free tools as long as you like since there is no cost to maintain both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Empower really free?
Empower's dashboard tools for tracking net worth, spending, and investments are genuinely free. The paid component is their wealth management advisory service, which charges 0.49% to 0.89% of assets under management annually.
Does Clarity offer retirement planning tools like Empower?
Clarity focuses on asset tracking and net worth visibility rather than retirement projections. If you need Monte Carlo simulations and retirement income planning, Empower's free tools are strong in that area.
Can I use both Clarity and Empower at the same time?
Yes. Since Empower's tracking tools are free and both use read-only connections, there is no conflict in running them side by side. Many users keep Empower for retirement planning while using Clarity for day-to-day tracking.
Does Clarity track crypto like Empower does?
Clarity has native crypto exchange and wallet integrations, while Empower has no crypto support. If you hold digital assets, Clarity provides a unified view that Empower cannot match.
Ready to See the Full Picture?
14-day free trial. No credit card required. Banks + crypto in one place.
Need plan details? See pricing.