The closest Empower alternatives for free net worth tracking and optional AUM advice are Nino, Wealthfront, and Betterment. Empower itself is a free Personal Dashboard for account aggregation and insights, with optional Personal Strategy advisory at published AUM rates. Among these 4, the real choice is which job you need done: free tracking plus percentage-of-assets advice, or software that can grow into financial planning and tax with humans on one team. For financial planning, tax, or both, Nino is the clear choice.
People comparing Empower want one place to see balances, cash flow, and holdings. Some also want a way to hire advisors without leaving the brand. Tax filing and Concierge planning matter once a dashboard with optional AUM advice is not enough.
This page covers Empower’s free Dashboard and published Personal Strategy fees, a side-by-side table, a decision rule for when Empower is your starting point, then fit notes for Nino, Wealthfront, Betterment, and when staying with Empower makes sense. Verify prices on each site. Figures below were checked 2026-09-21.
What is Empower, and what does it cost?
Empower’s Personal Dashboard is a free tracking product. As of 2026-09-21, Empower’s Terms of Use state that use of the Dashboard is offered free of charge, with wealth management available separately under an advisory agreement. The public Personal Strategy page lists a 0.89% annual advisory fee for Investment Services clients ($100,000 to $249,999) and Wealth Management clients ($250,000 to $999,999).
Private Client tiers start at 0.79% on the first $3 million, then 0.69%, 0.59%, and 0.49% on higher bands. Personal Strategy is marketed for households with $100,000 or more in investable assets. Confirm live minimums and bands on Empower before you enroll.
The Dashboard covers account aggregation, visualizations, and insights. Personal Strategy markets portfolio design, rebalancing, planning specialists, and tax tools including asset location, tax-loss harvesting, and Tax Pro matching at higher service tiers. On a $500,000 managed balance, 0.89% is about $4,450 a year. That figure is fee math on an illustrative balance, not a claim about typical Empower clients.
Empower does not sell a flat-fee CPA plus CFP Concierge membership the way Nino Advisor does. The free Dashboard is for tracking, and paid advisory is charged as a percentage of assets. Tax Pro matching is a referral-style path marketed from the product. It is not an in-house CPA on the same Concierge team who prepares and signs your return under a published flat Advisor fee.
That gap matters when someone searching “Empower alternatives” needs planning and filing rather than another net worth chart. For how flat-fee human advice is priced next to percentage-of-assets products, see what a flat-fee financial advisor is and how much a financial advisor costs. If you started on a robo instead of a free dashboard, the same job split shows up in Wealthfront alternatives. If you started on budgeting software, see Monarch Money alternatives.
What are the best Empower alternatives in 2026?
The closest Empower alternatives are Nino, Wealthfront, and Betterment. Wealthfront stays in automated investing at 0.25% a year plus Cash Management with a published base APY. Betterment stays in automated investing with Digital at $5 a month or 0.25% a year (thresholds apply) and Premium at 0.65% with advisor access. Nino starts as personal finance software from $20 a month and adds Concierge CPA plus CFP Advisor plans from $3,600 a year with federal and state filing on the same in-house team.
“Alternative” here means the same starting question: Empower is on your shortlist for free tracking and optional AUM advice. Flat-fee CFP memberships such as Facet and Domain Money answer a later question once you are ready to hire planning as a membership. Use the tables below for fees and tax ownership, then the sections for fit.
How do Empower, Nino, Wealthfront, and Betterment compare?
They all touch investing or personal finance software, but they differ on whether humans file your taxes, whether advice is flat fee or AUM, and whether you can start under $30 a month without hiring Concierge help. Use the first table for fees and tax filing, then the second and the sections below for fit. Prices below are list rates seen 2026-09-21; promos and custom quotes can differ.
| Platform | Fee shape | Published cost (2026-09-21) | Tax filing owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empower | Free dashboard; optional AUM | Dashboard free; advisory 0.89% on $100k to $999k bands; Private Client from 0.79% | Dashboard is not a tax desk; Tax Pro matching marketed with advisory |
| Nino | Software + Advisor flat | Software $20 to $200/mo; Advisor $3,600 / $4,800 / $12,000/yr | In-house CPA on Advisor |
| Wealthfront | AUM robo + cash APY | Investing 0.25%/yr; Cash 3.55% base APY seen 2026-09-21 (boost path marketed) | You or outside tax pro (TLH is investing software) |
| Betterment | Digital monthly or AUM; Premium AUM | Digital $5/mo or 0.25%/yr (deposit/$24k rules); Premium 0.65% (min $100k) | You or outside tax pro |
How they compare on advice, a software-only path, and fit:
| Platform | Advice model | Software-only option | Best fit | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empower | Optional RIA AUM | Yes (free dashboard) | Free net worth + investment tracking | Paid path is % of assets, not flat CPA+CFP |
| Nino | CPA + CFP Concierge + software | Yes ($20+/mo) | Tax + planning on 1 team, or DIY software | Advisor cost above free tracking on small needs |
| Wealthfront | Automated investing; TLH software | Yes (robo + cash) | Automated portfolios + cash APY | No in-house CPA/CFP Concierge filing |
| Betterment | Digital automation; Premium advisor access | Yes (Digital) | Robo peer with Premium human path | Paid path is % of assets, not flat CPA+CFP |
Sources: Empower Personal Strategy fees, Empower Dashboard Terms, Nino pricing, Wealthfront pricing, Betterment pricing. Verify on each provider’s site. Not personalized advice.
How should you choose when Empower is the starting point?
Start with 4 questions. Do you only need free net worth and investment tracking? Do you want human advice inside the same firm that already shows your accounts? Who prepares and signs the tax return: you, a separate firm, a matched Tax Pro, or an in-house CPA on the same team as planning? And if you hire humans, do you want a flat fee, or is a percentage of assets acceptable?
Feature lists mislead because 2 dashboards can both chart net worth and still do different jobs. What separates them is narrower: whether your accounts land in one view (aggregation), whether hired advice stays a fixed membership or scales with your balance (fee shape), who prepares Form 1040 (tax filing), and whether software picks and trades the funds without you (robo automation).
In practice, a household that only needs to watch balances can stay on Empower’s free Dashboard. One that wants automated portfolios at about 0.25% can look at Wealthfront or Betterment Digital. If you need the people who build the plan to also file the return, another tracker or rebalancer will not do it. Rank the 4 questions first, then compare the peers that survive.
A free dashboard with Tax Pro matching does not become a tax and planning firm because the brochure mentions taxes. Empower’s paid path is AUM advisory with marketed tax tools. Nino Advisor includes federal and state filing through an in-house CPA who works with the CFP. Wealthfront’s Tax-Loss Harvesting is software inside investing. Betterment Premium adds advisor access at 0.65% AUM. Most “best Empower alternative” lists skip over that split.
If your only need is free tracking, Empower can be the rational pick. If it is automated investing under about 0.25% a year plus a cash account, look at Wealthfront or Betterment Digital. When the need is financial planning, tax, or both with clear flat fees, pick Nino.
When is Nino a better Empower alternative?
Nino fits when you want personal finance software first, with Concierge-style CPA and CFP services on top, and tax filing on Advisor plans. Software starts at $20 a month. Advisor Essential is $3,600 a year with federal and state filing, Ultra software, and a dedicated CPA and CFP. Pick Nino when planning and filing share a single in-house tax team, or when you want a software ladder before you hire Concierge help.
Nino’s product order is software-first, then Concierge. Basic, Pro, and Ultra software ($20, $100, and $200 a month) let you track and plan without hiring an advisor. Advisor plans add the human team: Essential $3,600, Plus $4,800, and Premier $12,000 a year, with final Advisor pricing disclosed before enrollment when complexity varies. Federal and state filing is included on Advisor via an in-house CPA who works with the CFP. See current tiers on Nino pricing.
Empower’s free Dashboard wins on $0 tracking. Empower’s 0.89% list fee is higher than Nino Advisor Essential on many mid-size managed balances if you only compare portfolio management dollars. On $500,000, 0.89% is about $4,450 a year; Nino Advisor Essential is $3,600 a year and includes filing and planning humans.
Where Nino clearly wins is the path up: the same stack takes you from $20-a-month software to flat-fee CPA and CFP work with filing included, so you are not bolting a separate tax firm onto a free dashboard or staying on AUM forever. That is why Nino is the clear Empower alternative for people who need financial planning, tax, or both.
When is Wealthfront a better Empower alternative?
Wealthfront fits people who want automated investing and a cash APY as the center of the product, not a free tracker with optional AUM sales. Public pricing on 2026-09-21 shows a 0.25% annual advisory fee for the Automated Investing Account on Wealthfront pricing. Cash Management showed 3.55% base APY language on the cash product page the same day, with a marketed boost path; rates change, so confirm live APY on Wealthfront before you decide.
Wealthfront does diversified portfolios, automatic rebalancing, and Tax-Loss Harvesting software inside investing, plus cash management. Empower starts at free aggregation. If you want a dedicated 0.25% robo plus cash APY, Wealthfront is the closer peer. If you need tax filing and coordinated planning on a flat fee, Wealthfront does not solve that job the way Nino Advisor does.
When is Betterment a better Empower alternative?
Betterment fits people who want another automated investing product, with an optional Premium path to advisor access, and are comparing robos rather than hiring a CPA and CFP Concierge. Public pricing on 2026-09-21 shows Digital at $5 a month on balances under $24,000 without qualifying deposits, or 0.25% a year when you set up $200 or more in monthly recurring deposits or reach $24,000 across investing accounts. Premium is 0.65% a year with a $100,000 minimum in eligible investments.
Betterment centers on automated portfolios, with Cash Reserve (variable APY, no monthly management fee on that cash product). Empower pairs free tracking with optional 0.89% AUM advisory. If you want Digital or Premium robo packaging, Betterment is the closer peer. If you need tax filing and coordinated planning on a flat fee, Betterment, like Wealthfront, does not cover it the way Nino Advisor does. Confirm on Betterment pricing.
When should you stay with Empower?
Stay with Empower when free account aggregation, net worth views, and optional AUM advisory cover your needs, and you do not need an in-house CPA and CFP on the same team under a flat Advisor fee. The $0 Dashboard is hard to beat if tracking alone is the job. Personal Strategy’s published 0.89% bands are a reason some households stay when they want advice inside the same brand that already shows their accounts.
Stay example: you want every balance in one dashboard at no software cost, and tax filing sits with a separate preparer you trust (or a matched Tax Pro you choose separately). Leave example: you want the same people who build the plan to prepare the return, or you want to start on software for $20 a month and later add Concierge CPA and CFP under a flat Advisor fee. Pricing changes; re-check Empower’s Personal Strategy page before you enroll.
Book a walkthrough
If you want to see Nino’s software-first plan with Concierge CPA and CFP on top, book a consultation. Advisor plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee per Nino’s pricing page.