I tried Empower. Here's what this budgeting app can - and can't -do

Empower is a free personal finance and analysis platform designed to give you a clear, comprehensive view of your money. From tracking your net worth to monitoring investment performance and mapping out debt payoff strategies, it brings your entire financial picture into one place. Whether you're focused on everyday budgeting or working toward bigger goals - like early retirement, a dream vacation, or saving for college - Empower helps you understand where your money is going and how to make it work harder for you.

Explore our Empower budgeting app guide to see whether this tool aligns with your financial needs and long‑term goals.

Empower at a glance

• Best for: Big-picture retirement planning and expense tracking
• Free version?: Yes
• Paid version: No
• Key feature: A comprehensive budgeting and retirement dashboard that shows all of your financial accounts in one place

What is Empower?

Empower is a personal finance and retirement-planning app that allows users to track their spending, create a budget, set savings and debt payoff goals and plan for retirement. It connects to your bank accounts and shows all your balances in real time, so you have a bird's-eye view of your financial situation and whether you're on track with your savings and retirement goals.

One of its biggest benefits and most notable differences from other budgeting apps is that it's completely free, though I found its features less detailed than those of some competitors.

Key features of Empower

Budgeting and net worth dashboard

When you log in, you'll immediately see the app's net worth tracker, which shows your assets - including cash balances and real estate - minus your liabilities, such as debt.

The dashboard also breaks down all your connected accounts, giving you a clear snapshot of where your finances stand at a glance.

I found the budgeting and cash‑flow center especially helpful. It offers a quick overview of your monthly spending, how much of your budget you've used and a category‑by‑category breakdown of where your money is going. You can adjust your budget at any time and view reports that show how your income and expenses compare from month to month.‑by‑category breakdown of where your money is going. You can adjust your budget at any time and view reports that show how your income and expenses compare from month to month.

Goal setting and category tracking

After I created a budget in Empower, the app automatically tracked my progress each month to help me stay on target. All transactions were sorted into categories - like mortgage, healthcare costs and groceries - so it was easy to see where my money was going.

From there, Empower provided personalized updates on how I was progressing toward my goals, whether that was retirement savings or paying down debt for the year. The debt‑paydown tool showed my current balances by account or loan and highlighted insights such as how much I'd paid off that month, which helped keep me motivated.

I also appreciated how Empower breaks down savings goals by account tax status. Seeing what's taxable, tax‑free and tax‑deferred gave me a clearer picture of how my savings were structured - a feature I haven't seen in many other budgeting apps.

Account syncing and manual entry

Once you create your account, you can quickly sync your accounts from most financial institutions to your device.

Empower links bank accounts, IRAs, retirement plans, loans, credit cards and mortgages to the app. Simply search for your financial institution by name, then select the account category, such as cash, loan, investment or credit card. Once you enter your credentials, Empower verifies them with the financial institution to protect your data before syncing your account to the app.

Pro tip: You can manually enter transactions for cash and credit card accounts by opening the account's detail page. Just note that there's no bulk‑entry option right now, so each transaction has to be added individually.

Reporting and insights

Empower's financial tools become more insightful the longer you use them. The app notes that the more accounts you connect, the more personalized and accurate its recommendations become.

I found the retirement planner especially useful. It lets you explore different retirement scenarios based on your savings, income, age, and major life events - like buying a home or paying for college. You can also experiment with different paths, such as retiring early, working part‑time or taking on big projects like a home remodel in your 50s.

What I appreciate most about this planner is how detailed it gets. It gives you a clear picture of what your retirement could look like under different assumptions, savings rates and lifestyle choices. It also helps you stay on track by showing whether you're aligned with your retirement goals and what adjustments you might need to make along the way.

Educational resources

Empower's blog, The Currency, provides readers with personal finance information, industry insights and a valuable investment checkup tool that helps you assess your current portfolio allocation.

Empower's blog largely focuses on retirement advice but also offers insights into American spending patterns and educational resources for parents looking to raise financially savvy children, which we like.

Empower pricing

The Empower app is completely free to use, and all of its budgeting features are included at no cost.

Additional costs

While the app itself is free, you can opt into Empower's investment management services once you reach a $100,000 investment minimum. If you choose to use that service, the standard annual fee is 0.89%.

Empower pros and cons

Pros

• Free budgeting app with a comprehensive dashboard
• Allows you to connect with a professional to discuss your next financial moves
• Provides automatic insights, such as spending categorization and investment risk assessment

Cons

• Poor customer ratings on the Google Play store, averaging a 2.8-star rating
• Empower chatbot was underwhelming, basically prompting our team to leave a message for a human representative
• Customer reviews note issues with bugs and having to reconnect their accounts to the app repeatedly

Empower vs. other budgeting apps

Take a quick look at how Empower stacks up against other budgeting apps in terms of pricing, features, security and availability.

Recommendation: Who is Empower best for?

Empower is a great fit if you want to organize all your financial accounts in one place and keep a close eye on your investments. I found the investment checkup feature especially helpful for comparing my portfolio's allocation against target recommendations.

I also really value Empower's retirement planning tool. It gives you a realistic view of your financial future and helps you map out major milestones - like buying a home, paying for college, or starting a family - in a way that feels both practical and motivating.

Overall, Empower is worth considering if you want a free budgeting tool that tracks your spending and assets in one place while offering a surprisingly robust set of retirement‑planning features.

Who should skip it

Empower isn't the best choice if you're looking for highly detailed or hands‑on budgeting tools. Unlike some competitors, it doesn't offer subscription cancellation services, budgeting templates, or a structured budgeting method like zero‑based budgeting. If you prefer a specific budgeting style, you may find Empower less customizable than you'd like.

It also lacks easy shared‑budgeting features for couples or partners - something apps like YNAB and Rocket Money handle more seamlessly.

Bottom line: Is Empower worth it?

Empower is a solid choice if you want a free app that gives you a big‑picture view of your finances, debt and investments. It's especially useful if you're focused on paying down debt, since the debt‑paydown tool tracks your progress and highlights potential problem areas through daily monitoring and expense tracking.

That said, some users report frustrations with occasional bugs, particularly on Android, and note that Empower's budgeting tools are fairly basic compared with more customizable apps.

Overall, Empower is best suited for people who want a clear overview of their financial life and access to detailed retirement‑planning tools. It's less ideal if you need advanced budgeting features, subscription management, or easy partner‑sharing options.

FAQs

Is Empower free?

Yes, Empower is completely free to use. All app features are available for free, with the only added cost coming if you choose to work with a human financial advisor.

Is Empower better than other budgeting apps?

Empower excels in a particular lane: long‑term planning and investment visibility rather than detailed budgeting. Its retirement planner and investment‑tracking tools are more comprehensive than what you'll find in many budgeting apps. If you're a meticulous budgeter or you want tools that help you manage subscriptions, track bills, or customize your budgeting style, top picks like Rocket Money and Quicken Simplifi offer a more polished, hands‑on experience.

Is Empower hard to use?

Empower's dashboard is generally user‑friendly, and most people find it easy to get started. That said, some users report frustrations, especially around locating certain features, dealing with occasional bugs, or getting stuck in a login‑verification loop.

Can Empower help you get out of debt?

Yes, Empower can help you get out of debt by tracking and automatically categorizing your spending, so you can see where your money is going right away. The app also helps you track unused subscriptions, keep an eye out for fraudulent charges and curate a savings plan for debt pay-off.

Does Empower connect to bank accounts?

Empower connects to a wide range of accounts, including bank accounts, IRAs, retirement plans, loans, credit cards and mortgages. It connects to most financial institutions so that you can see and manage your finances in one place.

Was Empower previously Personal Capital?

Yes, Empower was formerly known as Personal Capital. The company rebranded after being acquired by Empower Retirement, but the core experience stayed largely the same. Popular tools like net‑worth tracking, investment analysis and the retirement planner carried over.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: I tried Empower. Here's what this budgeting app can - and can't -do

Reporting by Amy DeYoung, Special to USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 12:04 PM.