Compared on 30 September 2026, using Empower's website and support pages. Check Empower's site for current features.
What's the main difference between Worthbase and Empower?
Personal Capital was renamed Empower in 2023, and its free app is now the Empower Personal Dashboard. It links your bank, credit card, investment, retirement and loan accounts and gives you net worth, cash flow and budgeting, a retirement planner and portfolio analysis, at no cost.
Worthbase doesn't link accounts, doesn't do budgeting and isn't free. It's a household balance sheet you run from Claude, ChatGPT or another AI app: your AI reads statements, and Worthbase keeps an exact ledger of what you own and owe, in any currency, with cost bases, realised gains, loan-to-value and goals.
Worthbase and Empower side by side
| Worthbase | Empower Personal Dashboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | US$3.99/month with a 7-day free trial, or US$49 once for lifetime access (launch price). | Free. Empower offers paid advisory services separately (Personal Strategy, for $250,000 or more invested). |
| How you use it | Inside your AI app. A read-only web dashboard. | Web and mobile app. |
| Getting data in | Your AI reads statements, CSVs and screenshots. No logins. | Link accounts: banks, credit cards, 401(k)s, IRAs, investment accounts, mortgages and loans. Manual accounts too. |
| Countries and currencies | Any country and currency, with a base currency per workspace and historical exchange rates. | Account linking supports US-based institutions in US dollars; others can be added as manual accounts. |
| Budgeting and spending | Not offered. | Cash flow, budgeting and automatic spending categories. |
| Retirement planning | Retirement accounts tracked by balance; goals with progress and pace. | Retirement planner with scenarios, savings planner, fee and allocation analysis. |
| Capital gains | Exact lots, cost bases, and realised and unrealised gains and losses; no tax reports. | Holdings and performance from linked accounts. |
| Ownership and entities | Exact splits between people, trusts, companies, SMSFs and partnerships. | One household view of linked and manual accounts. |
| Changes | Every write previewed, audited, undoable. | Balances update from linked accounts. |
Why pay when Empower is free?
For many US households, you shouldn't: Empower's free dashboard does a lot, especially if you want budgeting and retirement projections. Empower funds it as part of a larger financial services business that includes paid advisory services.
Worthbase is paid by subscription and has one job: keeping your household balance sheet exact. It doesn't sell advice, products or your data, and it never moves money or places trades. Whether that's worth US$3.99 a month, or US$49 once, depends on whether the differences below matter to you.
What if you live outside the US?
This is often the deciding factor. According to Empower's support pages, account linking works with US-based institutions in US dollars, and anything else becomes a manual account. If your accounts are in Australia, the UK, Canada or Europe, or you hold assets in several currencies, Empower may not fit well.
Worthbase is built for that. Shares and ETFs are priced daily on major exchanges including the US, London and the ASX, crypto and gold too, and each row stores the exchange rate for its date. A UK SIPP, an Australian super fund, a Canadian RRSP and a US 401(k) can sit in the same balance sheet, converted to your base currency.
Cost bases and capital gains
Worthbase records the individual buys and sells, so it knows each lot: when you bought it, what you paid and the fees. It calculates realised and unrealised gains and losses exactly (FIFO or lots you choose), and before you sell, it can simulate the sale: proceeds, lots used and the gain or loss for each owner. It reports gains and losses, not tax, so check tax with your accountant.
Which should you choose?
Choose Empower Personal Dashboard if…
- You're in the US and your accounts are with US institutions.
- You want automatic account linking and a free tool.
- Budgeting, spending categories and retirement projections matter to you.
Choose Worthbase if…
- You live outside the US, or hold assets in more than one country or currency.
- You don't want to link accounts, and you want to approve every change.
- You need exact cost bases and gains, or ownership split between people and entities.
- You already use Claude or ChatGPT and want to ask your balance sheet questions directly.
Questions
Is Empower the same as Personal Capital?
Yes. Personal Capital was renamed Empower in 2023, and its free app is now called Empower Personal Dashboard.
Is Worthbase a Personal Capital alternative outside the US?
Yes, that's one of the main reasons people look at it. Worthbase works in any country and currency, because your AI reads your statements instead of relying on US account connections.
Does Worthbase do budgeting?
No. Worthbase tracks what you own and owe, not day-to-day spending. If you want budgeting, use a budgeting app alongside it.
Can I import my Empower data into Worthbase?
You can give your AI any export or screenshot of your holdings and balances to record as opening balances. For cost bases, import your broker's transaction exports; see the import guides.
Empower, Empower Personal Dashboard and Personal Capital are trademarks of their owner. Worthbase isn't affiliated with Empower.
