Empower Alternative: Zyvo Without the Advisory Fee
Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is a legitimate, SEC-registered service used by more than 3.4 million people to track net worth for free. This isn't about whether Empower is trustworthy — it clearly is. It's about what its free dashboard actually does, what it's designed to lead you toward, and whether that fits what you're trying to do as a DIY investor.
Where Empower genuinely wins: free tools and retirement planning
Empower's free tools aren't a bait-and-switch gimmick — the retirement planner and fee analyzer are widely regarded as best-in-class, and cost nothing to use regardless of whether you ever touch the paid tier. The platform aggregates bank accounts, credit cards, and investments into one net-worth view, and with more than 3.4 million active users and over $200 billion in tracked assets, it's one of the largest hybrid advisory platforms in the country. If you want a single free dashboard for your whole financial life and might eventually want a human, fiduciary advisor once your portfolio crosses $100,000, Empower's combination of free tools plus an optional paid upgrade path is hard to beat.
Where Zyvo pulls ahead: no upsell, one flat price
Empower's paid tier, Personal Strategy, charges 0.89% of assets per year on balances up to $1M (tiering down to 0.49% only above $10M), with a $100,000 account minimum to even qualify. On a $100,000 portfolio, that's $890 a year — nearly 9x what Zyvo costs annually — and independent reviews note that once you cross that $100k threshold on the free tier, you should expect calls from Empower's advisors. Zyvo's price never changes based on how much you hold, and there's no advisory relationship to be sold into in the first place.
The feature gap follows the same pattern: Empower's free dashboard is built around net worth and asset allocation, not true Time-Weighted Return or Internal Rate of Return, and it doesn't generate capital-gains or tax reports at all — tax-aware investing is a paid-advisory feature only. Zyvo calculates true TWR and IRR automatically, includes a tax report with a choice of cost-basis method, and adds an automated US federal tax-owed estimate, all on the same flat plan whether you're tracking $10,000 or $10 million.
Price comparison
| Zyvo | Empower Free Dashboard | Empower Personal Strategy (paid) |
|---|---|---|
| $12/mo billed monthly, or $99/yr billed annually 1 flat plan, everything included |
$0 Net worth tracking, budgeting, fee analyzer |
0.89% of assets/year (tiers down to 0.49% above $10M) $100,000 account minimum required |
The free Empower dashboard costs nothing, but it exists to route you toward the paid tier. On a $100,000 portfolio, 0.89% works out to $890 a year — nearly 9x what Zyvo costs annually — and you need at least $100,000 invested just to qualify. Zyvo's price never changes based on how much you hold.
Full feature comparison
| Zyvo | Empower (free tier) | |
|---|---|---|
| True TWR & IRR performance metrics | Yes | No — net worth and allocation focused, not true time-weighted performance |
| Tax report (FIFO / Average Cost, CSV export) | Yes | No — tax-aware investing is a paid-advisory feature only |
| Automated capital-gains tax-owed estimate | Yes — US federal, ST/LT stacking + NIIT included, on the free flat plan | No — tax-aware investing is a paid-advisory feature only |
| Portfolio concentration risk (HHI) | Yes | Partial — flags fee drag and broad allocation, not HHI-based concentration |
| Multi-broker consolidation | Yes, 35+ brokers or CSV import | Yes, broad account aggregation (US-focused) |
| Retirement planner | No | Yes, free and well-regarded |
| Human financial advisor access | No | Only on the paid tier, $100k minimum, expect advisor calls once you qualify |
| Price scales with portfolio size | No — flat fee regardless of assets | Yes — paid tier is a % of assets under management |
| Try without an account | Yes, live demo | No, requires signup and account linking |
Who should actually pick Empower
Empower is the better fit if you want one free dashboard that pulls together bank accounts, credit cards, and investments for a full net-worth picture; you value a widely-used, well-regarded free retirement planner; or you might eventually want a human, fiduciary advisor once your portfolio crosses $100,000 and are comfortable paying a percentage of assets for that relationship.
Who should actually pick Zyvo
Zyvo is the better fit if you never want to be upsold into an advisory relationship, want a price that doesn't change as your portfolio grows, and want true TWR/IRR plus an automated US tax estimate as standard, not a feature you have to pay a percentage of your assets to unlock.
Frequently asked
Is Empower really free?
The dashboard — net worth tracking, retirement planner, fee analyzer, budgeting — is free. Empower makes money by upselling its Personal Strategy wealth management service: 0.89% of assets per year on balances up to $1M, with a $100,000 account minimum.
How much would Empower's advisory fee cost compared to Zyvo?
On a $100,000 portfolio, Empower's 0.89% fee is $890 a year. Zyvo costs $99 a year billed annually, regardless of portfolio size, because it's a flat subscription rather than a percentage of assets.
Does Empower calculate true TWR and IRR like Zyvo?
No. Empower's free dashboard focuses on net worth and asset allocation rather than true Time-Weighted Return or Internal Rate of Return. Zyvo calculates both automatically from your transaction history.
Does Empower generate tax reports?
Empower's free tier doesn't generate capital gains or realized-gains tax reports — tax-aware investing is part of the paid advisory service only. Zyvo includes a FIFO/Average Cost tax report with CSV export on its single flat-fee plan.
Try Zyvo with a real sample portfolio — no signup required.
See true TWR/IRR, tax reports, and concentration risk for yourself before deciding.
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