Empower vs Betterment (2026): Net Worth Tracker vs Robo-Advisor

What each tool is built for

Empower and Betterment are frequently compared — partly because both appear in financial planning conversations and partly because Betterment’s acquisition of Ellevest in April 2025 put both companies in personal finance news. But they are not competing products. They solve different problems.

Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is a personal finance dashboard. The product connects to accounts you hold anywhere — at Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, your employer 401(k), your bank, anywhere — and aggregates them into a single net worth view. The investment tools are real: a fee analyzer that scans all your connected accounts for expense ratio drag, an asset allocation breakdown, investment performance tracking over multiple time periods. Empower does not manage your investments. It shows you what you have.

Betterment is a robo-advisor. You deposit money with Betterment and it invests that money automatically in diversified portfolios, rebalances periodically, and applies tax-loss harvesting. It does the work of investment management so you do not have to. Betterment does not connect to accounts you hold elsewhere — it manages the slice of your wealth you give it.

The Ellevest acquisition — what it means

In April 2025, Betterment acquired Ellevest’s automated investing accounts. Ellevest was the most prominent women-focused financial product in the US: membership tiers at $12–$97/month, financial coaching, community, education, and explicit positioning for women investors.

Betterment took the investment accounts. The membership features — the coaching, the community, the women-specific financial planning tools — were discontinued. Ellevest’s explicit women-focused positioning did not transfer to Betterment, which is and remains a gender-neutral robo-advisor.

This acquisition matters for high-earning women because it eliminated the one meaningful women-focused financial product that existed. The gap is now clear: there is no premium, women-specific wealth tracking app in the US market.

Feature-by-feature analysis

What they track. Empower shows you everything across all your accounts — it is an observation tool. Betterment manages only what you give it — it is an action tool. These two orientations make them different, not competing.

Investment features. Empower has real investment analysis: fee identification, allocation review, performance comparison. Betterment manages your investments automatically — tax-loss harvesting, rebalancing, portfolio selection. Neither is a substitute for the other.

Business model. Empower is free and funded by converting users to wealth management clients (0.89% AUM). Betterment charges 0.25% AUM on money managed. Both have financial incentives tied to your assets, but in different ways.

Women-focused design. Neither. Empower has no women-specific features or positioning. Betterment has no women-specific features or positioning, despite the Ellevest acquisition.

Who should use Empower

Empower is for investors who want a free, comprehensive view of all their accounts — regardless of where they are held. The investment analysis tools are the best free option in the category. The trade-off is the advisor model.

Empower works well alongside Betterment, Vanguard, Fidelity, or any custodian. It aggregates what you have everywhere.

Who should use Betterment

Betterment is for investors who want automated management of a specific pool of assets. If you have a lump sum to invest and want a low-maintenance approach to growing it, Betterment’s 0.25% AUM fee is competitive for robo-advisory services.

Betterment does not replace a financial tracker. Users with accounts at multiple custodians, a 401(k), equity comp, or real estate still need a separate tool to see the full picture.

Why neither might be right for you

High-earning women who want wealth visibility — not just robo-managed portfolios — need an aggregation tool that works across all their accounts. Empower does this, but with an advisor model that creates friction. Betterment is a manager, not a tracker.

The gap Ellevest left is a premium, women-focused product that tracks all your wealth without an advisory business model sitting on top of it. Thalvi is being built to fill that gap: a subscription wealth tracker for high-earning professional women, designed around wealth building rather than portfolio handoffs.

Verdict

Empower and Betterment do different jobs. Empower tracks what you already have across all your accounts. Betterment manages the specific portion of your wealth you invest with them. Betterment's acquisition of Ellevest's automated investing accounts brought more customers but did not change the product — it is still a robo-advisor, not a financial dashboard. Neither is a comprehensive wealth aggregation platform. Thalvi fills the gap: a subscription tracker that connects all your accounts, including those at Betterment, without an advisor model or data-selling business attached.